World Literature I

Introduction to Rome, Virgil, and The Aeneid, but not necessarily in that order…

Overview

In 17bc, the dying Virgil asked that his unfinished work be burned

Fortunately, it was not, changing the entire history of western culture

Along with the Bible, the Aeneid was one of the most consistently read books of the last 2000 years. Virgil’s Desire?

Overview

The Aeneid was composed in part to celebrate “truth, justice, and the Roman way” and to promote the revitalization of the Roman way of life under Augustus

To accomplish this, Virgil drew on the whole of Greek and Latin literature to create his epic.

Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius

Overview

Over the last 2000 years, the Aeneid has been used as a pagan bible, a Latin style manual, a moral allegory, and a document of European unity.

The work still speaks immediately to the reader.

Biography

Full name: Publius Vergilius Maro (sometimes Virgil, sometimes Vergil)

Born in October 15, 70bc

Died September 21, 19bc

Virgil

Biography

Earliest biography was by Suetonis (2nd century AD)

Not much is known, but among the likeliest are: He was a Roman citizen; had excellent and expensive education; member of the Roman bar; family was ambitious)

Biography

His family’s property was confiscated but returned after the intervention of they young Octavian Caesar (Augustus)

Wrote Eclogues (between 42 and 37 bc) and Georgics, perhaps his greatest work (between 36 and 29 bc)

Lived primarily in Naples but returned to Rome to die

Biography

Planned to complete the epic in about 10 years

Acutely concerned with leaving unrevised work after death

The work was unfinished at his death It was Augustus who intervened and

preserved the work (might he also have commissioned it?)

Themes

Roman History Virgil is concerned with

Roman history but handles it quite differently than previous writers who constructed epics out of history

Virgil uses a legend for the main line of the narrative, while history was insinuated into prophecy, visions, and into the description of objects (like the shield).

The Shield of Aeneas

Themes

Right Conduct, the Roman way of life, and Roman destiny

Moral center is the Roman way of life which Augustus was trying to revitalize

System was based on duty to the gods, to country, and to family and friends

In system, private experience and duty are often placed in tension against public duty

It is clear, that Virgil believes that the ideals of Roman life and public service remain worth the often difficult struggle with self

Themes

The sorrows at the heart of things Human loss and regret (modern vision of

theme)

Themes

Private and public ideals Strong sense of tension between two ideals

Individual human felicity Mission of Rome

Perhaps characterizes Virgil’s ethical ideals Stoic philosophy (self-sacrifice) Epicurean philosophy (philosophical quietism, a retreat

from the world, a longing for an absence of pain)

Style

Point of view Personal vision (from Aeneas) Patriotic vision (concerned with the

genesis of the Roman empire and Roman history)

Style

Setting Ranges across

entire Mediterranean region

Map of Ancient Roman World

Style

Imitation Drew heavily from Homer’s Iliad and

Odyssey Six books are “Little Iliad” Other six books are “Little Odyssey”

Style

Divine intervention Gods have a number of roles in Aeneid

Providential divine intention Seemingly irrational hostile forces Gods were tremendously powerful artistic

symbol

Style

Imagery Work derives power from repetition and

startling variation of particular images (see serpent and fire imagery in Book 2)

Style

Structure Divided between books of intense action

(even numbered books) and diffuse action (odd numbered books).

Trilogy: tragedy of dido (1-4), tragedy of Turnus (9-12), and central Roman section (5-9)

“Little Iliad” preceded by “Little Odyssey”

Historical context

Roman government Founded in 753bc.

250 as a monarchy last king was tyrant (son

Tarquin raped wife of a roman nobleman, celebrated? By Shakespeare in the Rape of Lucrece)

L. Junius Brutus and the Romans drove the Tarquin family out and set up a republic

450 years as a republic, ruled by senate and consuls

Imperial rule follows (with some attributes of the senate continuing)

Tarquin and Lucrecia

Historical context

Rome and War Roman history is full

of wars (both under Republic and as an Empire)

Motives: survival, expansion, and military achievement (for nobility)

Punic wars (against Carthage)Dido’s Carthage

Historical context

Roman Society under Pressure Major power after Punic wars Social problems set in after defeat of

Carthage (without single-minded focus, Rome began to fall apart)

Problems were also created by the wars, their effect on family farms, and the effects of growing estates.

Roman society needed drastic action

Historical context

Renewal under Augustus Thrown back into civil war

by the assassination of Caesar ( a period culminating with the defeat of Marc Antony in 31bc).

Augustus attempted to revitalize the traditional way of life.

Virgil was commissioned to write in part to remind the Romans of the circumstances which created them

Augustus

Historical context

The Roman Way of Life Mos maiorem (manners of ancestors)

had both a religious and social aspect Roman religion was based on two sets of

gods: Olympian (stolen from Greek, but renamed) and Penates (household gods which were protective spirits of the family, the hearth, the store room, and the countryside (each family had their own))

Roman society based on patronage system (along with strong family ties)

Practical and honorable way of life Patrons stood by his clients and ensured

that they always received justice under Roman Law, offered advice, and helped careers.

Note relationships between Aeneas and Pallas (which mirrors relationship between Anchises and Evander) or between Virgil and Augustus.

OlympianGods

Penates

Critical Overview

Earliest reactions Critics began with style and sources Companions to the text were often

published to assist readers 5th century writers treated Virgil as

Roman Bible (an attempt to defend their gods, their way of life, and the nature of Rome from the growing Christian cult

Critical Overview

Early Christian reaction Mixed reaction for Virgil was the poet of

the state which Christians sought to usurp Work was also essential part of an

education Saint Augustine admitted to crying over

Dido’s tragic end In the end, Christianity simply co-opted

Virgil—some even saw him as a prophet of Christ.

Critical Overview

Middle ages Used as a schoolbook for study of Latin Often treated as an allegory about the

soul’s growth to maturity and virtue Aeneid was treated as a sort of coded

message, full of deep, hidden meanings

Critical Overview

Modern criticism Begins in 17th century Treated work not as an allegory, but as a

narrative, like a history Believed narrative provided models of

highest qualities of conduct for princes and their subjects

Critical Overview

Romanticism The Romantics found Aeneas to be a poor

hero and were unimpressed by Roman destiny as a theme.

However, they praised Virgil for his style and emotional sensitivities. Hence much criticism praises his “private voice”

Critical Overview

20th century understanding revolves around an increasingly more sophisticated understanding of the literary, social, and political reality of Virgil’s world.