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The founding epic of Rome, rendered in a fluid, metrical translation that sings Virgil's stately verse in a vivid, contemporary idiom.
Like Emily Wilson's celebrated translations of Homer, this new Aeneid―the first collaborative translation of the poem in English―is rendered in an unrhymed iambic pentameter that engages modern readers while also preserving the epic dignity and pathos of the original. Scott McGill and Susannah Wright's version also faithfully conveys the poem's delicate balance between its triumphant celebration of the Roman Empire and its sensitivity to the human costs, for victors and vanquished alike, of antiquity's most powerful and influential society. The result is a poem in English every bit as complex, inviting, and affecting as the Latin original.
With a rich and informative introduction from Emily Wilson and the full complement of maps and other supporting material that have made Wilson's Homer translations the standard for our time, this gorgeous edition of Rome's founding epic will capture the imaginations and stir the souls of a new generation of readers.
"This specific translation of Virgil's classic epic poem (initially published in 19 BCE) breathes remarkable new life into a cornerstone of classical literature ... striking a careful balance between fidelity to the original and accessibility for modern readers ... Many lines retain the original cadence while sounding fresh and immediate. Emily Wilson's introduction is a standout feature... This edition is an excellent choice for first-time readers and those returning with fresh eyes. It's a compelling and thoughtful rendering of a timeless epic." ―Library Journal (starred review)
"A phenomenal achievement! Scott McGill and Susannah Wright offer an innovative and propulsive 'foot-for-foot' blank verse translation that brilliantly reproduces Virgil's poetic effects and preserves the famed complexities of this monumental epic and the characters that inhabit it. Wilson's engaging introduction places the Aeneid in its historical and literary contexts while poignantly articulating the enduring questions it still compels us to ponder." ―Stephanie McCarter, University of the South, translator of Ovid's Metamorphoses
"McGill and Wright have risen impressively to the challenge of marrying fidelity to Virgil's Latin with a stylish English, offering the modern reader a middle path between accessibility and elevation. Their blank verse succeeds in cleverly conveying much of the imagery and sound effects of Virgil's hexameters. A translation that will delight the poetry lover and student alike." ―Philip Hardie, University of Cambridge, author of The Last Trojan Hero: A Cultural History of Virgil's "Aeneid"
This information about The Aeneid was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
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Roman poet Virgil, also Vergil, originally Publius Vergilius Maro, composed the Aeneid, an epic telling after the sack of Troy of the wanderings of Aeneas.
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