Virgil and the Augustan Reception

by Richard F. Thomas

Overview

This book examines the ideological reception of Virgil at specific moments in the past two millennia. It focuses on the emperor Augustus in the poetry of Virgil, detects in the poets and grammarians of antiquity pro- and anti-Augustan readings, studies Dryden's 1697 Royalist translation, and also naive American translation. It scrutinizes nineteenth-century philology's rewriting or excision of troubling readings, and covers readings by both supporters and opponents of fascism and National Socialism. Finally it examines how successive ages have made the Aeneid conform to their upbeat expectations of this poet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521782883
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/15/2001
Pages:	346
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)
Lexile:	1540L (what's this?)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Prologue; Introduction: the critical landscape; 1. Virgil and Augustus; 2. Virgil and the poets: Horace, Ovid and Lucan; 3. Other voices in Servius: schooldust of the ages; 4. Dryden's Virgil and the politics of translation; 5. Dido and her translators; 6. Philology and textual cleansing; 7. Virgil in a cold climate: fascist reception; 8. Beyond the borders of Eboli: anti-fascist reception; 9. Critical end games; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

" As a whole, Virgil and A ugustan Reception is persuasive, forceful, and impressive. It displays the intelligence and fritical daring to which readers of T.have grown accustomed and takes a broad view that will be salutary for Classicists and will attract scholars in other fields (most of the latin in the is translated). The book ought to be read by all interested in Virgil and his reception and will make a significant contribution to Virgil studies." Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"...a very valuable contribution to scholarship on Virgil." Classical Outlook

From the Publisher