Both translations are in verse, but they handle line length and register differently. Mitchell writes longer lines and uses a conversational American English that stays close to natural speech. In the opening, he gives "The rage of Achilles, sing it now, goddess, sing through me," which runs the invocation into something that sounds almost like a spoken request. Wilson writes shorter, more compressed lines and keeps a slightly more formal register throughout. Where Mitchell's Achilles tells a pleading Trojan "you too must die," Wilson says "So die, my friend," which is starker and more abrupt. Mitchell tends to fill out lines with small explanatory phrases; Wilson removes them. The rhythm in Mitchell is looser, closer to the cadence of contemporary free verse, while Wilson's shorter lines create more frequent stops. Mitchell approaches the Greek with readability and spoken performance in mind. He adds small clarifications that Homer leaves implicit: in Book 9, after Achilles describes the two fates, Mitchell ends with "my glory will die, but my life will be long and peaceful," where the word "peaceful" has no equivalent in the Greek. Wilson adds "Death cannot run so fast to overtake me," which is also an addition, but it stays closer to the tone of the original boast. In the Book 6 leaves passage, Mitchell expands the comparison into a fuller paragraph; Wilson cuts the movement to four sentences and stops. A reader who wants to hear the poem as fluid, accessible narrative will find Mitchell easier. A reader who wants to feel the original's compression and stop will notice it more in Wilson.
The rage of Achilles—sing it now, goddess, sing through me
the deadly rage that caused the Achaeans such grief
and hurled down to Hades the souls of so many fighters,
leaving their naked flesh to be eaten by dogs
and carrion birds, as the will of Zeus was accomplished.
Begin at the time when bitter words first divided
that king of men, Agamemnon, and godlike Achilles.
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.