Virgil's Aeneid: A Reader's Guide

David O. Ross approaches Virgil’s Aeneid through the workings of its poetry: the language, imagery and rhythms that give the epic its force. The story of Aeneas belongs to a Roman world of religious belief and social expectation, but much of its meaning is carried by how Virgil writes individual scenes.

Translated passages anchor the discussion, with Latin brought in where it helps explain a poetic choice. Ross considers character, Roman religion and the structure and sound of Latin hexameter, showing how historical context and verse technique meet within the poem. A shift in rhythm or a carefully chosen image can matter as much as the events being narrated.