I am a student of Classics in NYC and I must confess that the Aeneid is quite taxing to read in English. I think that students miss a lot of the symbolism and meaning throughout the Aeneid if they just skim through it which is what many do when they read. I read the epic in Latin and while I struggled, my amateur level of reading forced me to take my time and read carefully and I have to admit that the reading was fulfilling on many levels.
With that said, I think that it would help if a teacher had a latin text along with the english because I think that so much is lost in any english translation; the symbolism in context of the Roman world as well as the beauty of the language itself.
hope your students learn to appreciate the epic like I did
regards
runako
>From: "alexander bril" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>>Subject: RE: VIRGIL: teaching Aeneid in translation >Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2004 14:14:03 +0800 > > > >This is a poem that I know rather well, and I have been writing about >the reception of the Aeneid for several years. Over the course of the >last five years, I have taught the poem four times, and will do so again >in about a month. I confess, however, that I am consistently >dissatisfied with what happens when I bring this book into the >classroom. Lately I have been teaching the poem in translation, >alongside of the Odyssey, Beowulf, and the Lord of the Rings. The Aeneid >is the second book we read, and it always feels like a struggle. > >[alexander wrote this:] > >W. Anderson in his *Art of the Aeneid* wrote: 'It is the common >experience of teachers dealing with humanities courses or courses in >Greek an!
d Roman literature that the Aeneid fails to impress the average >student, to a large degree because of the inadequacy of all >translations... Vergil placed insuperable problems in the way of >translators: his style, an essential aspect of the total epic, has not >been, and probably cannot be translated. Unlike Homer, Vergil did not >produce a poem which would be a "good story" in itself. Anyone can enjoy >the Odyssey, for example, whether presented in Victorian prose or in >racy modern verse; its power does not depend so heavily on the >techniques of oral composition. When Vergil wrote the Aeneid, the >different times and his own special talents demanded a thoroughly >conscious exploitation of every relevant stylistic technique. The art >of the Aeneid, therefore, involves many technical skills which Vergil, >starting from the experiments of his predecessors, developed to >near-perfection...' > >There is much food for thought in t!
hese words. If one accepts them, how >is one to escape the feeling
that teaching Vergilian epic in translation >is rather a waste of time? Granted that teaching any text in translation >inevitably leads to a certain degree of dissatisfaction on the part of >both teacher and students, how much more is this the case with the >Aeneid, which, as Anderson argues, depends little on the story for its >claim to greatness? > >But if one MUST teach the Aeneid in translation, I think the only way to >go about doing this is to concentrate on a few parts only -- preferably >the more dramatic parts. I suggest that it will help students to >appreciate something of the Aeneid's greatness if one can by means of >these few selected sections illustrate -- along the lines set out by the >great Vergilian scholar Heinze -- some of the salient features of >Vergil's consummate epic technique, especially his handling of the >mythological and literary traditions of his predecessors, his judicious >composition (unity, sequ!
ence of scenes, organisation etc.), his subtle >exploitation of dramatic and emotive elements, his intellectualisation >of simplistic traditional characters and plot situations etc. Much of >this illustration can be done with little or no reference to language >and style, the two stumbling blocks for many Latin-less students which >stand in the way of their more profound appreciation of the text. Like >Heinze, one can easily show how Vergil's accounts, for the purposes of >epic, far surpass analogous accounts in Quintus, Apollodorus, >Tryphiodorus etc. > >This method also has the virtue of circumventing the need to give crash >courses on ancient geography and history, the benefit of which must be >weighed against the time constraints imposed on the text-in-translation >course. > >Only a detailed study of a few selected passages (given the time >constraints of teaching a course within one year in which other texts >are also !
studied) can, in my view, leave students with something >approachin
g true appreciation of the Aeneid's greatness. Anything more >rapid or superficial, will only result in something like those idiotic 2 >week pan-European tours for the culturally-illiterate epicurean swine >brigade. Those who've been on them, can say they've been there (to >Europe) and they've seen the sights, but none of them can tell you >anything really significant about what they've seen and (should) have >experienced. > > >alexander >perth, australia > > > >--- >Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. >Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). >Version: 6.0.516 / Virus Database: 313 - Release Date: 9/1/2003 >
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