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A Nineteenth-Century American Interpretation of the Aeneid
- Classical World
- Classical Association of the Atlantic States
- Volume 105, Number 1, Fall 2011
- pp. 39-56
- 10.1353/clw.2011.0112
- Article
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This paper examines a loose, popularized translation of Aeneid 1 and 4 published in 1870 by a small New England newspaper. Through evaluation of the translator’s preface and related material, I argue that the text was intended to be a response to the marginalization of the classics in school curricula and a useful pedagogical tool for attracting students to Vergil. I then consider the translation in relation to the long tradition of Vergilian travesty and propose that it can be read as a combinatorial parody that satirizes both the original epic and nineteenth-century American society in an attempt to increase interest in the classics.