Laocoön (Vatican Museum)

Virgil's AENEID, Book II

Narrative Arrangement of Books I-IV

You may compare the narrative structure of Aeneid 1-4 -- a banquet in which a guest tells of his (mis)adventures enroute from a war homeward (here to found a new homeland) -- with Odyssey 9-12.

Book I may be divided into three narrative sections:

A. The deception of the Greeks and the reception of the Trojan Horse into the city

• Note snake images for deception aimed at destruction: Sinon (coiled), twin serpents, fear 'slithered into' the hearts of the Trojans

B. Aeneas' vain struggle to defend the city against the Greek invader

• Sleep 'wound around' the Trojans
• Aeneas dreams that Hektor entrusts him with Troy's future in the form of sacred emblems, which Aeneas was to carry across the sea to a new city
• note fire, snake, blood/wounding, furor, and storm images that Vergil piles up to create a horrific scene of the destruction of Troy!
• Note Pyrrhus/Neoptolemos' words and actions after he breaks into Priam's palace
• Priam's death brings Aeneas' own family to his mind, but yet another temptation to stay in Troy and act on his passion arises: Helen
• Note Venus' arguments to dissuade Aeneas from killing Helen

C. How Aeneas succeeds in escaping the flames of Troy with his father, his son, and their household gods.

• fire is turned into image of hope that helps Aeneas get his family moving out of the city and on their journey from Troy to Italy.
• Pay attention to the configuration of Aeneas' carrying his father Anchises with the hearth gods of Troy and pulling his son Ascanius by the hand; Creusa follows, but becomes lost and perishes in Troy. Relate this scene to PIETAS.
• Why is Aeneas' return to the city to search for Creusa 'problematic'? How does Creusa prefigure Dido?

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