Synopses & Reviews
The famed translation by the greatest literary figure of Restoration England
Virgil's epic vividly recounts Aeneas's tortuous journey after the Trojan War and the struggles he faced as he lay the foundations for the greatest continental empire. Rendered into a vigorous and refined English by the most important man of letters of the seventeenth century, this translation of the Aeneid "set a new, august standard so influential as to be epochal." For his version, John Dryden drew on the deep understanding of political unrest he had acquired during the Civil Wars of 1642-51 and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
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Synopsis
A "sequel" to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid vividly recounts Aeneas's tortuous journey home after the Trojan War and the battles he faced as he lay the foundations for what grew to be the great Roman Empire. Virgil's Aeneid brings a new perspective to the ancient legend. John Dryden not only adds reflections on Virgil and on Roman history but also interprets the story in light of his own time and the political and moral confusion that followed the English civil wars and the revolution of 1688. Retaining both the nobility and the spirit of the original, Dryden's masterful work, Frederick M. Keener writes, "set a new, august standard so influential as to be epochal". This edition contains the short prefaces to each part of the poem written by Joseph Addison for the original publication, an introduction discussing Dryden's contribution to English verse traditions, maps, and a glossary.
Synopsis
For his version of the Aeneid, Dryden formed a style vigorous yet refined and drew on the deep understanding of political unrest he had acquired during the Civil Wars of 1642-51 and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
Synopsis
Virgil's epic vividly recounts Aeneas's tortuous journey after the Trojan War and the struggles he faced as he lay the foundations for the greatest continental empire. Rendered into a vigorous and refined English by the most important man of letters of the seventeenth century, this translation of the
Aeneid "set a new, august standard so influential as to be epochal." For his version, John Dryden drew on the deep understanding of political unrest he had acquired during the Civil Wars of 1642-51 and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
@TranslatioStud Got a gift of a huge wooden horse today, here in Troy. Just appeared outside the city gate. BTW: War going poorly.
Surprise. Soldiers inside the horse. We didn’t start the fire! Hector’s Ghost says to GTFO – take Dad and the kid with me.
I’m on a boat. Three generations of Aenean men on a sea-journey of epic proportions. Hmm. Sounds familiar…
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Synopsis
Virgil's epic vividly recounts Aeneas's tortuous journey after the Trojan War and the struggles he faced as he lay the foundations for the greatest continental empire. Rendered into a vigorous and refined English by the most important man of letters of the seventeenth century, this translation of the
Aeneid "set a new, august standard so influential as to be epochal." For his version, John Dryden drew on the deep understanding of political unrest he had acquired during the Civil Wars of 1642-51 and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
About the Author
Virgil, born in 70 B.C., is best remembered for his masterpiece,
The Aeneid. He earned great favor by portraying Augustus as a descendant of the half-god, half-man Aeneas. Although Virgil swore on his deathbed that
The Aeneid was incomplete and unworthy, it has been considered one of the greatest works of Western literature for more than two thousand years.
In his lifetime, John Dryden gained fame at the cost first of gossip and scandal and then of suspicion and scorn. He wrote to order, currying favor with the Crown and repeatedly savaging its enemies. Yet the finest works of his political and spiritual imagination- "Absalom and Achitophel" and "The Hind and the Panther"-develop the themes of envy, ambition, and misdeed in ways that far transcend their era. During the Glorious Revolution, Dryden fell from patronage and favor: he then transformed himself into perhaps the greatest of English translators, a superb interpreter of Virgil and Horace, Juvenal and Persius, Boccaccio and Chaucer.