Definition
Why Books I,II,IV and VI?
The division of the Aeneid into two parts
Synopsis of each book
 What
city is on the Tiber River?
 Pergama was also known as?
 How many books does the poem have
overall?
 Explain the optimistic point of view when
reading the Aeneid.
 Using your own knowledge give a definition
of what an epic poem is.
 Today
we will be discussing what an epic
poem is and the structure of the poem. We
will be looking at why books I,II, IV and VI
are important. This is all background
information which will help us to have a
greater understanding of the text as a whole.
In short, it is a long narrative poem telling of a
hero’s deeds.
 The poem contains certain conventions:


Initially the poet states the theme (an epic theme):
“I pray for inspiration, to tell how it all begun… in her indignation
she forced a man… to tread that long path of adventure, and to
face so many trials” (Bk I, lines 1-4)

A muse is invoked which helps them with their task.
Its presence allows the poet to ask big questions:
“Say, Muse, what outrage to her power the cause,
Or angered why, the Queen of heaven constrained
A man, so marked for goodness, still to ply
The round of peril, bear the brunt of toil:
In heavenly breasts do such fierce passions dwell?” (Bk I, lines 711)

The poem starts in the middle (medias res), this is a
critical point:
“Aloof from Latium; and for many a year
They roamed, fate driven, through all the circling seas:
So vast the toil to found the Roman race.
Scarce out of sight of the Sicilian land
To seaward they were sailing cheerily,
Tilting the salt foam with each brazen beak,
When Juno, nursing in her bosom’s depth
The undying wound, thus with her own soul spake” (BkI, lines
31-38)

Main characters are introduced:
“meanwhile of ocean made one roaring mass,
And a storm launched, and all his water-floods
Wrung from their lowest deeps, was Neptune
ware,” (BkI, lines 123-125)

Language features are used:
“The wrestling winds and roaring hurricanes” (BkI, line
53). The winds are being kept in Aeolus’ cave.

Long speeches by the main characters:
Venus bespake “ O thou who swayest the tides
Of men and gods with sovereign power eterne,
And scar’st them with thy bolt…” (BkI, lines 230-232).
Venus pleading to her father Zeus to help her son
Aeneas.
FIND EXAMPLES FROM YOUR OWN TEXT
OF EACH CONVENTION.
 Virgil
modelled the structure of the Aeneid
on the Iliad and the Odyssey (Homer).
 Virgil’s epic incorporates important
elements. These are: war, a hero with a long
and difficult journey and the incorporation of
other heroic warriors.
 The Aeneid differs from Homer’s epics –
Homeric poems repeat various elements
whilst Virgil’s poem demonstrates his
command over the language.
 Similarities between the two: the hero and
the setting is on a grand scale.
 In
the Shakespeare play, who killed Macbeth?
 Macduff
 These
books contain more of the action, they
describe important events, such as the death
of Dido (Bk IV).
Bk I: Juno and the storm
Bk II: Destruction of Troy
Bk III: Interlude of
wandering.
Bk IV: Tragedy of love.
BkV: Games, a lessening
of tension.
Bk VI: Future revealed.
Bk VII: Juno and war.
Bk VIII: Birth of Rome.
Bk IX: Interlude at a
Trojan camp.
Bk X: Tragedy of war.
Bk XI: Truce, lessening of
tension.
Bk XII: Future assured.

Read Brief synopsis of the prescribed books and
then create a cartoon strip or to demonstrate
the outline of each book OR create a flow chart
for each book OR bullet point the important
parts of each book.
I-VI
Aeneas journey from Troy to
Italy.
VII-XII
Aeneas’ adventures after he
arrives in Italy.
•The first books of each part invoke the
muses:
“Say Muse what outrage to her power
the cause…” (Bk I, line 7). Discussing what
caused Juno’s anger.
“Now aid me, Erato; what kings had
sway…” (Bk VII, line 37). The narrator is
asking Erato to help describe Latium.