The Aeneid

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: The Aeneid, written by Virgil, was a wonderful book. It was easy to read, and I could relate Aeneas's experiences to my own life. Aeneas is portrayed as a hero who leads his people through many hardships. Throughout the story he struggles to discover his destiny. Readers will be inspired by his courage and bravery.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: The Aeneid, written by Virgil, was a wonderful book. It was easy to read, and I could relate Aeneas's experiences to my own life. Aeneas is portrayed as a hero who leads his people through many hardships. Throughout the story he struggles to discover his destiny. Readers will be inspired by his courage and bravery.

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Summary: A beautiful tale, full of everything a story needs.
Review: This book is a masterpiece for all time. It paints such a vivid picture, as no book has ever done before.

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Summary: Excellent translation
Review: This is one of the best translations of the great Roman epic I have ever come across. I feel this is an essential piece of reading for anyone who wishes to be a well rounded reader.

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Summary: Everyone should read this
Review: This is, simply put, a basic requirement for any educated reader. The pulp-fiction tripe available today is fine as far as entertainment goes -- but if you want to read for a purpose, read this. The five star rating, however, should be reserved for the original text, as no translation, no matter how good (And Robert Fitzgerald's is good) can do justice to it.

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Summary: this is REAL poetry!
Review: This review is also written in response to Ronald Krane's review, which he should be deeply embarrassed about. First of all,of course the poetry in this book doesn't rhyme, as it was translated into English from another language. (For that matter, not all poetry is meant to rhyme-has he never heard of free verse?). Second, comparing Ovid to Maya Angelu is like comparing a Mercedes to a go cart; Ovid is a true poet, the other is the result of a very successful media campaign to make the public accept third-rate talent.Lastly, of course they don't speak English(as a primary language) in Italy!Who ever said they did, and what has that got to do with the matter at hand anyway? Mr. Krane: If I may take the liberty of paraphrasing Voltaire: "I may not agree with what you have to say, but I would defend to the death the right to never have your silly opinion published in a public forum". Thanks for reading.

Rating:
Summary: If You're Looking For Sturdy Virgil...
Review: This translation is sturdy,and though not the definitive translation, it packs enough inspiration to serve as a compelling introduction to this most masterful of all poems. Nuff said.

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Summary: Typical miserable translation Virgil's Aeneid
Review: This translation, like all the modern translations I have seen, betrays the translator's abysmal ignorance, both of English prosody and the spirit of the Latin original. The result is a flavorless, inexpressibly boring, grovelling rendition of one of the two or three greatest of all poets. Nobody reads these translations except as a task. If you have no Latin, let me assure you that you will get no clue from this translation why the Romans so idolized Virgil. It is like reading Shakespeare, as completely rewritten by your high school English teacher while she had a bad cold. But not all translations are quite so laughably bad as this one. Jackson-Knight's, if boring, is at least not continually ridiculous. Trapp's 18th century blank verse (long out of print) is quite readable, and even has occasional Miltonesque qualities. Dryden's version is much overrated - very plodding and tired stuff for the most part. Fairfax-Taylor's attempt is like Spenser on a bad day...

Rating:
Summary: Readable epic poetry
Review: This version of The Aeneid is very accessible and exciting. I enjoyed reading the Aeneid more than I did the Iliad. Maybe that's because Aeneas is a more centralized, likeable character than Achilles. This is a very good book and it is a pity there are not more epics written like this today.

Rating:
Summary: Readable epic poetry
Review: This version of The Aeneid is very accessible and exciting. I enjoyed reading the Aeneid more than I did the Iliad. Maybe that's because Aeneas is a more centralized, likeable character than Achilles. This is a very good book and it is a pity there are not more epics written like this today.