War Music is the name of an incomplete modern translation of the Iliad by Christopher Logue. It is without doubt one of the best poetic works of the past 100 y

War Music is the name of an incomplete modern translation of the Iliad by Christopher Logue. It is without doubt one of the best poetic works of the past 100 years. "Achilles saw his armour in that instant And its ominous radiance flooded his heart. Bright pads with toggles crossed behind the knees, Bodice of fitted tungsten, pliable straps; His shield as round and rich as moons in spring; His sword's haft parked between sheaves of grey obsidian From which a lucid blade stood out, leaf-shaped, adorned With running spirals. And for his head a welded cortex; yes, Though it is noon, the helmet screams against the light; Scratches the eye; so violent it can be seen Across three thousand years." The Caroline Alexander translation is much more "correct," but lacks Logue's spark of vitality and originality.