Things I can’t care about: Iambic Pentameter

Started the plays of Euripides this week (SQUEEE!) and ran into my first disapointing introduction (BOOOo!). For the most part I have been learning the nuanced history of Western Thought from the play intros.

Paul Roche‘s intro was a bit tortuous and dealt mainly with how best to translate from the ancient Greek to modern English. ::YAWN::

Iambic whatevers and syllable counting were tiresome in high school English class too. Oh sure it matters if you are actually doing the translating, but if you’re joe-reader looking for a bit of escapism in ancient history, you want your scholarly introspection of the times and the play!

The rain in Spain…zzzzZZZzzZZZ

Am I missing something here? Anyone feel strongly about the need to understand Iambic Pentameter?

 

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