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Mrs. Downer/ Ms. Bergen/ Mrs. Ibrahim
Latin II-2/ English 10-4/World History (T/TH)
20 October 2010
Virgil A Roman Poet
Virgil born on October 15, 70 BC was more than qualified to be a great
poet. He received a superior education more than most people could afford at
that time. He was famous for his other poems The Georgics and The Eclogues.
Virgil’s greatest work The Aeneid was not ready to be published when it was, in
fact he wished for it to be burned hours before his death. The emperor had other
plans for his poem so his death wish was disregarded and the poem did get
published. Though Virgil was displeased with his most famous work The Aeneid, it
glorified Rome, pleased its emperor, and gave him eternal fame.
Virgil spent 11 years on this poem and planned to spend another three
years on revisions, but that wasn’t an option when he contracted a fever on a trip
to Greece and his fever became fatal. “It is in keeping with the absence of self
assertion in his writings that his final hours were clouded by the sad sense of
failure, rather than brightened by such confident assurance of immortality as
other Roman poets have expressed.” (Sellar 121). In his final hours he was
tortured knowing his eleven years of work towards his masterpiece would not be
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receiving his finishing touches. His unexpected death really did affect the quality
of his poem. “The Aeneid may not have been regarded as more perfect in
execution than the Eclogues and Georgics, but it was regarded as a work of
higher inspiration” (Anderson 62). The Romans regarded his poem so highly
because of its various similarities to Homer’s great epic they were able to
overlook the flaws and immensely praised it. Romans thought of it as a revival of
Homer’s poetry. “But the Aeneid not only revives adventure of the Greek heroic
age, it also brings back the Romance” (Gass 430)
After this poem published it became an instant classic. Anderson said
“Virgil’s poem appealed not to the popular taste but to the national, religious,
aristocratic, and literary sympathies of the cultivated classes.” (307). Rome took
great pride in this poem it did not fail to glorify Rome. It was named the national
epic of Rome and Virgil the greatest poet of all time. “The gifts of intellect and
feeling by which Virgil represented his country and his age entitle him to a place
among the greatest poets of the world.” (Sellar 87). This poem also seemed to
give Rome a sense of national continuity. He represented his country so well and
it was very patriotic which pleased the Roman citizens. It was very famous mainly
because of the Romans’ constant strive to be like the Greeks. These poems are
both very similar, they both are epics with similar story lines and religious
interactions with the gods. This poem changed the standards of epics forever for
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example Virgil wrote in poetry rather than prose like Homer. His poetry was
popular even centuries later. There was even a group of poets who tried to
imitate Virgil’s writing style.
Virgil a well-educated man, a fine poet, and a quite wealthy man never did
get married. He was a lonely person and though he did have friends but always
threw himself into his work. “The Aeneid began to overshadow all other priorities
it became more of an obsession to finish rather than a job.” (Sellar 69). He was
quite a tortured soul which is why The Aeneid was important to him he spent as
much time with it as a normal man would with a woman it became his wife and
he was not ready to share it with a world it had to be perfect, although it is a
great poem it would take a lot more for Virgil to have seen that in is eyes. He
would not stop until he achieved perfection
Augustus though he was wrong for publishing against the will of Virgil, did
make the right decision. “The imperialism and religious ideas of Rome, as
embodied in the Aeneid, find their fullest realization in the position assigned to
Augustus.” (Griffin 347). This poem really did portray Augustus as the typical
embodiment of Roman imperialism. It may have been selfish but it still benefited
more than him. He couldn’t have let Virgil’s work just destroyed. It was too
important to Augustus and the whole Roman Empire. If Virgil had not died so
young and had gotten his expected three years this poem would truly surpass all
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of his other work not only in the story but the actual quality of the poem.
Virgil’s poem was not ready to be published, but without it he would not
be defined as the greatest. Rome would not have such a glorifying poem though
unfinished it is still a great piece. If his death had not been so sudden it would
have been greater and more polished like is other poems The Georgics or The
Eclogues. This poem made everyone happy except Virgil himself. Augustus’ move
was selfish but it did do a lot to help glorify Rome. It truly was his greatest work
regardless of its imperfections.
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Work Cited
Anderson, William. The Art of The Aeneid. Englewood Cliffs: Practice-Hall, 1969.
Print.
Gass, H. M. "Roman Virgil." The Sewanee Review 39.4 (1930): 422-39. Print.
Griffin, Jasper. Latin Poets and Roman Life. Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina, 1986. Print.
Sellar, William. Roman Poets of the Augustan Age-Virgil. 3rd ed. New York:
Bilbo and Tannen, 1965. Print.