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Hermes Books Series
Virgil
“Virgil’s poems are worth reading not because they are officially certified Great Works of Art, but because they are humane and shrewd and sad and comforting, because they really do reward our attention and repay abundantly the effort they demand.”—from the preface.
Virgil, the dominant figure in all Latin literature, has inspired and influenced poets for two millennia. In this book, David R. Slavitt, himself a poet as well as a novelist and critic, evaluates Virgil’s achievement for the modern reader. His original and entertaining appraisal brings a poet’s sensitivity not only to the meaning and the play of language and image in the works but also to the pressures Virgil faced in his literary production—the sometimes arbitrary requirements of his audience and patrons.
In an eloquent preface, Slavitt furnishes biographical and historical context. The three major sections of the book offer provocative analyses of Virgil’s works—the Eclogues, the Georgics, and the Aeneid—using Slavitt’s own translations for the first two series of poems. An epilogue gives a fascinating account of Virgil’s continuing popularity: the legends that grew up about him in the Middle Ages as a magician or necromancer, and the reasons that Dante chose Virgil as his guide to the underworld in The Divine Comedy.
Virgil, the dominant figure in all Latin literature, has inspired and influenced poets for two millennia. In this book, David R. Slavitt, himself a poet as well as a novelist and critic, evaluates Virgil’s achievement for the modern reader. His original and entertaining appraisal brings a poet’s sensitivity not only to the meaning and the play of language and image in the works but also to the pressures Virgil faced in his literary production—the sometimes arbitrary requirements of his audience and patrons.
In an eloquent preface, Slavitt furnishes biographical and historical context. The three major sections of the book offer provocative analyses of Virgil’s works—the Eclogues, the Georgics, and the Aeneid—using Slavitt’s own translations for the first two series of poems. An epilogue gives a fascinating account of Virgil’s continuing popularity: the legends that grew up about him in the Middle Ages as a magician or necromancer, and the reasons that Dante chose Virgil as his guide to the underworld in The Divine Comedy.
181 pages, Paperback
Published December 31, 1991
13 people want to read
About the author
David R. Slavitt
158 books10 followersDavid Rytman Slavitt was an American writer, poet, and translator, the author of more than 100 books.
Slavitt has written a number of novels and numerous translations from Greek, Latin, and other languages. Slavitt wrote a number of popular novels under the pseudonym Henry Sutton, starting in the late 1960s. The Exhibitionist (1967) was a bestseller and sold over four million copies. He has also published popular novels under the names of David Benjamin, Lynn Meyer, and Henry Lazarus. His first work, a book of poems titled Suits for the Dead, was published in 1961. He worked as a writer and film critic for Newsweek from 1958 to 1965.
According to Henry S. Taylor, winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, "David Slavitt is among the most accomplished living practitioners" of writing, "in both prose and verse; his poems give us a pleasurable, beautiful way of meditating on a bad time. We can't ask much more of literature, and usually we get far less." Novelist and poet James Dickey wrote, "Slavitt has such an easy, tolerant, believable relationship with the ancient world and its authors that making the change-over from that world to ours is less a leap than an enjoyable stroll. The reader feels a continual sense of gratitude."
Slavitt has written a number of novels and numerous translations from Greek, Latin, and other languages. Slavitt wrote a number of popular novels under the pseudonym Henry Sutton, starting in the late 1960s. The Exhibitionist (1967) was a bestseller and sold over four million copies. He has also published popular novels under the names of David Benjamin, Lynn Meyer, and Henry Lazarus. His first work, a book of poems titled Suits for the Dead, was published in 1961. He worked as a writer and film critic for Newsweek from 1958 to 1965.
According to Henry S. Taylor, winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, "David Slavitt is among the most accomplished living practitioners" of writing, "in both prose and verse; his poems give us a pleasurable, beautiful way of meditating on a bad time. We can't ask much more of literature, and usually we get far less." Novelist and poet James Dickey wrote, "Slavitt has such an easy, tolerant, believable relationship with the ancient world and its authors that making the change-over from that world to ours is less a leap than an enjoyable stroll. The reader feels a continual sense of gratitude."
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 23, 2025
really neat biography/literary criticism of Virgil and his three main works with a chief goal of demystification. Only gripe is Slavitt offers an extremely uncharitable take on historical materialism...like chill tf out
Displaying 1 of 1 review