The Theme Of Despair In Aeneus

Aeneas, the titular hero of Virgil’s Aeneid, is the flawed Trojan hero sent on a divine quest to found the new Troy and establish the basis for the Roman Empire. Along this journey, he is pushed to his limits both mentally and physically. This strain shows him to be a deeply Roman hero, especially in the values that come forward in his actions and response to tragedy. He embodies two major Roman values: pietas and respect for family, both past and future.

In The Aeneid, Aeneus goes against human instinct to worship the gods. When the gods’ promise seems impossible to be accomplished, Aeneus still believes it will be completed. Throughout the story, Aeneus is constantly suffering and neglecting his own desires to please the gods. Aeneus’ piety leads him to be successful in establishing the future of Rome. Aeneus demonstrates piety by always following the gods will.

There are many lessons that can be learned from reading Homer's The Iliad. One of which is understanding the stages of grief. One can literally watch Achilles go through all five stages when he morns the death of his comrade Patroclus. Achilles moves through Denial and Isolation, Depression, Anger, Bargaining and Acceptance in the short time after his close friends death.

As is true with characters of many other works of literature, the protagonist of Oedipus the King, must contend with the horrible reality of his past. This protagonist, Oedipus, killed his father and married his mother, and what is worse, is that he is not aware of this. Throughout the entire play, his relationship with his past is one of ignorance. His ignorance of past events is what causes the play to unfold as it does. Unaware of his own reality, Oedipus leads himself to his own demise by becoming overly confident and prideful, and by distancing himself from his supporters. Through the main character’s relationship with the past, Sophocles develops his central themes of fate, sight, and pride.

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

The entire play comes to a tragic end. And with dramatic irony is clearly seen in the entire play. Oedipus killed his father and murdered his mother, but Oedipus and Jocasta did not find out until the end, Tieresias ' warnings and prophecy clearly portray the use of irony. Rhetorical questions are seen questioning himself or fate. What, born as mine were born?”

Portions of modern society believe fate to be concrete and unchanging. However, in ancient times, it was believed to be influenced and guided by the actions of the gods. Similarly, in The Iliad by Homer, the actions of the gods influence the life, death, and fate of each and every individual. Gods such as Zeus, Athena and Apollo take great influence in human affairs in The Iliad. These actions cause life, death, sorrow, and triumph to befall various individuals of the story. Achilles’ fate results, solely, from these actions the gods undertake. In particular, the gods influence on Achilles’ fate shows when the gods keep Achilles from killing Agamemnon, staying out of the war, and holding onto his rage.

In book eleven, Virgil stresses the protagonist’s views on unnecessary violence when Latin envoys are sent to Aeneas to beg for a truce so they may collect their dead to which Aeneas replies “I would wish for those that were killed to have left this battle alive and I would wish not to have come here, if the fates had not given me this place and this home. Nor do I wage war with this race. It was the King who abandoned our friendship and trusted more in the weapons of Turnus” . Here we can see clearly that Aeneas was reluctantly forced into this war, not necessarily by the Latins but rather by the fates. It is possible that Virgil wished to communicate his own opinions on war to his audience in a subtle and stylistic manner by using Aeneas as his mouthpiece. Aeneas is the hero who we have all grown to love by this point in the epic and so expressing ideas via him would be the best approach as they will be more easily accepted when suggested by a well liked character. This technique could also allow Virgil to convey his personal thoughts in such a way that it would still be in keeping with the rest of the story. Virgil further suggests that an intense desire for combat is unhealthy and not particularly admirable by portraying Turnus, the enemy, as the embodiment of such a characteristic. After being manipulated by Allecto, Virgil states that the “love of the sword raged

Throughout the Aeneid by Virgil, death is a reoccurring theme and each death has its own significance to the poem. The death of Creusa in book two shows that Aeneas will need a new wife and the death of Pallas in book ten foreshadows Turnus’s future. One of the most interesting deaths is that of Dido because the responsibility for Dido’s death falls on multiple characters: Anna, the goddesses, Venus, Juno and Rumor, and Dido herself.

The third problem that readers face is realized in his final act, his actions don’t match his character at all and does not flow with the character portrayed throughout the epic. I support the death of Turnus because without his death, Rome would not have been founded but I argue that Turnus did not have to die in the manner that he did, he died a disgraceful death. If Auenus had not been killed he would have been a major problem because he would be a major threat to the life of Aeneus and also would be a constant trouble maker. His death is justified because he robbed the sword belonging to Pallas. He also went ahead and killed him with dishonor, however this takes back the reader to the question of who is the better between Turnus and Aeneus? Aeneus allows his anger to consume him, this is a sign of weakness. On the other hand Turnus demonstrates that he is strong when he accepts defeat and humbly makes a last request. This shows that he keeps his words and is ready to face anything.

   Throughout Virgil's Aeneid and Job  from the Old Testament, great obstacles block the paths of the protagonists.   Mental and physical, anguish is placed upon Job and Aeneas.  Though both men suffer extreme pain, the extent and content of the tribulations are different.

With my right arm I shall maintain our treaty. (XII 426-430)” In this quote, Aeneas is saying that it is his right to fight Turnus and it would be wrong for him to give up that right, it would be impious.

Firstly, when Aeneas is called upon to go found a new city across the sea, he lacks self-confidence. He is suddenly thrust into his harsh fate, a fate

In the discourse of literature, every tale presents a story with a hero. When it comes to culture, the author displays a heroic character as someone who demonstrates ideal characteristics that are based on the story’s historical background. These ideal attributes can include heroism, honesty, selflessness, and confidence. From Virgil’s tale of The Aeneid, Aeneas is portrayed as the protagonist and hero of the tale. Within this story, Virgil shows how the Roman culture is valued through Aeneas’s actions of heroism. His example of presenting the value of Roman culture to the reader is by illustrating the concept of romanitas. In the Roman culture, romanitas can be expressed in Latin as “roman-ness.” Though it is known to be a combination of

Unfortunately, the same fate awaits him if he commits matricide, thereby avenging his father. Orestes chooses the latter and is besieged by 'the hounds of mother's hate.' (Lib: 1055-6). Through this sequence of murderous events, Aeschylus demonstrates the complexity and futility of the blood feud as a system of justice. There are no winners, and the cycle of violence does not end. Thus, this cycle of vengeance is not justice.