Summary Of The Snake In Book Two Of The Aeneids

In Vergil’s The Aeneid, imagery and description of fire is used heavily throughout each book. It is sometimes seen in moments of love and creation, but is most frequently seen at times of destruction and rage. The common thread of each appearance is that fire is the catalyst that prompts the characters to make a decision or to further an action when otherwise there likely would be no change.

But in 1905 the archeologist, Ludwig Pollack, discovered the original right arm of Laocoön and it was reconstructed in 1957-60 (“The Vatican” 185). The style of this sculpture is immediately classified as Hellenistic, because of the motion on the bodies of Laocoön and his sons. The agony on their faces portrays the anguish they were feeling at the time of their death, and the bulging muscles, and veins stick out as they try to free themselves of the snakes. The legend says that Laocoön was a Trojan priest of Apollo. The Greeks who had been trying to sack the city of Troy for years were unsuccessful, and devised a new plan. They created the Trojan horse to offer the city of Troy as a promise to stop the fighting. Laocoön saw that this was a trap and tried to warn his fellow Trojans of the danger. When he approached the alter of Poseidon to pray, the Gods Athena and Poseidon depending on which version you read, favored the Greeks and decided to punish Laocoön for his treachery by sending two giant snakes to kill him and his sons. However, there was one Trojan who heeded the warning, his name was Aeneas. Aeneas, fled Troy and this eventually led to the founding of Rome (“Musei Vaticani – sito ufficiale”). There are a lot of different theories just on this one story. I have seen that the snakes were sent by Athena, Poseidon, and even Apollo. There is also debate on whether the Trojan horse was a gift to the city of Troy or an offering to the gods.

The detail increases the power the snake exudes in the perspective of the man. “Children, dogs, and horses…who weren’t as strong” compared to the snake, created panic and fear, because of its “six powerful fangs” and “little

represents the tangible and visible blossoming of Athenian imperial power, impaired by the damages of the

As the initial path of conflict between snake and man is developed, literary devices such as imagery allow the reader to more easily visualize and connect to the story. Descriptive imagery is the first literary device used in “The Rattler”. The use of “ Light was thinning; the scrub’s dry savory odors were sweet on the cooler air. In this, the first pleasant moment for a walk after long blazing hours” (The Rattler 1) in the opening of the piece encourages the reader to delve into the narrator’s life and experience what he feels. After the narrator abruptly sees the snake, the imagery changes from the peaceful rural life to a dark, intense description of the snake, “a six-foot black snake thick as my wrist, capable of long-range attack and armed with powerful fangs” (The Rattler 2), changing to the viewpoint of the snake for the reader. The switch in the use of imagery takes the reader through a completely different path and alters their emotional response to the story. The snake’s presence illustrates the narrator’s obvious fear and anxiety while allowing the reader to feel the same emotions

While the ending of The Aeneid might be seen to have multiple significances, I believe that Virgil ended the poem the way he did to make a statement about the use of power to achieve dominance and rulership: namely, that a lust for nothing but power will ultimately consume. The poem ends with Turnus and Aeneas facing each other one-on-one on the battlefield. However, it should be noted that there are fundamental differences between the philosophies of the two combatants which should first be grasped to fully understand the significance of Aeneas’s actions in ending the war. Before the battle between Aeneas and Turnus begins, the reader gets a glimpse of Turnus’s philosophy regarding the stakes of the battle. “Either I’ll send, with my hand, this deserter of Asia, this Dardan, / Down to the Pit of the Damned—and the Latins can sit down and watch while / My lone sword is refuting the charge of dishonor we all share; / Or you [Latinus] must share my defeat. And Lavinia must go as this man’s wife.” (12.14-17) Turnus believes that in war, there is no possible outcome but for one leader and his entire army to be wiped out in the other side’s pursuit of honor and glory. Aeneas’s views on the battle are displayed earlier in the poem, when he journeys down into the underworld and is instructed in Trojan battle philosophy by his deceased father Anchises. “You, who are Roman, recall how to govern mankind with your power. / That will be your special ‘Arts’: the enforcement of peace as

(A Discussion on Scenes of Violence in the Iliad and Their Effect on the Text as a Whole)

