The Aeneid (Cliffs Notes)

Rating:
Summary: Understanding Western Civilization's Most Important Poem
Review: Robert J. Milch's Cliffs Notes for Virgil's "The Aeneid" makes the argument that this epic poem "is probably the single most important poem to have been written in the history of western civilization." From this bold assertion, Milch prepares readers of the Aeneid by detailing Virgil's life and works, his literary predecessors, his influence and later reputation, and his style and techniques. This last section is particularly helpful, not only for studying Virgil but also for those working with Homer, because Milch details what constitutes a literary epic, looking at meter, epithets and similes. After establishing the meaning of "The Aeneid," Milch develops both the mythological background of the poem and lists its characters (the descriptions appear in a later section). The Summaries and Commentaries section is especially strong in terms of characterizing each Book in relation to the rest, providing an overall appreciation for the epic's structure as well as commenting on the specifics of each part. In the last section of the volume, he details all of the important characters, geographical and ethnic names from the poem, as well as those persons and events from Roman history mentioned in "The Aeneid." These are particularly important since Virgil was trying to celebrate the greatness that was Rome as well as provide a Latin epic equal to that of Homer. If your copy of Virgil does not have adequate notes that explain such things, these sections will be particularly useful to you in reading the poem. Milch never gets around to proving his initial claim (I would probably make a case for Dante's "Divine Comedy"), but he certainly provides ample information and analysis for those who have taken pains to read Virgil's classic.

Rating:
Summary: Understanding Western Civilization's Most Important Poem
Review: Robert J. Milch's Cliffs Notes for Virgil's "The Aeneid" makes the argument that this epic poem "is probably the single most important poem to have been written in the history of western civilization." From this bold assertion, Milch prepares readers of the Aeneid by detailing Virgil's life and works, his literary predecessors, his influence and later reputation, and his style and techniques. This last section is particularly helpful, not only for studying Virgil but also for those working with Homer, because Milch details what constitutes a literary epic, looking at meter, epithets and similes. After establishing the meaning of "The Aeneid," Milch develops both the mythological background of the poem and lists its characters (the descriptions appear in a later section). The Summaries and Commentaries section is especially strong in terms of characterizing each Book in relation to the rest, providing an overall appreciation for the epic's structure as well as commenting on the specifics of each part. In the last section of the volume, he details all of the important characters, geographical and ethnic names from the poem, as well as those persons and events from Roman history mentioned in "The Aeneid." These are particularly important since Virgil was trying to celebrate the greatness that was Rome as well as provide a Latin epic equal to that of Homer. If your copy of Virgil does not have adequate notes that explain such things, these sections will be particularly useful to you in reading the poem. Milch never gets around to proving his initial claim (I would probably make a case for Dante's "Divine Comedy"), but he certainly provides ample information and analysis for those who have taken pains to read Virgil's classic.

Rating:
Summary: saving my grade
Review: This book proved extremely useful. I had read the Aeneid in parts, but needed to write a 7 page essay regarding the main themes. The notes helped very much in filling in the parts I had skimmed and also highlighted where main points were, allowing me to go back and examine them more closely. I would recommend these notes for anyone who doesn't have the time to read entire books, but needs to know everything about them.