French Literature Reviews - 2026

W. Polleichtner, Emotional questions: Vergil, the emotions, and the transformation of epic poetry. An analysis of select scenes
Comparative and World Literature

Wolfgang Polleichtner, Emotional questions: Vergil, the emotions, and the transformation of epic poetry. An analysis of select scenes. Trier: WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier, 2009. 352 p.

• € 35.00.
• ISBN 9783868211894.

Reviewed by Giampiero Scafoglio, Second University of Naples, in Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2010.08.20

Publisher's note:

This book brings together traditional approaches to the reception of the Homeric epic poems in Vergil's Aeneid, new advances in the field of Hellenistic poetry, and the latest results from studies of emotions in antiquity. Using selected Vergilian passages that can be compared with a sufficient amount of relevant material from ancient poets and philosophers, this book attempts to reconstruct in greater detail what was probably Vergil's own understanding of what it meant to write epic poetry in his time.

Vergil's epic stands as a central monument of Augustan literature, traditionally read in deep engagement with Homeric models while absorbing the refined poetic techniques of the Hellenistic period. The study of emotional expression in classical texts draws upon broader traditions of ancient philosophy and rhetoric, where the passions were systematically classified and analyzed. By focusing on specific narrative moments, scholars often seek to understand how classical poets negotiated inherited literary forms while responding to the shifting intellectual and cultural currents of their contemporary world.

This volume addresses select Vergilian passages by placing them alongside comparative material from ancient poets and philosophers. Readers interested in classical epic poetry and the history of emotional representation in antiquity may find the analysis relevant to their broader engagement with Latin literature.