Exeter students win Classics prizes

Two Exeter classicists have won University prizes for their translation skills.

Phillip Bone, who came to Exeter to read Literae Humaniores in 2012 and is now working towards a DPhil in Classical Languages and Literature, has won the Gaisford Verse Prize for Greek Verse. Phillip was awarded the prize for his translation of Shakespearean verse into Greek, which he did using comic trimeters.

The Gaisford Prize was established in 1855 in honour of Dr Thomas Gaisford, a classical scholar and clergyman who served as Dean of Christ Church for over two decades. Phillip received the 2018 award jointly with one other student.

Phillip said: ‘I was delighted to find out that I had won the award jointly this year. It was my last year of being eligible (no more than six years can have passed since matriculation), and it’s a prize I’ve thought about entering for the past few years but never quite got round to it.’

Meanwhile Jason Webber (2014, Literae Humaniores) has won the Chancellor’s Prize for Latin Prose. Jason received the prize for a translation of a passage from John Stuart Mill’s Considerations on Representative Government.

Jason said: ‘I’ve entered [the competition] once or twice before without any success, so I was quite surprised to win it this time; I’d entered it more for the sake of a fun break from revision than anything else. The competition is only open to entrants within four years of matriculation, so this was my last chance as well. The news came when I was in the midst of my final exams, so it was quite a cheering moment in what was otherwise a rather difficult time.’

Many congratulations to Phillip and Jason on their success!