Virgil's Georgics: Lines 315- 332 Notes Flashcards
What type of poem is the Georgics?
A didactic poem and an epyllion
What is an epyllion?
A short narrative poem that shows formal affinities with epic, but makes use of the themes and poetic techniques that are not primarily characteristics of epic
What is the context for this part of the poem?
Aristaeus has lost all his bees so he went to his mothe Cyrene who told him to consult Proteus, the old god of the sea
What is the bugonia method?
Getting a new swarm of bees from the carcass of a bull
What creates a Homeric tone in line 315?
A sudden elevation of tone
Where/ what was Tempe?
A valley in Northern Greece
Which river flowed through the Tempe?
River Peneus
Who was Cyrene’s father?
The river god
Who was Aristaeus’ mother?
Cyrene
Where does Aristaeus go to plea to his mother?
The source of the River Peneus
What are Aristaeus’ actions like in line 319?
Elegist lover
What does an elegist lover mean?
Morning a dead love- bees
What other character reflects the elegist style?
Orpheus
What techniques are used in line 321?
Spondiac, caesura after first foot, anaphora
What is spondiac?
Long syllables
What effect do the techniques on line 321 have?
A mannered effect as the whole line is highly emphatic
The idea of Aristaeus pleading to his mother is from what?
Achilles who pleads to his mother, Thetis, also a sea nymph
What do lines 322-5 contain?
A series of despairing questions, filled with emotion
What is a feature of a lament in an epyllion?
A series of despairing questions, filled with emotion
Where is Thymbra?
A Town in the Troad (north west Turkey)
How does Thymbra link to Apollo?
Apollo had a famous temple there
Why does Aristaeus find mortal life intolerable?
He is the son of a god so expects immortality
Which phrase emphasises the sarcasm of the passage?
Ipsa manu
What helps to convey indignation?
Elisions in ‘inimicum ignem atque’ and the personification of ‘interficere messis’
Which line is almost a golden line?
Line 332
Why does Virgil use an almost golden line?
To end a section (clausula)
What is a golden line?
Verb in the middle, two adjectives at the beginning, two nouns at the end
What craft are they talking about in line 315?
Bugonia Method
What does hubristic mean?
Being disrespectful to the Gods
What can we tell from ‘and addressed his mother in this voice’?
Lead up to a speech
Name a word in line 324 that is singular but is written in plural
Nostri
What can ‘quid’ mean in poetry?
Why?
What does spurn mean?
To be an enemy
What does Aristaeus mean by ‘I leave behind, although you are my mother’?
He’s leaving behind his farming life even though he has an immortal mother who should have been able to help
What normally happens after a piece of dramatic prose?
A calm change of tone
What is the contrast in line 329?
Destroying the ‘happy’ orchards
