Poetry is not my literary metier, whether it be reading or writing. I have not read "The Odyssey" since I was in high school, and while, maybe ten years ago, I read Robert Fagles' translation of "The Iliad," it did not affect me as deeply as "The Aeneid," by Virgil, did.
The translator again was Fagles, ,which makes the text accessible. But maybe it was my early Roman Catholic upbringing, the vague memory of having heard the Mass in Latin, and being able to pick through words to understand their English and Latin distinctions, that gave me a greater connection to that language, than Greek, though I have yet to study either.
So, my reading "The Aeneid" was truly a revelation. I felt more connected to the narrative, than I ever did to Homer. And as I read of heroics, blood and guts, battling monsters, and even those Gorgon Sisters, I began to see laid out in front of me the evolution of Literature itself--how this all progressed down to Tolstoy Tolkien, and their less talented descendants in the genre of fantasy. "Game Of Thrones," if you will.
It would not have been possible without Virgil. I urge you to read him, especially if you want something more challenging, that demands all your mental focus, and literally blocks out everything around you. So engrossed was I in this work that, had I been sitting by water, a tsunami could have passed me by, without knowing it.
But don't get caught in the storm, girls! Get caught up in Virgil!!!!!!!!!!
An unforgettable adventure, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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