Chapman writes in rhyming verse, mostly in long fourteener lines, and his register is Elizabethan: archaic word order, contracted forms, and a rhetorical energy that often adds where the Greek is spare. In Book 6, his leaves passage cuts the simile short and fills the gap with commentary: "Man's leavy issue" is a phrase Homer does not write. Murray writes continuous prose, in a formal but readable register, and he tends to follow the Greek sentence by sentence. His Book 6 version keeps the full movement of the simile through "one generation springeth up and another passeth away." The prose avoids rhyme's pressure to rearrange, but "springeth" and "bourgeons" carry an archaic flavor of their own. Both translators sound old-fashioned to a modern ear, though in different ways. Chapman treats the Iliad as a text to be performed. He adds dramatic coloring, as in the Book 21 death speech, where "Die, die, my friend" turns Achilles into a stage voice. He compresses or expands to suit the verse line, and fidelity to the Greek word order is not his priority. Murray prioritizes completeness and stays close to the structure of the original. His Book 9 passage renders the two fates clearly and in sequence, with each condition spelled out. He adds little and removes little. Chapman's approach suits a reader who wants the poem to move fast and feel theatrical. Murray suits a reader who wants a reliable account of what Homer's lines actually contain.
Achilles' baneful wrath resound, O Goddess, that impos'd
Infinite sorrows on the Greeks, and many brave souls loos'd
From breasts heroic; sent them far to that invisible cave
That no light comforts; and their limbs to dogs and vultures gave:
To all which Jove's will gave effect; from whom first strife begun
Betwixt Atrides, king of men, and Thetis' godlike son.
The wrath sing, goddess, of Peleus' son, Achilles, that destructive wrath which brought countless woes upon the Achaeans, and sent forth to Hades many valiant souls of heroes, and made them themselves spoil for dogs and every bird; thus the plan of Zeus came to fulfillment, from the time when first they parted in strife Atreus' son, king of men, and brilliant Achilles.