Essay Example on Aeneid: Conquering Obstacles to Reach His Destiny

The artistic context found within the poem of Aeneid is such a rich literary framework for critical analysis. Several aspects of writing were ideally employed in by Virgil in the attempt of an acute structuring of the Aeneid determination to fulfill his fate by making sure that the character survives all through the turbulence journey to the desired Destiney; which is Rome. Through his journey, Aeneid is seen to conquer so many obstacles which would have otherwise resulted in his failure to reach to his set Destiney. Therefore this is an implication that Aeneas served a heroic duty in the poem as shaped in by author Virgil. This paper shall, therefore, seek to find out whether Virgil shaped Aeneid to perfectly serve as an epic heroic duty until the desired fulfillment of the targeted fate came to pass. The analysis shall, therefore, involve a wide range of supportive forms of writing as evident within the poem by Virgil.

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Aeneas is the hero, or primary character, of the Aeneid. He is the child of Anchises, a Trojan sovereign, and Venus, the goddess of adoration. Virgil depicts Aeneas as a Trojan saint; a warrior who will lead his kin to security found another Trojan state and set up request in his and his kinsman's lives (Mendelsohn, 2019). Aeneas is the exemplification of Roman excellencies: He is the loyal hireling of destiny and the divine beings, he is a model chief of his kin, and he is a given dad and child. He shows proper pietas - a commitment to one's family, nation, and mission. Aeneas' character has human characteristics too. He is introduced as a defective mortal man - a man with sentiments.

In his job as a devoted worker of destiny and of the gods, Aeneas never dismisses his objective. Aeneas is "a man separated, committed to his main goal, a devoted man." He discloses to Dido that he is "compelled by a solemn obligation." Aeneas faces affliction while never losing confidence in the desire of destiny. For instance, his confidence is fortified when he sees the sanctuary Dido worked to respect Juno, "Here just because he cheered up to expectation/for security, and to confide in his fate more/Even in torment (Zeitlin, 1965)." In Book II, Aeneas and the Trojans perform memorial service customs for Polydorus and Aeneas looks for direction from the divine beings when the Trojans are leaving a nation and when they touch base at another one. Aeneas gets Apollos' predictions through different divine beings. For instance, the Penates, or Trojan hearth divine beings, advise Aeneas to cruise for Italy, the Harpies' head, Celaeno, talks about Apollo's guidelines to her to tell his future, and Helenus likewise gets his disclosure from Apollo. After hearing the predictions, Aeneas is resolved to satisfy his main goal, notwithstanding obstructions that may thwart his advancement.

Aeneas is known to have played a very important part of Virgil's work, and thus he deserves to be branded as an epic hero. An epic hero is defined as the symbol of imposing figure that serves as of great national importance whose existence is drawn from a significant historical and legendary focus. Aeneas fits this definition impeccably. Aeneas' character is vital. Known far and wide for his numerous accomplishments and experiences, Aeneas gets, appropriately, an unfathomable measure of regard and deference from various noteworthy characters all through this book. To the extent history and legend goes, Aeneas assumes a gigantic job in both of these. Aeneas impacts history through his undertakings which are in the end accepted as Rome's national epic, instructing ages to come. Likewise, Aeneas holds a huge stake in legends. As a piece of fantastic writing, Aeneas' experiences spring up, contributing enormously to the legends of today. Aeneas' life is emphatically affected by the many, and regularly contradicting, divine beings.

All through his voyages, Aeneas is influenced, both decidedly and adversely, by the divine beings. Venus, the goddess of adoration and mother of Aeneas and Cupid, is one of these impacts. As a concerned mother, Venus urgently aches for her child's security and goes to extraordinary lengths to help him and keep him safe. One noteworthy move she makes that drastically impacts Aeneas is to scheme her other child, Cupid, to make an affection among Aeneas and Queen Dido of Carthage. Wishing to keep Aeneas from damage along with his destined voyages, she utilized Dido as a diversion to keep Aeneas in Carthage. Aeneas' abrupt love for Dido keeps him in Carthage for quite a while and removes his contemplations from his destiny and upon his new love (Vickers, 1983). Aeneas' unnatural love is additionally empowered by Juno, the spouse of Jupiter (King of the divine beings) and ruler of the gods. Juno does not wish Aeneas to satisfy his predetermination. Juno's preferred city is Carthage, and Juno realizes Rome's destiny is to demolish Carthage sometime in the future.

Moreover, Aeneas is one of the last enduring occupants of the city of Troy. Distinctively he is a devout man, with a solid dread of the gods. Notwithstanding being a bold warrior, he is a steadfast leader, fit for propelling his devotees paying little heed to what perils they may be facing. Be that as it may, in spite of his solid air, he is likewise fit for indicating incredible sympathy for his kindred men. He accepts that he is bound to remake his fallen city and become the originator of the Roman race in Italy. It is this conviction that aides him on his adventure, and keeps him from throwing in the towel, paying little respect to what he experiences. Virgil's The Aeneid is to a great extent about his epic experience from Troy to Italy, and his plan to satisfy his predetermination.

