Reading Virgil's "Aeneid": An Interpretive Guide: v. 23 (Oklahoma Series in Classical Culture)

Vergils 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 poems 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 poems 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. Concluding topic chapters focus on the Aeneid as foundation story the influence of Apollonius Argonautica the poems female figures and English translations of the Aeneid. Written in an accessible style and providing translations of all Latin passages this volume will be of particular value to teachers and students of humanities courses as well as to specialists.