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prestonsmayer98's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
alleysoup's review against another edition
3.75
the rating would be much lower if it wasn't for Book 2 and 12
drowningparty's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful and deeply lyrical translation of a beautiful epic. Vergil takes the torch from Homer and creates, in his own right, a magnificent Roman origin story from the ashes of the Iliad & Odyssey. If you want a story about adventure, love, war, death, and glory... this is a good place to start. Only downside is the abrupt ending, but Vergil died before it could be finished.
gunsmile's review against another edition
3.0
Though I enjoyed this story, I started losing interest after Aeneas left Carthage. I ended up skimming through the second half because battles do not interest me at all. However, I thought the first third of the book is really good.
deirdrecollins's review against another edition
5.0
hoc dicens ferrum adverso sub pectore condit
fervidus; ast illi solvuntur frigore membra
vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras
AHAHAHGGHHHHHH
fervidus; ast illi solvuntur frigore membra
vitaque cum gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras
AHAHAHGGHHHHHH
slettlune's review against another edition
3.0
Hard to review properly because while I recognize Virgil's talents as a poet, and the political and nationalistic values the Aeneid represent, and how it's a competent attempt at creating a cohesive narrative out of a bunch of myths and folktales... It is extremely derivative of the Iliad and the Odyssey (down to the point where you can tell, "Oh, this character is the ersatz Patroclus, oh now they visit the land of the Cyclops because that's what Odysseus did"...) without the things that I love about those poems. Mostly how relatable and reactive and larger-than-life the characters are (which Aeneas, the pietas posterboy, really isn't)
It's interesting how I've kept running into statements to the effect that "modern readers typically prefer the journey of the first half (the Odyssey parallel) to the war of the second (the Iliad paralell)", but I definitely felt the opposite. Turnus as an antagonist really kept me guessing.
I appreciated Bartsch's translation for its snappy, descriptive language (Latin translations have a tendency to get super wordy). I was a little disappointed at just how many of the translator's notes were just pointing out moments where the poem was self-contradictory or where Aeneas did something morally shady. As a first-time reader (because God knows I can't resist translator notes) it gave me a feeling of the poem being kinda sloppily constructed, which I think isn't fair.
It's interesting how I've kept running into statements to the effect that "modern readers typically prefer the journey of the first half (the Odyssey parallel) to the war of the second (the Iliad paralell)", but I definitely felt the opposite. Turnus as an antagonist really kept me guessing.
I appreciated Bartsch's translation for its snappy, descriptive language (Latin translations have a tendency to get super wordy). I was a little disappointed at just how many of the translator's notes were just pointing out moments where the poem was self-contradictory or where Aeneas did something morally shady. As a first-time reader (because God knows I can't resist translator notes) it gave me a feeling of the poem being kinda sloppily constructed, which I think isn't fair.
anisha_inkspill's review against another edition
There were parts where the poetry was moving, but minus: the story of Dido; the sea voyage Aeneas has; and some sobering war scenes, this mostly read like a piece of propaganda, but I would read again. This time I read Robert Fagles verse translation, I found it to be an easy read. When I read this epic last, I was less familiar with the backdrop of these stories than I am today, so maybe this also helped.