The Aeneid - Penguin Classics

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Review

A phenomenal achievement! Scott McGill and Susannah Wright offer an innovative and propulsive 'foot-for-foot' blank verse translation that brilliantly reproduces Virgil's poetic effects and preserves the famed complexities of this monumental epic and the characters that inhabit it. Wilson's engaging introduction places the Aeneid in its historical and literary contexts while poignantly articulating the enduring questions it still compels us to ponder.--Stephanie McCarter, University of the South, translator of Ovid's Metamorphoses

McGill and Wright have fashioned an Aeneid that speaks to contemporary readers, while remaining faithful to Virgil's methods, sensitivities and striking ambiguities. With its engaging and comprehensive introduction by Emily Wilson and thoughtful excursus on the translation process, this edition promises and delivers the story of Rome's hard-won foundation both in the context of ancient epic poesis and as a timelessly wrought tale of the horrors of war and the burdens of responsibility.

We have here an Aeneid that carefully discloses the Augustan ideals pulsing through its verse (here rendered in pentameters alternatingly somber and vibrant), but one that simultaneously offers poignant lessons on conquest and sacrifice for the modern era. Eminently readable--no small achievement for a famously dense, allusive, and politically imbricated poem--this new translation by McGill and Wright will find a warm reception among students of antiquity at all levels, both within and beyond academia. --Hunter H. Gardner, University of South Carolina

McGill and Wright have risen impressively to the challenge of marrying fidelity to Virgil's Latin with a stylish English, offering the modern reader a middle path between accessibility and elevation. Their blank verse succeeds in cleverly conveying much of the imagery and sound effects of Virgil's hexameters. A translation that will delight the poetry lover and student alike.--Philip Hardie, University of Cambridge, author of The Last Trojan Hero: A Cultural History of Virgil's "Aeneid"

Scott McGill and Susannah Wright have reinvigorated Virgil's Aeneid for today's readers. The translation is fluent and easy to read, dignified and powerful in its simplicity. Its rhythm and cadences carry the reader through the varying moods of Virgil's story. There are many intelligent interpretative choices. The surface ripples with what Virgil has left unsaid.--Fiachra Mac Góráin, University College London

This specific translation of Virgil's classic epic poem (initially published in 19 BCE) breathes remarkable new life into a cornerstone of classical literature . . . striking a careful balance between fidelity to the original and accessibility for modern readers . . . Many lines retain the original cadence while sounding fresh and immediate. Emily Wilson's introduction is a standout feature. . . This edition is an excellent choice for first-time readers and those returning with fresh eyes. It's a compelling and thoughtful rendering of a timeless epic.--Library Journal, starred review

This translation will be replacing my previous preferred version of the Aeneid. Susannah Wright and Scott McGill don't just capture the words of the original poetry but its rhetorical structures and even, in places, its sounds. It's particularly impressive that they manage to get so much over into English while sustaining a clarity and straightforwardness unparalleled among the recent renditions.--Aaron Poochigian, poet, classicist, and translator

Vibrant . . . Aiming to reflect Virgil's alliteration, wordplay and metaphors, McGill and Wright say they endeavored to 'set our language in the space between accessibility and elevation.' Their blank verse captures the poet's extraordinary dexterity and pathos.--Ron Charles "Washington Post"

About the Author

Scott McGill is Deedee McMurtry Professor in Humanities at Rice University. He lives in Houston, Texas.

Susannah Wright is an assistant professor of classical studies and Roman history at Rice University. She lives in Houston, Texas.

Emily Wilson is a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She has been named a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome in Renaissance and early modern studies, a MacArthur Fellow, and a Guggenheim Fellow. In addition to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, she has also published translations of Sophocles, Euripides, and Seneca. She lives in Philadelphia.

Rome's epic origin story, brilliantly rendered in a vivid, rhythmic idiom.

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