Aeneid (Wordsworth Classics) - Softcover

Virgil

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853262633 ISBN 13: 9781853262630

Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1997

Synopsis

Fleeing the ashes of Troy, Aeneas, Achilles mighty foe in the Iliad, begins an incredible journey to fulfill his destiny as the founder of Rome. His voyage will take him through stormy seas, entangle him in a tragic love affair, and lure him into the world of the dead itself--all the way tormented by the vengeful Juno, Queen of the Gods. Ultimately, he reaches the promised land of Italy where, after bloody battles and with high hopes, he founds what will become the Roman empire. An unsparing portrait of a man caught between love, duty, and fate, the Aeneid redefines passion, nobility, and courage for our times. Robert Fagles, whose acclaimed translations of Homer s Iliad and Odyssey were welcomed as major publishing events, brings the Aeneid to a new generation of readers, retaining all of the gravitas and humanity of the original Latin as well as its powerful blend of poetry and myth. Featuring an illuminating introduction to Virgil s world by esteemed scholar Bernard Knox, this volume lends a vibrant new voice to one of the seminal literary achievements of the ancient world. Translated by Michael J. Oakley The Aeneid is Virgil's Masterpiece. His epic poem recounts the story of Rome's legendary origins from the ashes of Troy and proclaims her destiny of world dominion. This optimistic vision is accompanied by an undertow of sadness at the price that must be paid in human suffering to secure Rome's future greatness. The tension between the public voice of celebration and the tragic private voice is given full expression both in the doomed love of Dido and Aeneas, and in the fateful clash between the Trojan leader and the Italian hero, Turnus. Hailed by T.S. Eliot as 'the classic of all Europe', Virgil's Aeneid has enjoyed a unique and enduring influence on European literature, art and politics for the past two thousand years. For more than 50 years, Wordsworth Classics have lead the publishing industry by offering a wide variety of beautiful, yet affordable classic literature to the English-speaking world. With more than 500 titles,

About this title

About the Author

Publius Vergilius Maro was born on 15 October 70 BCE. He was a classic Roman poet, best known for three major works, Eclogues, Georgics and The Aeneid. The tradition says that Virgil was born in the village of Andes, near Mantua in Cisalpine Gaul. Scholars suggest Etruscan, Umbrian or even Celtic descent by examining the linguistic or ethnic markers of the region. Analysis of his name has led to beliefs that he descended from earlier Roman colonists. Modern speculation ultimately is not supported by narrative evidence, either from his own writings, or his later biographers. Etymological fancy has noted that his cognomen Maro shares its letters anagrammatically with the twin themes of his epic - amor (love) and Roma (Rome). Macrobius says that Virgil's father was of a humble background. However, scholars generally believe that Virgil was from an equestrian landowning family which could afford to give him an education. According to commentators, Virgil received his first education when he was five years old and later went to Cremona, Milan, and finally Rome to study rhetoric, medicine, and astronomy, which he soon abandoned for philosophy. From Virgil's admiring references to the neoteric writers Pollio and Cinna, it has been inferred that he was, for a time, associated with Catullus' neoteric circle. However, schoolmates considered Virgil extremely shy and reserved, according to Servius, and he was nicknamed Parthenias or maiden because of his social aloofness. The Aeneid is widely considered Virgil's finest work and one of the most important poems in the history of western literature. Virgil worked on The Aeneid during the last ten years of his life (29 - 19 BCE), commissioned, according to tradition, by Emperor Augustus. Virgil died in Brundisium harbour on September 21, 19 BCE after crossing from Italy.

From the Back Cover

This book is the equal of its great Homeric predecessors, The Iliad and The Odyssey, in dramatic and narrative power, and it surpasses them in the intense sympathy which makes events such as the passion and destruction of Dido and the fall of Turnus among the most memorable in literature.

From the Inside Flap

Fleeing the ashes of Troy, Aeneas, Achilles mighty foe in the Iliad, begins an incredible journey to fulfill his destiny as the founder of Rome. His voyage will take him through stormy seas, entangle him in a tragic love affair, and lure him into the world of the dead itself--all the way tormented by the vengeful Juno, Queen of the Gods. Ultimately, he reaches the promised land of Italy where, after bloody battles and with high hopes, he founds what will become the Roman empire. An unsparing portrait of a man caught between love, duty, and fate, the Aeneid redefines passion, nobility, and courage for our times. Robert Fagles, whose acclaimed translations of Homer s Iliad and Odyssey were welcomed as major publishing events, brings the Aeneid to a new generation of readers, retaining all of the gravitas and humanity of the original Latin as well as its powerful blend of poetry and myth. Featuring an illuminating introduction to Virgil s world by esteemed scholar Bernard Knox, this volume lends a vibrant new voice to one of the seminal literary achievements of the ancient world. Translated by Michael J. Oakley The Aeneid is Virgil's Masterpiece. His epic poem recounts the story of Rome's legendary origins from the ashes of Troy and proclaims her destiny of world dominion. This optimistic vision is accompanied by an undertow of sadness at the price that must be paid in human suffering to secure Rome's future greatness. The tension between the public voice of celebration and the tragic private voice is given full expression both in the doomed love of Dido and Aeneas, and in the fateful clash between the Trojan leader and the Italian hero, Turnus. Hailed by T.S. Eliot as 'the classic of all Europe', Virgil's Aeneid has enjoyed a unique and enduring influence on European literature, art and politics for the past two thousand years. For more than 50 years, Wordsworth Classics have lead the publishing industry by offering a wide variety of beautiful, yet affordable classic.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1853262633
• ISBN 13: 9781853262630
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416