A "BritLit" grad student, a Moose and Squirrel, and Thou: The Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam.

Much discussion of FitzGerald's work centers on his approach to translation. He is known as a liberal translator who captured the "poetic spirit" of the originals and re-created them in then contemporary English. This issue is heavily discussed by critics in the case of the Rubaiyat, and is addressed by the editor of our recommended edition.

You may also take a look at his Agamemnon for comparison, since we've recently read it, and as most of you know, I have a particular interest in translations of that work. Compare it to Browning's Agamemnon to appreciate their differences in approach.

Here is an outline for our discussion of Caesar's Gallic Wars:  Download CaesarTheGallicWar (PDF file). Or view as a web page.