31 October 2006

Arma virumque cano

Yes, indeed: "Of Arms and the Man I Sing".

Extry extry! New translation of T'Aenid. Hmm, when I studied it under the lightning cane of Mr Mason, it was The Aeneid. O Tempora, O so forth.

Anyway, if I didn't tell you, you'd never know: That clever prof Robert Fagles has taken a new look at "THE AENID" which, if it (quote)"sells like RF's editions of The Iliad and The Odyssey, will eventually be known to hundreds of thousands of readers, by choice and by assignment."

Quoth the don,

"I think it's a poem about heroism and empire, about the glory of imperial hopes and the pain of having imperial hopes dashed.... I wanted to convey something about the modern understanding of war, and then about a man, an exile, a common soldier left terribly alone in the field of battle."

Aeneas is like Clint Eastwood, like Gary Cooper, a warrior and a worrier. He changes into the heroic tragic man, duty and endure, endure and duty."

1 comment :

Richard Wells said...

I was so excited to read your post about Fagle's Aeneid I immediately purchased a copy from the 'zon at a whopping discount. I even surprised myself - shows you the lit-geek I really am. If I could just get it signed...