Virgil: The AeneidThe Aeneid is a landmark of literary narrative and poetic sensibility. This 2004 guide gives a full account of the historical setting and significance of Virgil's epic, and discusses the poet's use of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, as well as the most celebrated episodes in the poem, including the tragedy of Dido and Aeneas' visit to the underworld. The volume examines Virgil's psychological and philosophical insights, and explains the poem's status as the central classic of European culture. The final chapter considers the Aeneid's influence on later writers including Dante and the Romantics. The guide to further reading has been updated and will prove to be an invaluable resource to students coming to The Aeneid for the first time. |
Contents
Background | 1 |
2 Life of Virgil | 7 |
3 The Eclogues | 10 |
4 The Georgics | 15 |
5 Metrical unity and continuity | 19 |
Virgil and Homer | 23 |
7 The Aeneas Legend | 24 |
8 The Odyssean Aeneid | 26 |
15 The world of the dead | 71 |
16 Fatherfigures | 79 |
17 Juno | 83 |
18 War and heroism | 87 |
19 Fate and free will | 90 |
20 Conclusions | 94 |
The afterlife of the Aeneid | 97 |
22 Virgil and Dante | 98 |
9 The Iliadic Aeneld | 30 |
Reading the Aeneid | 34 |
11 The story | 36 |
12 Structure | 40 |
13 Expression and sensibility | 47 |
14 Narrative technique | 63 |
23 Virgil and renaissance epic | 100 |
24 Virgil and romanticism | 102 |
Principal characters of the poem | 104 |
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Common terms and phrases
Achilles Aeneas Aeneid alliteration Anchises ancient appears Augustus become beginning called century characters continuity Dante dead death defeat describes destiny Dido discourse divine eclogue effect English epic episode Evander fall famous fate father fields fight figure final further future Georgics goddess gods golden age Greek hand hero heroic Homer human Iliad included Italian Italy journey Juno Jupiter killed king land later Latin Latium literary living mission moral move narrative Odyssey offers opening original Pallas passage pastoral peace perhaps phrase poem poem's poet poetry presented promised prophecy reader reference Roman Rome says seen sense shows Sibyl souls speech story structure tells temple theme things tradition translation Trojan Troy Turnus underworld various Venus verse VIII Virgil whole written