There was a write-off awhile back that centered on taking old reviews and rewriting them, ostensibly for the good of epinions and for the self satisfaction that comes from having good reviews rather than sub par reviews. Thus, I have decided to rewrite this review in a manner that is much more behooving the subject at hand. This was actually my first epinion, which I then left to gather dust for quite some time while I didn't pay attention to the website. The original text is contained at the end of the review.
One other interesting note, is that the title has been written as a latin hexameter, which is what the original Aeneid was written in. The first three words are the first three of the book, and then I went on my own... the loose translation is: "I sing of arms, a man, and a poem; isn't it (the poem) great??!?"
Translation...
Alternate title: How someone can have the best intentions but leave half of a piece of literature in the margins of his notepad
The problem with any translation is that it is exactly that, a translation. Depending on the skill and writing ability of the translator, you will get something that is their interpretation of the best way to bring the themes, ideas and language from one place to another. Every translator has his or her own style, and they take different routes through the problems that are presented. For instance, someone like Fagles will take a path that follows a less literal translation, but is more to the central ideas of the book, whereas someone else will take a more literal path, but then end up lacking the poetic style that the original piece entailed.
It has been said (by a famous scholar whose name now eludes me), that Homer created a world, and Vergil created a style. I tend to agree with this for the most part, since Vergil did more in the way of beautifully constructed poetry rather than in original plot and story. Unfortunately, a good portion of this gets lost in any translation, and not just this one.
Story...
How those walls came a tumbling down and Aeneas revisits a good portion of what both Odysseus and Achilles did.
I will keep this part short, since there is a lot of plot that would need to be contained within this review in order to really cover all of the bases. So, here is the short rundown of events:
(1) Aeneas leaves Troy
(2) Aeneas lands in Carthage
(3) Aeneas and Dido fall in love
(4) The gods tell Aeneas to leave Carthage, and he does
(5) Aeneas arrives in Italy (after some fun)
(6) Aeneas has to fight the natives
(7) Aeneas wins and the Romans rule
The outline above is very basic, as is rather obvious being that the book is quite long (if I recall correctly, there are 12 books in the Aeneid, each of around 700-1500 lines a piece). The in between areas are where this work shines, telling the story with vivid detail and beautiful style.
The story of the Aeneid itself is divided into two parts, the first part is like the Odyssey, where Aeneas wanders throughout the Mediterranean looking for the place where he is supposed to found a city. Along the way he encounters many of the same trials that Odysseus encountered on his trip through the area. Once he finds the place that he is looking for (near modern day Ostia), Aeneas must then overcome the problem of natives not wanting to give up their land. War then ensues, much like that of the Iliad with Aeneas playing the part of Achilles (at least in his destruction of the other side).
The Aeneid obviously borrows heavily from the mythical traditions of both of the Iliad and the Odyssey and uses them to tell the tale of a different nation, thus making the Aeneid quite the derivative work.
Characters and their relationships...
Part I: I like that good old mythology...
The characters in the Aeneid are fairly well known. Though many people haven't heard of Aeneas and Dido (though there are more out there than one would think). Most people at least have heard of the supporting cast, in the form of the Graeco-Roman pantheon. The gods play a major role in the book affecting the decisions of the characters at many points, and appearing to them quite often as well. The gods are very selfish and attempt to change what the fates have decided many times. In one sense, someone could look at the book as a contest between Juno and Venus.
Part II: Just an old fashioned love poem...
One of the most memorable love stories of all time is contained within the pages of this epic poem. The love story of Aeneas and Dido is one for the ages, and I'm actually quite surprised that it hasn't been made into some huge Hollywood production at this point. I know its been made into an opera, but I'm not sure a movie. It probably already has been, and its better that I don't know about it, since they most likely will have slaughtered the story. However, one of my pipe dreams is to make a movie out of the whole book (and actually keep the story accurate)... any ideas for casting? Feel free to leave me a comment...
I won't get much into the love story, as that is left as an exercise to the reader. I will, however, point out that this is the single most controversial point in the book to just about anyone who reads it. Many classicists will argue whether or not Vergil could hold a candle to Homer in his poetry, as will they argue about the historical merits. However, it doesn't take a classicist to argue about the decisions made by the characters and whether or not they were justified. I won't mention any more here, but anyone who is familiar with the story is more than free to leave a comment about it.. I'm always interested in a little debate on this subject.
Conclusions
Well, I've now rambled on for quite enough time about this book. I've actually read it many times for many different classes (and in many different translations). Usually, to find out if I like a translation I flip to book 4 where Dido is having a "heated discussion" with Aeneas, and I decide from there whether or not I will give the translation credit or not.
However, as much as I complain about translations, nothing changes the facts of the underlying story, which is very rich in detail and very wonderful to hear. Not only that, but I think this is actually one of those books that people should actually be required to read, if for nothing else than to have a standard small talk session with everyone about the controversy that I made tell about earlier in the review (if you're reading this and wondering what I'm talking about... then you're quite busted, you rubber stamper you).
Let me also take this section to talk about prior knowledge. The Aeneid is laden with references to many things mythological and also historical. There are many parts that most people just aren't going to get in that regard. I would suggest having some mythological handbook nearby to consult and figure out what is going on, or better yet, find a commented version of the translation which would tell you a bit about what is going on. This is not a requirement, as the poem is very good about being self contained; however, you would get more out of it if you had such references.
Please leave comments.... if for no other reason than they make me feel all warm and fuzzy...
Old opinion
good book, but lacks the original poetry
by Tibullus | Sep 15 '00
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Having taken a large amount of Latin classes back in my undergraduate career, I was exposed to the Aeneid on many different occasions, and given the opportunity to read many different translations of the same work. Every translation has its ups and downs, is able to capture some parts of the story much better than other parts. Overall, some of these translations beat others at almost every turn, its simply due to the skill of the translator and the palette of writing abilities that he brings to the table. Unfortunately, West brings a prose form to the table in order to translate an epic poem. While I certainly understand the difficulties involved in translating this work, this does not change the fact that much of the original beauty of the work is destroyed in the translation.
If you read this work, you will be exposed to one of the greatest literary works in the ancient world and you will gain exposure to the myths and beliefs of those people. However, you will miss many of the reasons that there are to read this work. It has been said by a famous scholar (whose name eludes me right now), that "Homer created a world, while Vergil created a style". Meaning that Vergil basically borrowed the world from Homer and set his work apart by his unbelievable poetic ability, which is lost in the prose translation.
There are some things to say for the prose translation, however. For one, it allows more people to have access to these ancient works as they can get rather confusing. Without a great knowledge of the ancient world, many references will go unnoticed, which are easier to pick up in the prose than they are in the poetry (due to the whole poetic license).
Recommended:
