Customer Reviews

Reading Vergils Aeneid: An Interpretive Guide (Oklahoma Series in Classical Culture)

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I am a student taking AP Latin: Vergil, as an independent study, and I have found this book to be very useful in its strong explication of the text and its focus on things that are not often noticed in criticism. The essays vary in quality, but they always provide a different perspective on such topics as Aeneas's relations with family and nation, the old question of whether Dido or Aeneas is really in the wrong, imagery, translations, and parallels with other ancient works. If you are a high school teacher looking for materials to use with a class, be aware that many of these essays use very modern critical approaches, and some of them are difficult to understand, but some would be fine for the average student. The book overall has a strong feminist slant. I thought it was really excellent, and I would recommend this thought-provoking book to any reader looking for modern scholarly interpretations.

This collection of essays makes stimulating reading for students, teachers, and amateurs. The book-by-book interpretations, each by a different author, present a variety of perspectives. Is the poem "pro-imperialist", or does it subvert the tenets of imperialism? Is Aeneas' exodus from Troy and invasion of Italy a tale of emigration and search for the promised land - or a colonization epic? Are the many "false starts" Aeneas makes in his quest attributable to misreadings of signs and prophecies, incompetent leadership, or just plain human frailty? Persuasive evidence can be found for any and all of these readings.
Not surprisingly, the "paternalistic" aspect of the epic comes in for especially harsh criticism; but a contrasting "matriarchal" view (the guiding hand of Aeneas' mother Venus) is also presented.

Just as the gods give ambivalent advice and directions even while promising total clarity ("omnem nubem eripiam" - I shall tear away any cloud that cloaks your eyes, proclaims Venus), the interpretations suggested here are often contentious, but always thought-provoking and enlightening.
General translation problems are also addressed: how key concepts such as pietas, imperium, furor etc. are rendered into English significantly affects the overall tenor of the poem. Critically important passages are given in Latin as well as in the Allen Mandelbaum translation. It helps to have the translation (and perhaps the original) at hand while reading these commentaries, and to be at least vaguely familiar with the Iliad and the Odyssey.