Virgil Aeneid
Philip Hardie (Editor), Virgil, P. E. Easterling (Contribution by), Richard Hunter (Contribution by), E. J. KenneyBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
This is the first major single-volume edition in English of Book IX of Virgil's Aeneid, a pivotal part of the poem that contains the nocturnal interlude of the ill-fated expedition of the young Trojans Nisus and Euryalus. The volume includes a detailed linguistic and thematic commentary on the text, and an introduction consisting of a series of interpretative essays on the book. It offers invaluable help to students of Virgil and will also be of interest to professional scholars of Latin literature.
A guide to reading "The Aeneid" with a critical and appreciative mind encouraging analysis of plot, style, form, and structure. Also includes background on the author's life, and times, sample tests, term paper suggestions, and a reading list.
Synopsis
The first major single-volume edition in English of the pivotal book in Virgil's Aeneid , featuring the expedition of Nisus and Euryalus.
The New York Times Book Review
A new and noble standard bearer . . . There's a capriciousness to Fagles's line well suited to this vast story's ebb and flow.
Editorials
The New York Times Book Review
A new and noble standard bearer . . . There's a capriciousness to Fagles's line well suited to this vast story's ebb and flow.The New Yorker
Fagles's new version of Virgil's epic delicately melds the stately rhythms of the original to a contemporary cadence. . . . He illuminates the poem's Homeric echoes while remaining faithful to Virgil's distinctive voice.Library Journal
Ahl (classics & comparative literature, Cornell Univ.) has previously published translations of Seneca's and Lucan's works and has written books on Sophocles, Lucan, and Ovid. His new translation of this great Latin classic, Virgil's tale of Aeneas's seven-year journey from Troy to Italy, joins recent efforts by Stanley Lombardo (Hackett, 2005) and Robert Fagles (Penguin, 2006). Here, Ahl employs a version of Virgil's hexameter verse, in which the first syllable is accented. Unlike previous translators, he tries to capture some of Virgil's wordplay, puns, and anagrams, aiming to remain true to the original Latin. The overall results are accurate but not as fluent or vigorous as the translations by Lombardo and Fagles. While those translations remain the first choice for general readers interested mainly in The Aeneid's narrative aspects, Ahl's translation is good for those wanting a fuller sense of Virgil's language and poetic artistry. In addition to an indexed glossary of names, Ahl includes notes explaining references; classicist Elaine Fantham offers a substantial introduction discussing Virgil, Aeneas, and The Aeneid. Recommended for all public and academic libraries.
—T.L. Cooksey