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iholcomb4790 's review for:
The Aeneid
by Virgil
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Unlike when reading Homer, I knew literally nothing about the Aeneid prior to starting it, other than it’s about Aeneas and it was Virgil’s Homeric-inspired fan fiction. It’s so much more than that.
At first, the Aeneid reads much like a Roman propaganda piece, but as it gets into its story, we are treated to Books that parallel the Odyssey, while the latter half parallels the Iliad, a clever reversal of the two. And there’s much more cleverness beyond that.
Where Virgil shines is his depiction of human grief. From Dido’s despair, “If the gods of justice can do anything, / I hope reefs bring you your reward! You’ll cry / ‘Dido’ often as you drown. I’ll haunt you with black / flames, and when cold death divides my soul and body, / my ghost will stalk you everywhere. Wicked man, / you’ll pay. I’ll know, the news will come to me in Hell.” to Mezentius’ reply to Aeneas over losing his son, “Why try to terrify me now, / you savage who killed my son? That was the only / way to ruin me: I don’t fear death or care for / gods. Hush. I come to die, but first I bring you / gifts.” Virgil’s language is visceral and heart-wrenching. This epic resonated with me in ways that the Iliad was supposed to but didn’t.
You can tell Virgil loves Homer, as each book has strong parallels throughout, but he also makes sure to add twists on what we know to keep things fresh and dramatic. Many thanks to Shadi Bartsch’s translation for making this feel modern, but not sacrifice the impact I’m sure this epic had when it was first published millenia ago.
At first, the Aeneid reads much like a Roman propaganda piece, but as it gets into its story, we are treated to Books that parallel the Odyssey, while the latter half parallels the Iliad, a clever reversal of the two. And there’s much more cleverness beyond that.
Where Virgil shines is his depiction of human grief. From Dido’s despair, “If the gods of justice can do anything, / I hope reefs bring you your reward! You’ll cry / ‘Dido’ often as you drown. I’ll haunt you with black / flames, and when cold death divides my soul and body, / my ghost will stalk you everywhere. Wicked man, / you’ll pay. I’ll know, the news will come to me in Hell.” to Mezentius’ reply to Aeneas over losing his son, “Why try to terrify me now, / you savage who killed my son? That was the only / way to ruin me: I don’t fear death or care for / gods. Hush. I come to die, but first I bring you / gifts.” Virgil’s language is visceral and heart-wrenching. This epic resonated with me in ways that the Iliad was supposed to but didn’t.
You can tell Virgil loves Homer, as each book has strong parallels throughout, but he also makes sure to add twists on what we know to keep things fresh and dramatic. Many thanks to Shadi Bartsch’s translation for making this feel modern, but not sacrifice the impact I’m sure this epic had when it was first published millenia ago.