Verity writes in verse, with lines that follow the arc of the Greek hexameter without reproducing its syllable count exactly. The opening passage shows this cleanly: Verity gives "the accursed anger which brought the Achaeans countless / agonies," where the line break does some of the work of pacing. His register is contemporary but not casual, and he keeps his diction level across the whole poem. Rouse uses prose throughout and writes in a plainer, more conversational English. His Book 1 opens with "An angry man — There is my story," a sentence that sounds like a storyteller addressing a room. In Book 5, Rouse's Athena calls Ares "Mr. Facing-all-ways," which is colloquial to the point of being comic, while Verity's version reads "this two-faced scoundrel," which is pointed but still formally placed within a complete verse line. Rouse published in 1938 with the stated aim of rendering Homer as a plain tale for general readers, and his prose keeps that contract: short sentences, vernacular phrasing, speed. The Book 6 leaves passage shows this directly. Rouse compresses the four Greek lines into "Leaves fall when the breezes blow, in the springtime others grow; as they go and come agen so upon the earth do men." He reaches for rhyme and picks up speed, but removes the specific image of the forest budding. Verity keeps that detail: "the forest breaks / into bud." His translation is oriented toward the shape and content of the Greek lines, and readers who want to track the poem's imagery closely will find more to hold onto there. Rouse gives readability; Verity gives more of the texture.
SING, goddess, the anger of Achilles, Peleus' son,
the accursed anger which brought the Achaeans countless
agonies and hurled many mighty shades of heroes into Hades,
causing them to become the prey of dogs and
all kinds of birds; and the plan of Zeus was fulfilled.
Sing from the time the two men were first divided in strife—
Atreus' son, lord of men, and glorious Achilles.
An angry man—There is my story: The bitter rancour of Achillês, prince of the house of Peleus, which brought a thousand troubles upon the Achaian host. Many a strong soul it sent down to Hadês, and left the heroes themselves a prey to dogs and carrion birds, while the will of God moved on to fulfilment.
It began first of all with a quarrel between my lord King Agamemnon of Atreus' line and the Prince Achillês.