Cliffs Notes on Virgil's Aeneid

by Richard McDougall

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also features glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

CliffsNotes on Aeneid takes you on the journey of a band of survivors who leave their destroyed city to seek another home in a faraway country. Woven from myth and legend, the story is about rebirth, about life springing forth from ruin and death.

This study guide will help navigate the voyages of the Trojans and uncover their significance in Virgil's time and today. You'll also gain insight into the life and cultural background of the author. Other features that help you study include

Character analyses of major players A character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the characters Critical essays A review section that tests your knowledge A Resource Center full of books, articles, films, and Internet sites

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure � you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1991

Reviews

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used three study guides while reading the Aeneid -- two Cliffs Notes (this one and one by Robert Milch) and a Barron's by Kathleen O'Neill -- and I liked this one the best. Despite the fact that McDougall and Pavlos have defined terms for each Book of the Poem (they're using Robert Fitzgerald's translation), Kathleen O'Neill's felt more "high school" overall than this one.

O'Neill works hard to connect the student into what's going on ("Have you ever noticed that, if something really frightening happens, no matter how long ago, you can remember every detail as if it happened yesterday?" "Have you ever had a crush on someone?"), while Milch makes annoying little errors (calling Nisus “a grizzled old veteran”, for instance), and generally gives the impression that he'd rather be discussing something a little more classically heroic.

McDougall and Pavlos have the largest study guide with the most bells and whistles -- a "Character Map" showing how the major characters are related to Aeneas; icons in the margin marking discussions on theme, character insight, literary device or style & language; definitions; an index -- but they also keep their eyes on the ball, never giving you the feeling that Virgil would have done better to be a Greek, or worrying about whether you can relate to what Virgil has to say without them helping you make an emotional connection. All three study guides give the reader a pretty good background and would be a help in understanding what's going on and what Virgil's readers would have known that the modern reader doesn't.

OTOH, while I didn't notice Milch make any major errors, after a while the minor errors he makes had me distrusting the info he offered that wasn't backed up in one of the other guides. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Barron's Study Guide to someone who likes that emotional connection approach, and it's a close second for me, but this one was more my style and that gives it the edge. Plus they used Robert Fitzgerald's translation, which is the one I preferred.

[William Razavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Milch notes from 1966 and it had decent plot summaries that were still useful and the character list is a handy reference. It had a good simple explanation of how dactylic hexameter works.
The commentary is very dated especially since more contemporary analysis focuses on Vergil's ambivalence toward the new order. There are some historical issues like when the author says that Scipio defeated the Carthaginians and razed Carthage to the ground he makes no distinction between Scipio Africanus defeating Hannibal and Scipio Aemilianus destroying Carthage in the 3rd Punic War.
I found the language used to describe the Epic Cycle to be a little confusing and would have liked to see the term nostoi employed (as a pedagogical matter).
I haven't run into a more recent version but wanted to give the older edition a shot and so I'm now curious about how the commentary is on the newer editions.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very excellent summary and analysis of Virgil's epic poem "Aeneid". It explains the link between Homer's epic works, the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" and discusses their similarities and differences. Oral epics (such as Homer's) were intended more to entertain and were filled with colorful characters (both mortals and Gods) together with their diverse and sometimes "quirky" attributes. Literary (written) epics such as Virgil's were didactic in nature and intended to communicate philosophical, moral and patriotic messages. Virgil's Aeneas personified the most noble Roman virtues - thus, the Aeneid is a Roman, national epic in that it glorifies and exalts the Roman people and state. No doubt, by writing the Aeneid, Virgil sought to both rival (or surpass) Homer as a great poetic (epic) author and also curry favor with Augustus - purportedly the descendant of Aeneas. Through implication, Augustus embodies the attributes of his forbearer, Aeneas, and fulfills his divine destiny to unify and consolidate the Roman empire into one of the world's great powers.

[David Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author does well at condensing the different sections of the poem as well as explaining meaning, symbolism, and historical backgrounds for the events in the poem and the future events described in the poem.

A great introduction to Aeneid that will give the reader a deeper understanding of the work.