The Art of the Aeneid

Clear, concise but still remarkably detailed "handbook" to Virgil's Aeneid. I am coming to it as I embark on a 2nd reading of The Aeneid in translation (a different translation from the first), and I find it to be a wonderful companion as I attempt to get deeper into the text on this 2nd reading. Anderson's short book covers the poem's themes, symbolism, and imagery in a comprehensive manner. He gives you the big picture and integrated snapshots. The first chapter, "Vergil begins his epic", covers a lot of important ground in just 23 pages, without overwhelming the reader. I recommend this book more as a companion on that 2nd journey through Virgil's masterpiece than as an introduction, if your first reading is still fresh in your mind and you want the assistance of a scholar in making linkages within the text and/or answering questions that you might have had difficulty articulating even to yourself. Anderson seems to anticipate the questions of an intelligent and eager reader.

I look forward to using this outstanding introduction to/analysis of the Aeneid with my AP students next year. I would use it to help organize their overall understanding of the poem, after they have read it in its entirety (in English), and have read as much as possible of the syllabus in Latin; i.e., it will provide a good review of the poem before they take the AP exam. Anderson quotes/paraphrases the poem clearly, discusses the major themes in ways that will be understandable to the students, yet will challenge them to think about the work deeply. He gives his own interpretation of the poem, which is why I would want them to begin to come to terms themselves with the work before reading him (so I would not ask students to begin their study of the Aeneid with this book). I have enjoyed mentally agreeing with and sometimes arguing with Anderson as I read him.

Now in its second edition, The Art Of The Aeneid is Professor William S. Anderson's 138-page analytic introduction to Vergil's epic saga "Aeneid", and a "useful start on Rome's finest poem". Professor Anderson (Emeritus Professor of Latin at the University of California at Berkeley), has taught Latin previously at Yale and published informative works on Horace, Vergil, Roman comedy and satire, and Ovid's "Metamorphoses." Beginning with a map tracing the wanderings of Aeneas, The Art Of The Aeneid continues in eight chapters to analyze twelve books of the "Aeneid", provide background on Vergil and epic style, and offer illumination on Latin-English translation and Vergil's style. Two invaluable appendices include a chronology of Vergil's life and works in historical context and a list of resources for further reading, followed by extensive notes to the chapters and an index. The Art Of The Aeneid provides the reader with an excellent critical summary of Vergil's "Aeneid" and its poetic art. Professor Anderson provides a justified framework to well -reasoned conclusions about the intent of Vergil in presenting certain details as he does. An added attraction of this paperback edition is its lovely full color cover illustration by Thom Kapheim. The Art Of The Aeneid is a fine scholar's resource and can also be enjoyed by any appreciator of the Latin classics and would prove a core addition to academic library Latin Studies reference collections. Also very highly recommended for students of Latin are three other Bolchazy-Cardduci titles: A Horace Workbook (0865165742, $20.00), Catullus Expanded Edition (0865166-03X, $39.00), and Vergil Vocabulary Cards For AP Selectio (0865166102, $22.00)