Aeneid Book VI: A New Verse Translation: Bilingual Edition [Paperback]

A masterpiece from one of the greatest poets of the century

In a momentous publication, Seamus Heaneys translation of Book VI of theAeneid, Virgils epic poem composed sometime between 29 and 19 BC, follows the hero, Aeneas, on his descent into the underworld. InStepping Stones, a book of interviews conducted by Dennis ODriscoll, Heaney acknowledged the significance of the poem to his writing, noting that theres one Virgilian journey that has indeed been a constant presence, and that is Aeneass venture into the underworld. The motifs in Book VI have been in my head for yearsthe golden bough, Charons barge, the quest to meet the shade of the father.

In this new translation, Heaney employs the same deft handling of the original combined with the immediacy of language and the sophisticated poetic voice that were on show in his translation ofBeowulf, a reimagining which, in the words of James Wood, created something imperishable and great that is stainlessstainless, because its force as poetry makes it untouchable by the claw of literalism: it lives singly, as an English-language poem.

[Heaney's] voice carries the authenticity and believability of the plainspoken--even though (herein his magic) his words are anything but plainspoken. His stanzas are dense echo chambers of contending nuances and ricocheting sounds. And his is the gift of saying something extraordinary while, line by line, conveying a sense that this is something an ordinary person might actually say. Brad Leithauser,The New York Times Book Review

So fresh and compelling that those who have never enjoyed this classic may want to give it another try . . . Heaney deftly highlights the dramatic tension of the opening passages . . . The language Heaney employsa skillful mix of poetic phrasing and plainspokennessgives the narrative a wonderful immediacy . . . The result is an interpretation that shows why the ancient text is both timelC3