The Aeneid: Virgil and His Unintentional Comedy

The first thing that struck me about The Aeneid is how funny it was. And I’m pretty sure that’s not what Virgil was intending. From a 21^st century perspective, however, the first few books are hilarious. Well, that or you cry. 

Our story opens with Aeneas—pronounced Eeny-ess, as in Eeny – meenymineymo + ess—being a bit of an emo. It’s justifiable since he’s seen his homeland of Troy attacked, besieged, and finally conquered by wicked Greeks (see The Iliad), then he loses his wife (see below) and father, and finally Juno, goddess of troublemaking, convinced the a wind god to shipwreck them in Northern Africa, forcing him to lose half his fleet of exiled Trojans in the storm at sea.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “How is that hilarious?” Just wait.

The Aeneid: A Multipart Review - Introduction

Much as I enjoy reading epic poetry, I don’t enjoy reading epic poetry. What I mean is that I don’t like reading it in black and white, on paper and ink, out of an honest-to-oh-so-goodness book. Frankly my mind starts wandering and my eyes start skimming the lines.

So when I read epic poetry—or really any long book that might tempt me into this half-hearted reading—I listen to it on audio book.  Not only is this an authentic way of enjoying things like Homer’s The Odyssey, but it is also a way to get a lot of reading done when you’re doing other things like driving or folding laundry—hopefully not both of those activities at the same time, that’s taking multitasking TOO far!

Therefore this is how I read The Aeneid by Virgil. I listened to the Blackstone Audio book read by Frederick Davidson and translated by W. F. Jackson Knight. I specify the reader and translator because both of these roles are important factors in how the audience (me, in this case) understands and enjoys an audio presentation of a story that was written in a dead language. 

Reviewing Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park"

I started this series talking about the most famous and well-loved Jane Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice. Now I will talk about one of the least-read and often despised of her works, which also happens to be my personal favorite: Mansfield Park. 

Our story begins with three sisters. One marries a rich knight and lives in affluence at Mansfield Park.  One marries a clergyman who then is employed by the rich knight.  And the third sister marries “for love,” to a common sailor whose drunkenness and coarse manners drag them down in society into a life of poverty. 

The main character, however, is the third sister’s daughter, Fanny Price. Because her parents are too poor to support all of their numerous children, Fanny and her older brother William are shipped out: William to the Navy,* Fanny to her rich aunt, Lady Bertram, at Mansfield Park. The story forgets William and follows Fanny as the shy ten-year-old is immediately harassed by her evil aunt Mrs. Norris and her selfish and mean cousins Tom, Maria and Julia. Fanny’s rich uncle Sir Thomas is stern and scary, her aunt Lady Bertram is vapid and careless, and Fanny is pretty much relegated to being a servant and a doormat to everyone.