Virgil: Georgics: Volume 2, Books III-IV

by Virgil, Richard F. Thomas (Editor)

These two volumes provide a commentary, with text, on Virgil's Georgics, a poem in four books probably written between 35 and 29 BC. The introduction, in Volume 1, treats the poem's historical background and its relationship to the early years of Augustan Rome, Virgil's use of prior literary material, his stylistic and metrical expertise, and questions of poetic structure. There is also a section interpreting the poem in light of recent scholarship, which seeks to consider the poem as part of the broad unity of Virgil's career, rather than from a narrow didactic approach. A new Latin text of the poem is followed by extensive line-by-line commentary, explaining difficult passages, interpreting poetic intent, and tracing the influence of Virgil's Greek and Roman antecedents. A subject index and indexes of important Greek and Latin words conclude each volume.

Genres: Classics

264 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 1988

About the author

born 15 October 70 BC
died 21 September 19 BC

Roman poet Virgil, also Vergil, originally Publius Vergilius Maro, composed the Aeneid , an epic telling after the sack of Troy of the wanderings of Aeneas.

Work of Virgil greatly influenced on western literature; in most notably Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri.

Reviews

[Corydon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative for beginners. Thomas makes a remarkable attempt to present Georgics as a pessimistic work—in reply to traditional interpretations made by Otis, Wilkinson, and so forth—, yet I am hardly convinced.

[Boris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent commentary by one of Virgil's finest readers. I was surprised by how much I was able to enjoy didactic poetry on agriculture but then again, it's Virgil..

[Ilary]

In un mondo giusto Didone affoga Enea, e poi torna nel suo giga palazzo a godersi tutti i lussi più sfrenati e fa un brindisi con le amiche alla faccia di quello sfigato senza casa né patria né nulla