The Aeneid
Virgil's Greatest Hits (An Abridgement)
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The epic poem of the fall of Troy, the heroic journey, battles and loves of Aeneas, and the founding of Rome, by the great Latin poet Virgil -- as translated, condensed, and explained to modern readers by a professor who uses rhyme and a lively presentation to honor the spirit and true intent of Virgil -- without the customary literalism of previous translations.
Epic in every way, this is one of the greatest and most entertaining adventure stories ever told. Millions have read and enjoyed it since Virgil first wrote it in the First Century B.C.
But The Aeneid has never been presented like this before. It is now condensed to its essential and best parts, with short bridge notes to explain the third or so of the original that is omitted. Explanatory sidenotes and chapter guides place the work and its famous author in historical, thematic, and political context.
Most of all, David Crump has translated The Aeneid for the modern ear, complete with the rhythms and rhymes associated with poetry today. Avoiding the stodgy literalism of previous translations, he incorporates the true meaning of each turn and phrase -- using the words most accurately registering today for Virgil's work, all to bring the epic to life for a new generation. It will be enjoyed by readers who aren't necessarily Latin scholars.
The new ebook edition uses an innovative approach to linking short annotations of key words, names, and places. Instead of footnotes and numbers, the underlined words are coded to jump to the asides much like a webpage or Wikipedia would. Notes stay out of the way for readers who prefer the poem as it is, while explanations and trivia are a mere click or touch away for interested readers and of course students. Modern and clear formatting makes it a work accessible in digital form without the odd spacing and stuffy footnotes often found in such ebooks of classics. Not just dumped into an ebook jacket from book form, this ebook was constructed with care (though a paperback is also available with sidenotes along the margins, again avoiding distracting footnotes). Great for classes, book clubs, and casual readers.
This book is simply fun to read, and at long last easy to understand and feel the sheer power of Aeneas's epic journey and destiny. Fate has decreed it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Princeton scholar Fagles follows up his celebrated Iliad and Odyssey with a new, fast-moving, readable rendition of the national epic of ancient Rome. Virgil's long-renowned narrative follows the Trojan warrior Aeneas as he carries his family from his besieged, fallen home, stops in Carthage for a doomed love affair, visits the underworld and founds in Italy, through difficult combat, the settlements that will become, first the Roman republic, and then the empire Virgil knew. Recent translators (such as Allen Mandelbaum) put Virgil's meters into English blank verse. Fagles chooses to forgo meter entirely, which lets him stay literal when he wishes, and grow eloquent when he wants: "Aeneas flies ahead, spurring his dark ranks on and storming/ over the open fields like a cloudburst wiping out the sun." A substantial preface from the eminent classicist Bernard Knox discusses Virgil's place in history, while Fagles himself appends a postscript and notes. Scholars still debate whether Virgil supported or critiqued the empire's expansion; Aeneas' story might prompt new reflection now, when Americans are already thinking about international conflict and the unexpected costs of war.
