Virgil [70-19 BCE], Aeneid, Book 4
Epic -- tragic philosophical
Entertainment Ends -- Dido's Fatal Fire & Wound
TO DO: FILL in BLANK spaces below & MARGINS of your book with main points. Answer Study Questions at end.
1-172: ] [MAIN DIVSION HEAD]
1-5: With what images is love described here?
6-54: Dido & Anna -- What would Socrates think of Anna’s arguments?
55-89: What images does Virgil use to describe Dido’s condition?
How does Dido change from the figure Aeneas first admired in Book 1?
How will a Roman judge this?
90-128: Would Plato have approved this portrayal of gods?
129-172: In what terms are Dido & Aeneas described?
What happens in the cave?
What does Dido call it?
[173-473: ]
173-278: Who contradicts Dido & in what terms?
According to Jove’s words, what must Aeneas prefer to love?
279-407: When would Aeneas like to tell Dido?
What name does Dido now use for Aeneas?
How does Aeneas justify his departure?
Does he here resemble any other heroes you have seen?
Fire & hunting: how used to characterize Dido here?
Meanwhile, how do the Trojans react?
408-473: What risk may there be in granting delay to a passionate woman?
how does this resemble Medea’s request to Creon for a day’s respire ?
[474-804: Main Thrust? ]
474-552:
553-630: [Mercury = Hermes] How does this scene compare with Iliad Book 24?
In Dido’s cursing, what themes from tragedy are recalled?
How does Dido’s call for an avenger reflect on the actual history of relations between
Rome and Carthage?
631-804: How & where does Dido die?
How does her death resemble others you have read of?
How does her state at the end compare with the picture of her emotions at the beginning of
the book?
STUDY QUESTIONS: answer the following questions on the basis of your reading:
. How does this book follow from the action of books one and two?
. In terns of the plan of the poem as a whole, why must Aeneas go?
. With what recurrent images does Virgil depict Dido’s love?
. How does love affect Dido’s capacity as a leader?
. In what respects could you call Dido tragic?
. In what ways does this recall other images of passion that you have seen?
. Does Virgil imply any general judgment about female capacity to rule?