The Aeneid: Virgil and Other Epics

As I read The Aeneid it was so natural to compare Virgil’s work to other epic poetry. Of course the character Aeneas and many of the events Virgil mentions are recounted or at least based on the Greek epics of The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer.  <<<WHICH WAS COMPLETELY INCIDENTAL ACCORDING TO VIRGIL'S SHADE>>>> 

But in no other place does The Aeneid beg for comparison but in the sixth book, where Aeneas goes down to the Underworld to talk to his dead father. This is so much like what Odysseus did in The Odyssey that it’s practically plagiar<<<NO IT'S NOT!!!>>> 

But Virgil didn’t just reap inspiration from earlier epics: he would eventually inspire other poets to rip off from him, as well. I noticed as I read Book VI that Virgil notes some of the prominent people that were condemned in the underworld…which is very similar to what Dante Alighieri did in The Divine Comedy.  Dante even wrote Virgil into the role of tour-guide of the underworld in this Italian epic! 

But the influence isn’t just limited to Dante. At the beginning of John Milton’s Paradise Lost Satan and other angels fall from God’s grace and are cast into Hell. This is the origin of the famous quotation: “Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven.” Because I was reading The Aeneid via audio book I can’t point out the exact place, but there is a passage that has certain similar sentiments as Aeneas makes his journey in Tartarus.

The Aeneid: Virgil and Propoganda

All my life I've wondered one thing: What was Caesar Augustus pointing at?
Although now I realize: He's pointing at my blog post title!

According to what I’ve read during my long and in-depth research for fifteen minutes on the internet, Virgil wrote The Aeneid to justify the reign of Julius Caesar and his current heir, Caesar Augustus. For anyone with historical knowledge, Augustus basically converted Rome from a Republic into an Empire without telling anyone or asking anybody’s permission.  Some of his contemporaries got a little upset at not being asked permission, so Augustus sought to shut them up by propaganda.* This is where Virgil, lowly farmer’s son but having published some awesome poetry about cows, came in.

So Virgil’s job in writing this epic poem was not only to write something artistic, the Great Roman Novel as it were, but also to validate Augustus’ rule. And to do that, he had to validate that Julius Caesar really shouldn’t have been assassinated but was the rightful heir to the (nonexistent) Roman throne.

The Aeneid: Virgil and His Times

Now that all that pesky romance between Aeneas and Dido was taken care of and thrown out the window, you can almost hear Virgil sigh a deep sigh of relief, rub his hands together, and say, “And now for some sports!”

Because that’s what happens next. Turns out all that piggyback riding Aeneas gave his dad Anchises was for naught, because Anchises has died an off-screen death. But unlike Aeneas’ wife Creusa, Aeneas remembers the anniversary of his dad’s death and decides to be Pious and honor his deceased father with some violence by having some War Games. 

The Aeneid: The Dido Problem

Aeneas finishes his story about how he escaped Troy with his son and father and a ton of other people (remind me again, did anyone actually DIE in the Trojan War?  Because it seems like the whole population escaped with Aeneas). 

His rapt audience, Queen Dido, is like, “So your wife died…that means you’re single, right?” 

They immediately begin a romantic affair where she thinks they’re married and Aeneas is just like “Of course she’s in love with me. Everybody loves Aeneas.”*

Then Venus, who made Dido fall in love with Aeneas in the first place so Dido wouldn’t kill the Trojans for trespassing on her borders of Carthage, comes and gives Aeneas a guilt trip for not abandoning Dido and going to Italy to Fulfill his Destiny.

The Aeneid: The Creusa Problem

While Aeneas recounts to the fangirl Queen Dido about the tragic end to the Trojan War, he tells her how he made his escape. He convinces his elderly father Anchises to get on his back (as in piggyback ride) and he takes his son Ascanius by the hand, and sets out of the burning Troy…telling his wife Creusa to walk behind them at a safe distance. 

What, Aeneas, you put your daddy on your back and you hold your son’s hand, but you can’t bother making sure your wife is safe? You have two hands, don’t you?  Take your son’s hand with one and your wife’s with the other. 

Sure, you may argue that “Oh but I have to carry my household idols with my other hand.” 

Ummm have your son carry them for you. He’s not a baby!

The Aeneid: Virgil and His Unintentional Comedy

The first thing that struck me about The Aeneid is how funny it was. And I’m pretty sure that’s not what Virgil was intending. From a 21^st century perspective, however, the first few books are hilarious. Well, that or you cry. 

Our story opens with Aeneas—pronounced Eeny-ess, as in Eeny – meenymineymo + ess—being a bit of an emo. It’s justifiable since he’s seen his homeland of Troy attacked, besieged, and finally conquered by wicked Greeks (see The Iliad), then he loses his wife (see below) and father, and finally Juno, goddess of troublemaking, convinced the a wind god to shipwreck them in Northern Africa, forcing him to lose half his fleet of exiled Trojans in the storm at sea.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re thinking. “How is that hilarious?” Just wait.

The Aeneid: A Multipart Review - Introduction

Much as I enjoy reading epic poetry, I don’t enjoy reading epic poetry. What I mean is that I don’t like reading it in black and white, on paper and ink, out of an honest-to-oh-so-goodness book. Frankly my mind starts wandering and my eyes start skimming the lines.

So when I read epic poetry—or really any long book that might tempt me into this half-hearted reading—I listen to it on audio book.  Not only is this an authentic way of enjoying things like Homer’s The Odyssey, but it is also a way to get a lot of reading done when you’re doing other things like driving or folding laundry—hopefully not both of those activities at the same time, that’s taking multitasking TOO far!

Therefore this is how I read The Aeneid by Virgil. I listened to the Blackstone Audio book read by Frederick Davidson and translated by W. F. Jackson Knight. I specify the reader and translator because both of these roles are important factors in how the audience (me, in this case) understands and enjoys an audio presentation of a story that was written in a dead language. 

Reviewing Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park"

I started this series talking about the most famous and well-loved Jane Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice. Now I will talk about one of the least-read and often despised of her works, which also happens to be my personal favorite: Mansfield Park. 

Our story begins with three sisters. One marries a rich knight and lives in affluence at Mansfield Park.  One marries a clergyman who then is employed by the rich knight.  And the third sister marries “for love,” to a common sailor whose drunkenness and coarse manners drag them down in society into a life of poverty. 

The main character, however, is the third sister’s daughter, Fanny Price. Because her parents are too poor to support all of their numerous children, Fanny and her older brother William are shipped out: William to the Navy,* Fanny to her rich aunt, Lady Bertram, at Mansfield Park. The story forgets William and follows Fanny as the shy ten-year-old is immediately harassed by her evil aunt Mrs. Norris and her selfish and mean cousins Tom, Maria and Julia. Fanny’s rich uncle Sir Thomas is stern and scary, her aunt Lady Bertram is vapid and careless, and Fanny is pretty much relegated to being a servant and a doormat to everyone.