Record

RefNoHSF/1/1/4
Previous numbers600/31/37
LevelItem
TitleLetter from J F W [John Frederick William] Herschel, Collingwood, to [William] Whewell
CreatorHerschel; Sir John Frederick William; first baronet (1792-1871); British mathematician and astronomer
Date10 January 1862 [dated in error, 10 December 1862]
DescriptionHerschel sends a little more of his Homer translation, down to the exit of Achilles in book 1. He agrees with Whewell in not liking the first twelve lines and he has attended to some of the crtiticisms, giving examples. He asks for Whewell's opinion 'about two or 3 things', including his substitution of Gods' names, such as Hera for Juno and Poseidon for Neptune. He considers Homeric epithets to be 'intolerable bores'. He sees that there is a hexameter translation of 'The Iliad of Homer' by [Joseph Henry] Dart in the press and wonders if Whewell has heard of it and if it is likely to be done well. Dean Alford's specimens of hendecasyllables in the London Review are not blank verse lines prolonged by a supernumerary syllable, and he comments on these, and on sapphic metre.
Extent4p.
FormatManuscript
PhysicalDescriptionInk on paper
AccessStatusOpen
Fellows associated with this archive
CodePersonNameDates
NA8238Herschel; Sir; John Frederick William (1792 - 1871); astronomer1792 - 1871
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