Reading Vergils Aeneid: An Interpretive Guide

by Christine G. Perkell

Vergil’s Aeneid has been considered a classic, if not the classic, of Western literature for two thousand years. In recent decades this famous poem has become the subject of fresh and searching controversy. What is the poem’s fundamental meaning? Does it endorse or undermine values of empire and patriarchy? Is its world view comic or tragic? Many studies of the poem have focused primarily on selected books. The approach here is comprehensive. An introduction by editor Christine Perkell discusses the poem’s historical background, its reception from antiquity to the present, and its most important themes. The book-by-book readings that follow both explicate the text and offer a variety of interpretations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Classical Studies

353 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

Reviews

[Sher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books gets a 5 star review, because it is so helpful to understanding Vergil's _Aeneid_. Each book in the _Aeneid_ is covered carefully from the perspectives of many different scholars. A chapter discusses the Foundational Aspects of the _Aeneid_ for the the forming of Rome. A section analyzes the role of women in the _Aeneid_, and another section covers the history of the _Aeneid_ in translation up to the twentieth century. The strengths and weaknesses of prior translations are compared and contrasted. And of course the book includes several sections placing the _Aeneid_ into historical context. I looked at a variety of commentaries, and I found this one the most helpful because of its breadth.

[Gwen :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

✰✰✰.5 / 5

I read this collection of scholarly essays when I was in an Aeneid Latin tutorial in England. It’s an interesting collection of works and scholars, and it’s organized by exploring a different theme/interest in each book of the Aeneid, with a few ‘all around’ essays at the end.

Some essays were really insightful and good, while others were mediocre. The collection covers a wide range of focuses, so there’s a lot here. Pretty good.

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[Ashley Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of critical essays on Virgil's Aeneid. Each book of the epic poem is addressed individually, with bonus essays covering themes or structure of the book as a whole.

[Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

As in any collection, there are good and less good selections. The premise behind this volume is to collect a fair number of luminaries in the field of classics and give them each a book of the Aeneid to comment on. Editor Stephanie Perkell's introduction is a brisk and readable precis of the major issues related to broad interpretations of the poem as well as historical context. Her account of book 1 is similarly useful broaching key issues in the text. Of the chapters that follow, all are readable (theory is at a minimum overall in the volume); some are quite helpful. Sarah Spence's argument that book 4 "consistently undermines reader's conventional assumptions and sympathies" by its systematic identification with Dido is coherently and persuasively presented. Anthony J. Boyle's reading of book 8 (particularly some close verbal analysis of parallels between Cacus and Hercules) is useful for its attention to detail. Close reading (at the level of the phonic qualities of the Latin verse) similarly enhance Denis Feeney's sharp account of the reader's complicity in the narrative violence of the poem in book 10. It should come as no surprise that William S. Anderson's account of book 11 (especially the Camilla episode) is perhaps the volume's best essay. He is consistently one of the canniest and most persuasive scholars of Latin verse going. Having Michael C. J. Putnam (perhaps the dean of the dark reading of the epic) comment on book 12 seems appropriate and his essay does not disappoint. There are a few closing essays that have a more thematic approach to the poem in its entirety, perhaps the best of which is S. Georgia Nugent's feminist account of disappearing female presence in the poem. Overall a helpful set of analyses probably most useful to teachers of the poem. While knowledge of Latin isn't a necessity, it certainly doesn't hurt as many of the essays rely on careful comparison of passages in the original.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine collection of essays, all of which are helpful, and most of which are well written. There is an essay addressing each book of the Aeneid in addition to the introduction and a couple of more general essays -- one on English translations and one on women in the Aeneid. The essays on the parts of the Aeneid that are most often overlooked ( V and IX) are especially good.

[Sarah Yasin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is useful to a pedagogue.