The Aeneid [Hardcover]

Vergil (Author), Sarah Ruden (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0300119046 | ISBN-13: 978-0300119046 | Publication Date: May 22, 2008 | Edition: 1ST

This extraordinary new translation of the Aeneid stands alone among modern Vergil translations for its accuracy and poetic appeal. Sarah Ruden, a lyric poet in her own right, is the first woman to translate Vergil’s great epic, and she renders the poem in the same number of lines as the original work—a very rare feat that maintains technical fidelity to the original without diminishing its emotional power.

 

Ruden’s translation follows Vergil’s content faithfully, and the economy and fast pace she achieves are true to his own unflagging narrative force. With its central theme of national destiny versus. the destiny of individuals, the poem has great resonance in our own times, and Ruden adheres closely to the poet’s message. Her rendering of Vergil’s words gives immediacy to his struggling faith that history has beauty and purpose in spite of its pain. With this distinguished translation, modern readers can experience for themselves the timeless power of Vergil's masterpiece.

(20090312)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Robert Fagles, shortly before his death, set the bar very high for translating [Virgil’s] Aeneid. Yet already the scholar-poet Sarah Ruden has soared over the bar. . . The translation is alive in every part. . . . This is the first translation since Dryden’s that can be read as a great English poem in itself.”—Garry Wills, New York Review of Books

(Garry Wills New York Review of Books 20080501)

"Ruden''s translation separates itself from others by using the same number of verses as Vergil does. She has produced a fresh poetic translation for contemporary English-speaking readers, one that speaks with its own voice."—David Quint, author of Cervantes''s Novel of Modern Times: A New Reading of "Don Quijote"     

(David Quint )

"Sarah Ruden''s translation is distinguished by the quality of its verse, the unrelenting propulsive force of its narrative drive, and the intelligence with which she has shaped Vergil to fit her pentameter lines."—Charles Martin, translator, Metamorphoses: A New Translation

(Charles Martin )

"Grace and power reside in Sarah Ruden’s economical line-for-line translation of The Aeneid. Like Vergil’s Latin, her English may easily be lifted off the page and given voice."—Janet Lembke, translator of Virgil’s Georgics

(Janet Lembke )

“Toning down the magniloquence, Sarah Ruden gives us an Aeneid more intimate in tone and soberer in measure than we are used to—a gift for which many will be grateful.”—J.M. Coetzee

(J.M. Coetzee )

"By conveying the emotional force of the Latin, Ruden makes the Aeneid newly vivid, exciting, and relevant. This translation proves why, for centuries, Virgil''s remarkable epic has been required reading."—Mary Lefkowitz, author of Greek Gods, Human Lives: What We Can Learn From Myths

(Mary Lefkowitz )

"Fast, clean, and clear, sometimes terribly clever, and often strikingly beautiful. . . . For me, hers is the cleanest of modern verse translations."—Richard Garner, The New Criterion

(Richard Garner The New Criterion )

“. . . The translation is alive in every part. . . . [T]he first translation since Dryden’s that can be read as a great English poem in itself.”— Garry Wills, New York Review of Books

(Garry Wills New York Review of Books )

“. . . Ruden . . . a poet of considerable skill, has chosen boldly. Her work is . . . [a] rarity. . . . I cannot stress strongly enough Ruden’s skill with near-Swinburnean sound effects . . .” — Len Krisak, Translation and Literature, Volume 18

(Len Krisak Translation and Literature )

"Beautifully done. . . . Ruden''s version earns special praise for measuring up to the challenge set by Lattimore and Fagles and then going one better in her fidelity to the actual form of the poem, without sacrificing fidelity to the word to any greater extent than they. It deserves to be widely read and admired."—Joseph Farrell, Translation and Literature

(Joseph Farrell Translation and Literature )

About the Author

Sarah Ruden’s previous translations include Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and Petronius' Satyricon. She is a visiting scholar at Yale Divinity School.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1ST edition (May 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300119046
• ISBN-13: 978-0300119046
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #790,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweeping, Poignant, Faithful. Forget Fagles., September 8, 2008

By 

R. Gerard (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Aeneid (Hardcover)

I have been a student of the classics since I was young. Naturally, I had been exposed to the Aeneid early on in the fashion that most students are: with the revered Robert Fitzgerald translation. Through the years many translations, both good and bad, have been published: Humphries, Lombardo (probably one of the best), and Mandelbaum to name a few of the most popular.

