A broad literary evaluation of the poet's major achievements, based on a selective consideration of recent critical studies, is presented in this booklet. An approach is developed in the analysis of the "Eclogues" as poems, the "Georgics", and the "Aeneid" which considers the underlying significance, moral values, and "tensions" between behavior and human environment in terms of recurrent imagery and symbolism, thematic connection, and continuity or opposition of tone. (RL)