Fagles’ translation of The Odyssey does more showing than telling because it describes the events of the books to their full extent. He achieves showing by using descriptive words to keep the passage going, instead of just saying what happened with a few non-descriptive, bland words that do not describe at all. Odysseus has finally returned home, just to find many suitors for Penelope. Odysseus is outraged, so he confronts Penelope’s most prominent suitor, Antinous. Odysseus gripped his bow, “Odysseus aimed and shot Antinous square in the throat and the point went stabbing clean through the soft neck and out… food showered across the floor, the bread and meats soaked in a swirl of bloody filth.”(440). Odysseus has just killed Antinous, blood has soaked everything around them, showing the gory end to his life. The passage where Antinous is murdered uses imagery because it paints a vivid picture in your head about what is happening. The quote displayed describes in great detail the death of Antinous without exhibiting much telling.
Puffins version of The Odyssey, by Geraldine Mccaughrean, Tells the story very concisely, rather than showing it in detailed events. Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, tells Penelope’s suitors that he can bend the bow of King Odysseus. They are saying that it takes the strength of three men to do so.
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When describing events, Fagles translation, which is for more advanced readers, goes into every last detail of the situation by using literary devices and descriptive words. Mccaughrean on the other hand does not like to show the details, and just summarizes because her books are written for less advanced readers. Fagles’ translation tells the story much more effectively than Mccaughrean’s. Fagles’ story is told more effectively because his showing really helps the reader understand what’s going on in the