My adoration of the Ruden translation started in the most modest way. I was browsing through volumes in a used book store and came across the Yale University Press publication of the Aeneid, a translation that I had not heard of, from a translator I knew nothing about. I hopped on the internet while in the store and did some research, and came up with almost unanimously positive reviews, so I purchased it after reading a few, impressive passages.

Currently, all the rage is over the Penguin translation by Robert Fagles. To my understanding, his is the translation most widely taught in schools next to Fitzgerald. I am a fan of Fagles. His storytelling is grand and vivid. However, anyone who is versed in Classical Latin and has read the Aeneid in its original language can tell you that Fagles takes far too many liberties, embellishing Vergil's epic very subjectively (and not sparingly). This is problem to those who want a faithful reading of Vergil. Fagle's is far from a faithful translation of Vergil's poetry. Latin is a very compact, concise, and flowing language, with many subtle nuances. It is not grandiose and cumbersome like Fagles.

But Sarah Ruden has done something uncanny here. It is a popular saying that "one cannot translate poetry," which is true. It is inevitable that when translating poetry, much of the vigor and hidden meanings are lost. But Ruden's is the closest to the original one can get in modern English idiom. She avoids the flowery embellishments that Fagles is guilty of, preserves the conciseness of Vergil's Latin, without sacrificing the elegance of her or Vergil's pens (Ruden is, after all, an accomplished poet from what I understand). And, even more laudable, is the fact the Ruden's is practically a line-by-line translation, using the exact same number of lines used by Vergil. She also has a talent for preserving Vergil's meter whenever possible. The Aeneid, to some theorists, was made to be orated and heard. And Ruden's is a translation that is a pleasure hear as well as read.

Having read and thoroughly enjoyed Ruden's Aeneid, I like to say that Ruden is to Fagles, as Chickering is to Heaney. Ruden's translation might not be as famous as Fagles', but it is more scholarly, more faithful, and elegant in a different, yet more authentic way (just as Chickering's Beowulf may never achieve the status of Heaney's, yet Chickering preserves the spirit of the original in a more convincing way.

Get Ruden's Aeneid! Whether you are a novice to Vergil's Aeneid, a casual reader (it is a relatively quick read), or a full-on Latinist/Classicist, you will not be dissatisfied with this text.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A better Aeneid translation cannot be found!, February 22, 2011

By 

Nasothepoet - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aeneid (Paperback)

I could not agree more with the other positive reviews of the this translation. My Vergil professor assigned this translation for our Aeneid course a few years back, and I read it cover to cover during the first two weeks of class.

Before opening this book, I thought that I knew the Aeneid well enough from reading Fitzgerald's version in high school, reading selections from the Latin, etc. I was wrong. This translation is, as others have mentioned, concise and vivid. So many of the details stand out to me after having read Ruden's translation; the same cannot be said for the bulky prose renditions of Vergil's magnum opus.

Ruden's verse is perfect for the serious Latinist wishing to quickly read the whole work, the literature/humanities enthusiast looking to add the Aeneid to their reading list, or even the casual reader who can appreciate the conventions of epic poetry.

It goes without saying that Vergil's Aeneid is one of the greatest works of literature, but Ruden's translation does it particular justice.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible!, September 5, 2008

By 

Ryan Kouroukis "In 1882 Richard Wagner said: ... - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Aeneid (Hardcover)

I am not a fan of Verse...I've always prefered Prose but I think this is the first time I actually fell in love with Verse!

Sarah Ruden's translation is absolutely incredible! I can't believe how powerful and exciting (not to mention poetic) it is!

It almost seems that it could have even been written in (high) English verse

After comparing multiple versions I have to say that it is perhaps the most faithful, epic and poetic translation I've come by written in Verse.

It ranks at the top together with Jackson Knight's and Stanley Lonbardo's translations.

Hats off to Sarah Ruden and all who read this magnificent version!

Ryan