Thematic Analysis

Several themes in the text powerfully depict how Aeneas survived as an epic hero throughout his journey to Rome, despite a dozen of fateful challenges that he ended up encountering via various destinations and within the midways of the entire journey. Therefore, the following themes serve as an indication that Aeneas is such an epic hero of Virgil's text.

The theme of the dominance of fate

All through the whole poem, Aeneas is guided by the standard limits to satisfy his destiny. Regardless of experiencing enormous enduring on his voyage, and encountering numerous triumphs, his course stays unaltered. His ultimate objective is consistently to accomplish his fate. The will to meet his destiny is far more noteworthy than the dread of the divine beings and any of the powerful components that they may call upon to thump him off-kilter. In many cases, he is guided by Jupiter, one of the most dominant divine beings. Jupiter is said to be more unflinching than different gods, implying that he is fit for fighting the obstruction of the lesser gods and supporting the Trojans on their adventure. All through the sonnet, the fundamental characters see different statures of improvement, each after out their very own fate (Feeney, 1986). Turnus and Juno battle against their apparent fate with each opportunity they get. Be that as it may, at last, this prompts their defeat. Dido wants to marry Aeneas, and winds up denied by his own responsibility to destiny - this leaves her pain-stricken.

The suffering of the voyagers

The principal half of the poem tells the story of the Trojans as they venture from Troy to Italy. Generally, individuals were attracted to familial reliability and never went a long way from home. This was somewhat because of the way that somebody's country becomes a genuine piece of their identity. For instance: Helen of Troy. Getting to be destitute was equivalent to getting to be anonymous. The writer, Virgil, further promotions to the battles of the Trojans as he keeps in touch with them into circumstances that reason them to be at the pure benevolence of otherworldly or common powers. On the Mediterranean Sea, they discover their ship battered by massive storms; they are placed in critical circumstances where they should typically figure out which bearing to travel, with little pieces of information about where they are. Each time the Trojan's dock on another land, they are encompassed by a new area and are uncertain of what anticipates them. However, it seemed clear that the audience could well figure out what is coming up as a result, but the Trojans are left to meander erratically, helpless before the gods and fate. Thus, Aeneas took on his heroic character to ensure that the voyagers remain undaunted, and thus, can fight without failure for the success of their journey to the home of target; Rome.

The power of the Romans

Based on the time when the poem was composed, there is much more to find out about how Aeneas had to possess the strong character of an epic hero. Virgil wrote the Aeneid during the Golden Age of the Roman Empire, while the zone was still under the rein of Caesar Augustus. It was his goal to make an anecdotal record of the birthplace of Rome that would feature the achievement of the domain that had vanquished the vast majority of the world as it was known at the time (Merchant, 2017). The lyric routinely inclines towards this social apex. Aeneas can even be seen supporting the Trojan's settlement in Latium in a way like the Roman realm's diversion of its settlement of a few regions. The author, in this case, works in a back flashing manner, while adjusting political and social associations of his day with received Greek folklore of gods and legends, to feature one as being gotten from the other. The ability of Aeneas to stand strong and argue in a way similar to the Romans by supporting the Trojans' settlement is a show of an epic hero, a person to have a great admiration allover by so many.

Conclusion

It can be deduced that Aeneas effectively satisfies the devoted responsibility as a hero and leader of his people. Virgil succeeds to shape Aeneas, a true hero in so many aspects of life. Firstly, it can be acknowledged that his character of being pious and at all time at peace with the gods, is one of the ways to show his commitment to the cultural foundations of his people. Also, he stood strong through their turbulence voyage across the Mediterranean Sea, whereby they successfully managed to find their way out to Rome. Despite his heroic character, Aeneas would still manage to show acts of compassion to his people an act that won him great attributes as a great leader and hero to his people. He accepts that he is bound to remake his fallen city and become the originator of the Roman race in Italy. It is this conviction that aides him on his adventure, and keeps him from throwing in the towel, paying little respect to what he experiences.

Works Cited

Feeney, Denis C. "Epic hero, and epic fable." Comparative literature 38.2 (1986): 137-158.

Mendelsohn, Daniel. "Is The Aeneid A Celebration Of Empire-Or A Critique?". The New Yorker, 2019, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/15/is-the-aeneid-a-celebration-of-empire-or-a-critique.

Merchant, Paul. The epic. Routledge, 2017.

Vickers, Brian. "Epideictic and Epic in the Renaissance." New Literary History 14.3 (1983): 497-537.

Zeitlin, Froma I. "An Analysis of Aeneid, XII, 176-211. The Differences between the Oaths of Aeneas and Latinus." The American Journal of Philology 86.4 (1965): 337-362.