Which scholar suggests Aeneid 6's Homeric derivation is a defining characteristic of that book?

• A. Simon Swain - Homeric influence
• B. Richard Rutherford - Homeric influence
• C. Richard Jenkyns - Aeneas' actions
• D. Simon Swain - Book 6

Answer: (D)

The idea being tested is how a scholar reads Book 6 as rooted in and defined by its relationship to Homeric epic. Simon Swain is the scholar who argues that the Homeric derivation of Aeneid book 6—its echoes of Homeric katabasis, its dialogue with the Homeric tradition, and the way those Homeric patterns shape the book’s structure and themes—is not just present but defining for that book. In Swain’s view, the descent into the Underworld, the guidance of the Sibyl, and the shades Aeneas encounters are best understood as Vergilian responses to Homer, using those familiar epic scaffolds to frame Rome’s future destiny. This makes Book 6 stand out within the poem as the instance where the Homeric frame is most deliberately invoked and conceptually central.

Other scholars discuss Homeric influence in Virgil more broadly or focus on different aspects of the epic (such as Aeneas’s actions or Vergil’s broader craft). They do not single out the Homeric derivation of Book 6 as its defining feature in the same way Swain does, which is why Swain’s view is the best fit for this statement.