Fathers and Sons in Virgil's Aeneid

Narrative summary of Virgil's epic poem.

In this book, M. Owen Lee provides a comprehensive narrative summary of Virgil's Aeneid and a personal account of his experience with the epic poem. Noting that Virgil is the writer most Latinists read early, live with, and often come to love late, Lee expresses a clear devotion to the poet's work and relates how it has touched him throughout his life. While most criticism of the Aeneid makes a distinction between what critics say and what an individual may respond to, Lee takes a unique approach by analyzing the epic story from his own point of view. He not only explores the extensive Virgilian tradition, but also looks at the work of other poets, as well as philosophers, artists, composers, and filmmakers in order to better understand the Aeneid. Lee concludes that Virgil's poem, with its unavailing fathers and dutiful sons, its ineffably sad view of a failed humanity and a flawed universe, still touches hearts and, in ways Virgil could not have foreseen, still affects human lives.