“holding to life, genitals like violent hands clasped tightbarely moving, more like being closed in a great jaw and eaten, and the screaming “

The third stanza describes the snake as “cool and gleaming as a braided whip” (9-10). Describing the snake as a braided whip demonstrates the intricate woven pattern of the snake’s scales and the poet’s appreciation for nature and its’ beauty. The snake is not a useless piece of rubber, but a beautiful and vibrant part of nature. “He is as beautiful and quiet as a bead brother” (10-11). The snake is quiet, makes no sound, and snuggles into

In discussing fire imagery in the Aeneid I will attempt in the course of this paper to bring in an analytic device to aid in assembling the wide array of symbols into a more uniform set of meaning. Consistently throughout the Aeneid, fire serves to provoke the characters to action. Action which otherwise it is not clear they would enter upon. Fire clears the way for the juggernaut plot to advance. Juno, first of all, described as burning - pondering (with her hatred of the Dardans) goes to Aeolus with the idea of sending the winds to create an under-handed storm to destroy the Trojans, at the sight of their fleeing ships and successful escape from the Greeks (I.75)1. Fire from the Greeks burns down

The snake metaphor present in Priam’s death serves to dramatize his death. Pyrrhus, like a snake “sloughing its old skin to glisten in its newfound youth,” viciously approaches Priam to murder him (Aeneid 2.590-91). By drawing a parallel between the snake, shedding its skin, to Pyrrhus, the audience can believe Pyrrhus as a much stronger, ruthless, and dangerous version of himself. One way Virgil successfully accomplishes this belief is through using the word “glisten[ing]” which symbolizes rebirth, strength, and power. Furthermore, Virgil strengthens this interpretation with the description of the snake having “triple tongue[s] flicking

In Vergil’s The Aeneid, imagery and description of fire is used heavily throughout each book. It is seen in cases of destruction, cases of love, and cases of creation, but the common thread is that fire is the source of every action.

The epic poem The Aeneid, by Vergil adapts scenes, similes, and characters from the Odyssey written by Homer. The works of both authors include the simile of Artemis/Diana. Other characters do overlap in some of Vergil's scenes for instance, Aeneas and Odysseus encounter Cyclops. Both authors also reference the scene of the underworld. Although, Virgil adapts similarities from Homer's epic, each encounter has noticeable comparisons and/or differences. Vergil presents the epic of the Aeneid with a different purpose. At the beginning of the Aeneid, Aeneas leaves his home with other Romans after the Trojan War. Homer starts his epic with Odysseus wanting to return home form Troy.  The motives that guide each character differ from one another. Homers the Odyssey is more of the journey of a man longing to be home again, after the trojan war has ended. His actions are somewhat selfish at times. Virgil's main character Aeneas is driven by more of a scene of duty to the gods, because he is instructed to help build Rome for future generations.

The first would be “hold onto the this message against forgetfulness in tides of the day when blissful sleep is gone”(30). I think the fascinating point from the starting of this story is how you can send messages or communicate through dreams and how Akhaians thought to send message to be prepared for the war with the help of dreams to Agamemnon. “The troops were turning out now, thick as bees that issue from some crevice in a rock face, endlessly pouring forth, to make a cluster and swarm or blooms of summer here and there, glinting and droning, busy in bright air.” I like how the technique- imagery has been used in the quote, to show how the situation is and to give us a detail of what’s going on by using good comparisons and symbolism. “After the snake had gorged upon them all, the god who sent him, turned him into an omen; turned him to stone.” The last interesting part in book 2 and the Iliad is the transformation that takes places. The snake is turned into an omen here, which is kind of like a real-life fantasy. The conclusion is the war not only included the fights, but also a hint of romance, fantasy, techniques of imagery, and detailed writing that I found

Laocoon and His Sons is a marble sculpture representing a scene that is a part of the tale of the siege and invasion of Troy. Laocoon was the protagonist in a play by Sophocles that is now lost. He was also written about by Virgil. The statue itself is one of the most famous sculptures of Greek and Roman antiquity, its subject is Laocoön, a Trojan high priest, who, along with his two sons, is – according to legend - attacked and killed by two snakes, or sea serpents. The tale is known as myth, but its content may have symbolic roots in actual