Butler writes prose, which means his Iliad reads in continuous sentences without line breaks. The rhythm is controlled but plain, closer to Victorian English than to speech: "Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades" has a measured, slightly formal cadence. Wilson writes verse, so each line carries a small unit of weight, and the cumulative effect is more deliberate. Her diction is contemporary without being casual. In Book 21, Butler gives "you too shall die" while Wilson gives "So die, my friend," a shorter, more direct order. Both are readable, but Butler's prose feels like narration you follow, while Wilson's verse asks you to pause at each line end. Neither translation uses archaic forms like "thee" or "dost." Butler, translating in 1898, prioritizes clarity and forward movement. He routinely compresses. In Book 9, the Greek gives Achilles a full account of his two fates, but Butler reduces it to a single sentence: "If I stay here and fight, I shall not return alive but my name will live for ever." Wilson keeps more of the structure, naming Thetis, explaining the choice in detail, and ending on "Death cannot run so fast to overtake me," which preserves the Greek sequence more completely. Butler loses specificity to gain pace. Wilson adds slightly more words but stays closer to what the Greek actually contains. A reader who wants the full argument on the page will find more of it in Wilson. A reader who wants momentum will find it in Butler.
Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another.
Goddess, sing of the cataclysmic wrath
of great Achilles, son of Peleus,
which caused the Greeks immeasurable pain
and sent so many noble souls of heroes
to Hades, and made men the spoils of dogs,
a banquet for the birds, and so the plan
of Zeus unfolded—starting with the conflict
between great Agamemnon, lord of men,
and glorious Achilles.