Quote:
Originally Posted by SeattleUte
Sometime read Anna Karenina's tirade at and about Vronsky in the scene before she commits suicide after reading Dido's tirade at and about Aeneus in the scene before she commits suicide. You will get the spooky feeling that either Tolstoy is immensely indebted to Virgil or he is Virgil reincarnated. Anna is Dido. Every major work of literature owes a huge debt to the Iliad and the Aeneid. Many have noted the Iliad's influence on War and Peace. The reason I included both of them is that while they are both classical epic poems each has its unique voice and theme and imagery. Virgil was very indebted to Lucretius as well as Homer, by the way. Bloom goes into this. On the nature of the universe has some very erotic language.
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As I have read the Aeneid in both the original and translation, I do have to agree with you on these points. Obviously it would be silly for me to argue that the one could fully represent the other.
And of course not only has the Aeneid filled our literature with allusions to its plots and characters, but it has also impacted our rhetorical construction and storytelling devices.
But, if I had to choose one over the other, I would favor the Illiad, as the Illiad inspired/influenced the Aeneid, and not vice versa.