Virgil's Aeneid: Lines 372-401 Notes Flashcards
Does Aeneas accept Venus’ protestations or still refer to her as a goddess?
He still refers to her as a goddess
What justifies what Aeneas says about the length of his story?
It takes books 2 and 3 for Aeneas to recount his story to Dido
What sort of term is ‘annalis’?
Anachronistic
What does ‘annalis’ technically mean?
Annals/ yearly register of events
What does the anachronistic term of ‘annalis’ suggest?
A slight weariness on Aeneas’ part
Why is Aeneas expressing an ethereal tone to describe the night as closing the sky and day opening the sky?
He is talking to a god
What was Olympus?
The heavens
What was Vesper?
Goddess of the evening and the evening star
Why is ‘componet’ in the indicative rather than the subjunctive here?
To convey greater certainty
Why does Aeneas refer to Italy as his origin?
A Trojan ancestor was Dardanus (as explained by Venus in book 3) and he was from Italy and a son of Juppiter so Aeneas is returning the Trojans to their homeland
Why is the Trojan heritage important?
For Aeneas in forming various alliances with Italian leaders
Where was Phrygia?
The the centre and west of Asia Minor - a Trojan region
Why does Venus cut Aeneas off?
Aeneas suggests Venus gave him instructions and is consequently to blame for what goes wrong which saddens Venus so she can’t stand it any longer
Does Venus listen to Aeneas’ identification of himself?
No
Which word in line 387 is emphatic?
‘Haud’ goes with ‘invisus’ not ‘credo’
What does ‘qui’ mean on line 388?
Since
What is the emphatic imperative on line 389?
‘Perge’ - this is not a suggestion and is duplicated on line 401
What type of statement is ‘reduces … relatam’?
Indirect statement
What is elided in the indirect statement? What is the effect?
‘Est’ hampers it’s identification as an indirect statement
What is augury?
A Roman technique of deciphering bird movements as a prophesy
What is Venus’ bird symbol?
Swan
What is Juppiter’s bird symbol?
Eagle
What do the twelve birds relate to?
The number of lost ships
What does ‘ut’ introduce?
A comparison
What does the scattered and then ordered arrangement of birds relate to?
Aeneas’ ships after the storm
What is significant about the ‘o’ at the beginning of Aeneas’ speech?
Adds weight and is prayer-like and dramatic
What does Aeneas joke about?
It will be night by the time he finishes his story
What is significant about the style of his speech?
It is disjointed- still not sure if she is a goddess
What does ‘a storm drove us’ suggest?
Outside forces
What does it suggest with ‘patriam’?
He seeks ownership before he arrives
What does it mean by ‘a people born of Juppiter on high?
Direct descendants of Juppiter through Venus therefore Augustus is too
Virgil rarely quantifies but what does he quantify here?
Twenty ships and twelve swans
What is significant about the positioning of the word ‘dolore’?
It is in the middle of the phrase to represent how she has interrupted him in the middle of his speech
Where is the irony in this speech?
He has just introduced himself but she already knows who he is
Why does Venus mention her parents and other reasons why Aeneas is not hated by the Gods?
She does not want to appear too omniscient which would give away her disguise too much
Why does Venus give him good news?
To encourage him to continue his journey
Where is litotes present?
The double negative of ‘don’t’ and ‘hate’
What are the swans a metaphor for?
The storm Aeneas was in when the ships scattered
Where is there anaphora?
‘Aut … aut’
What is the effect of the anaphora?
Brings symmetry
What else creates symmetry?
The phrase ‘only carry on’ is repeated at the end
