The Aeneid

Description

Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work. Virgil's sweeping epic of Trojan warrior Aeneas and the founding of Rome-a stirring tale of exile, heroism, and combat, and of a man caught between love, duty, and fate. This edition includes: -A concise introduction that gives the reader important background information -A chronology of the author's life and work -A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context -An outline of key themes and plot points to guide the reader's own interpretations -Detailed explanatory notes -Critical analysis and modern perspectives on the work -Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction -A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience

Born in 70 BCE, at the height of the Roman Empire, epic poet Publius Vergilius Maro, or Virgil, as he is now known, was the son of a farmer in Northern Italy. He was educated in Cremona, Milan and finally Rome before returning to the North to begin work on Eclogues which was published in 37BCE. When a civil war forced him south into Naples, he completed the farming poem Georgics. Soon after, Virgil began working on his masterwork, The Aeneid, a story that derived from the existing tradition of the Greek hero Aeneas. Virgil worked on The Aeneid for eleven years but was never satisfied enough to call it complete. After returning from Greece, Virgil fell ill, and before his death he ordered the incomplete manuscript be burned. He died in 19 BCE, and shortly after The Aeneid was published against his wishes.

aA new and noble standard bearer . . . Thereas a capriciousness to Faglesas line well suited to this vast storyas ebb and flow.a a"The New York Times Book Review" (front page review) aFaglesas new version of Virgilas epic delicately melds the stately rhythms of the original to a contemporary cadence. . . . He illuminates the poemas Homeric echoes while remaining faithful to Virgilas distinctive voice.a a"The New Yorker" aRobert Fagles gives the full range of Virgilas drama, grandeur, and pathos in vigorous, supple modern English. It is fitting that one of the great translators of "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" in our times should also emerge as a surpassing translator of "The Aeneid,"a aJ. M. Coetzee "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 York Times Book Review" (front page review) "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." -"The New Yorker" "Robert Fagles gives the full range of Virgil's drama, grandeur, and pathos in vigorous, supple modern English. It is fitting that one of the great translators of "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" in our times should also emerge as a surpassing translator of "The Aeneid,"" -J. M. Coetzee A new and noble standard bearer . . . Theres a capriciousness to Fagless line well suited to this vast storys ebb and flow. "The New York Times Book Review" (front page review) Fagless new version of Virgils epic delicately melds the stately rhythms of the original to a contemporary cadence. . . . He illuminates the poems Homeric echoes while remaining faithful to Virgils distinctive voice. "The New Yorker" Robert Fagles gives the full range of Virgils drama, grandeur, and pathos in vigorous, supple modern English. It is fitting that one of the great translators of "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" in our times should also emerge as a surpassing translator of "The Aeneid," J. M. Coetzee