The Aeneid: A New Translation

Description

'Gripping ... A remarkable achievement' TLS On his deathbed in 19 BCE, Vergil asked that his epic, the Aeneid, be burned. If his wishes had been obeyed, western literature - maybe even western civilization - might have taken a different course. The Aeneid has remained a foundational text since the rise of universities, and has been invoked at key points of human history - whether by Saint Augustine to illustrate the fallen nature of the soul, by settlers to justify manifest destiny in North America, or by Mussolini in support of his Fascist regime. In this fresh and fast-paced translation of the Aeneid, Shadi Bartsch brings the poem to the modern reader. Along with the translation, her introduction will guide the reader to a deeper understanding of the epic's enduring influence. Review: After 2000 years, straight to the top of my reading list. What took me so long? - This is a review of The Aeneid: A New Translation Hardcover – 5 Nov. 2020 by Vergil (Author), Shadi Bartsch (Translator) Firstly, I have to admit to being totally unqualified to write a review of this, or any other, book. I have no academic qualifications whatsoever. It is just that I am simply stunned by it. For fully 3% of those two millennia, since a schoolboy, I have been struggling, with pitifully little success, to get into classical poetry/literature/history, (in translation, of course). Suddenly, without warning, I am presented with the open door offered by this book. The introduction and translator's note alone are worth ten times the asking price. I will not attempt, because it is beyond my poor capacity, to summarise the poem. This can be readily obtained from the internet. It is the utterly startling freshness and readability, and the "modernity" (if that is any recommendation) of the hero/anti-hero Aeneas which is so surprising. A displaced person, a refugee from seemingly endless middle-eastern conflict, he is literally blown hither and thither by fate and the wrath of the gods, or at least one. Aeneas emerges as the ultimate hero, and a thorough-going cad. Is this a comment on the the very concept of heroism? Is this an endorsement, a justification, of Octavian/Augustus, or a condemnation, or both? I will leave the reader to make up his or her own mind. The point is, this has to be the best translation, of one of the pinnacles of world literature, ever written. And above all it is a joy to read. It is fresher that tomorrow's news, and possibly it will prove startling similar, though at this distance in time, reassuringly safer. Please, for your own sake, don't miss the opportunity of buying this book, simply because of this very inadequate "review". Review: Excellent translation of Vergil’s story of Aeneas and the founding of Rome - Shadi Bartsch’s translation is a pleasure to read. She makes the story of Aeneas come alive. Well worth the purchase.