Under the Button is part of a student-run nonprofit.

Please support us by disabling your ad blocker on our site.

Classics Major Attempts British accent, and O! How the Muses Sing Through Him

combined

Photo from Creative Commons / CC0 

The students of CLST: 201, Introduction to Greek Literature are still reeling what from what one could only call an act of divine interpretation. Reading from a passage of Homer's "The Odyssey," junior Charlie Bateman slipped into an English brogue, which classmates have described as though Apollo himself were plucking Bateman's vocal chords.

Bateman, a native of Solon, Ohio, explained his approach. "I tried to imagine those ancient Greeks around a crackling fire-- almost like our seminar in Claudia Cohen-- and just thought how to read the story as they would, which would obviously be in the King's English."

The Odyssey, originally passed down through the oral tradition, was first written down in Ancient Greek in the 8th Century, BCE. Professor Ariel Milton, who wrote the translation used in the course, said that she was "speechless" at Bateman's performance, calling it "definitely unique." Bateman's classmates could be seen in the in the throes of divine ecstasy, their eyes turned round to the back of their heads. 

At the moment this reading occurred, we have confirmed reports that multiple burial sites throughout Greece were disturbed. Though no clear damage occurred to the entrance of these tombs, the skeletons inside were found face down, having rolled over in their graves. 

Bateman himself reportedly "dabbled in theater in high school" and has plans to study abroad in London in the Spring. He's also enrolled in a course on Virgil, who Bateman says "has some of the best pick-up lines in the game." Tell us about a complicated man, Muse, tell us about a complicated man.

PennConnects