The Aeneid is an epic poem by Virgil. It tells Aeneas’s story as his escape from the ruins of troy it was after the defeat of the Trojan by the Greeks. Aeneas was tasked with the task of looking for his forefathers in Italy and rebuilding a city. The poem is the count of his journey as he tried to reach his destiny. Aeneas is faced by so many detours mainly because his mother wanted to derail him and because of Juno, the queen of gods. While he faced many problems, he also met friendly people like Dido, Carthage’s princess, who welcomed them. Aeneas, at last, makes it to Italy where at first, everything was going well. It was until the leader started quarreling that a war broke out.
The setting of Aeneid gives the poem the epic feature. It was written in the times of gods and goddesses. Most of the poem happens through the journey to Italy. The story begins in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea after the war between Troy and the Greeks. It was a deliberate decision by Virgil to tell the story of how Rome came to be. The Trojan spent seven years in the sea trying to locate Rome as it was Aeneas density to rebuild the city. The journey through the sea proved hard for some people. The hardships along the way are what make the script enjoyable to read.
Aeneas is the main character in the book. At the very start, he is unsure of himself. He wishes he died in the war. As the story goes on, he becomes a great leader who dedicated himself to his cause. He was able to leave his wife to continue with his quest. Another character is Juno, who is the antagonist in the story. She holds resentment for Aeneas, although not from his faults. Venus is another character that plays a significant role in development. She is the mother of Aeneas, and she intervenes for him with favors helping him without his knowledge.
The story is told from a third-person point of view except for the second and the third book. The first chapter gives the narrator authority. It is to say a narrator is an all-seeing person. However, in the early chapters, Aeneas tells the story from his point of view. It gives the audience an insight into his insecurities as a leader and his oppression in undertaking the new journey. By letting Aeneas tell his story, he becomes very relatable to the audience. As the poem goes on, the narrator takes over the book, which creates the legend of Aeneas. He is painted as a great leader to be revered.
One of the central themes of the story is the divine intervention from the goddess. From the very beginning, the queen of gods Juno tried to sabotage the journey. She holds a great resent for the Trojan from her early encounters with them. She makes a deal with the god of winds to capsize the boats in the ocean. However, the god of the sea comes to the rescue of Aeneas.
Venus, the mother of Aeneas, also interferes with Aenea’s journey by making Dido fall in love with him. The theme of war is also present in the story. It all began with the battle between Troy and the Greeks. At the very end of the invention, there is still a war between arenas and the Italian king. The themes of war and divine intervention run throughout the story, and they are straightforward to recognize.
One of the significant symbolism used in the book is the weather.
The weather represents the intervention of the gods with the humankind. In the beginning, when Juno wanted to punish the Trojans, she used the storm in the sea. At the same time, Venus calmed the sea. The war between the gods is often seen to be represented by the change in the weather. In another instance, when Venus wanted Dido to get married to Aeneas, she sent a storm that trapped them.
Aeneid is an epic tale of the origin of Rome. Virgil, in his unique way, told the story of Aeneas.