Essays on Virgil

The story of Orpheus and Eurydice remains one of the most famed myths of ancient Greece. It is not only a tale that pulses with the timeless themes of beauty, love and loss, but it also reveals deeper aspects of the human experience regarding what it means to be god and man. As a man endowed with god-like powers in the form of musical ability, Orpheus carried within himself the unique and precious capacity to bend even the most rigid hearts into understanding and supporting his deepest desires, including the rare chance to bring someone back to life. This ...

Virgil perceives an entrance to the underworld as a cave by the shores of Italy consisting of a lake and wood close to the mouth, with a lake inside the cave (Torjussen 73). One can only get through by offering a golden tree branch to the Cocytus ferryman (Solmsen 13). According to the philosopher, there are different kinds of souls in the water that humbly requests assistance in their crossover to the boat. According to Virgil, the only access to the ship is by having the body buried with the alternative being swimming in the smelly waters (Bremmer 185). ...

In What Ways Were the Romans Heirs to the Greek Civilization?

Introduction There is a consensus among scholars that the major influences of the Roman culture were the Greeks. Among the major proponents for this theory are authors, Roy Matthews, Dewitt Platt and Thomas Noble; and the renowned historian, Eugen Weber. In their book, ‘The Western Humanities, Volume 1: Beginnings through the Renaissance,’ Matthews, Platt and Noble developed the idea that Western culture, which developed from the Romans, was actually a product of the Hellenistic culture that dominated the Mediterranean region in the past (Matthews, Platt, & Noble, 2010). Similarly, in his video instructional series, ‘The Western Tradition,’ Eugen Weber presented ...

Dante’s Inferno is a play that has a carefully worked out structure that gives the impression that there is specific punishment for particular crimes depending on the severity of the latter. From the outset, it is important to note that the vision of hell that the play illustrates causes the audience to perceive the trip to hell as a horrifying experience, especially when Dante creates the impression that every person has to undergo punishment because everyone is a sinner, one way or another. The structure that the play creates has nine circles with each with each representing different ...

The Divine Comedy is a Medieval Poem that represents a journey of hell, heaven, and paradise. Dante’s journey explores the specifications that he and other people may acquire when determining their outcome of heaven or hell. His words express the sinfulness that occurs on earth and the reflection it has as punishment. The souls’ punishment of Hell reflects the disadvantage of traveling to Heaven. In Inferno, the sinners symbolize the hatefulness that occurs and the price that their souls pay in Hell. “He talks about the wrath of God and the souls coming together from every country”. . Dante ...

On the one hand, it is understandable that Virgil would wish to avoid the consequences of a negative report from the insurance inspectors. This kind of report drives up the insurance premiums the business is forced to pay and even threatens Virgil’s ability to continue in his position at the warehouse. However, for Tim there are a number of serious problems with the suggestion that Virgil has made. There is also a question of safety. By following the orders Virgil has laid out for him, Tim would be violating basic safety principles. If the manufacturer felt that the ...

Introduction

The Annals is a collection of sixteen books that survive, written by Cornelius Tacitus who was an historian of the Roman Empire as well as a Roman senator. In what remains of his final writings, Tacitus describes the Roman Empire beginning with Tiberius’ reign in 14 AD 14 up to and including Nero’s reign in 68 AD. The estimated date of the Annals is around 166 AD. The personages and events described in the Annals include Caligula, Claudius, Tiberius Nero, and Messalina. While Tacitus was writing from the perspective of an elitist and a scholar, it is evident ...

Epic poem Aeneid composed by Virgil presents reader with legendary adventures of ancestor of the Romans – Aeneas. It reveals all the hardships and tricks of fortune that Aeneas had to overcome in order to get to Italy. Gods` intricacies along with glorious battles illuminate not only Aeneas`s thorny path to fulfill his duty but also shows characters` diversity and complexity. It should be mentioned that almost all characters in this poem are controversial and cannot be fully considered as positive or negative. Therefore, their actions may be considered to bear dichotomy which complicates their interpretation as well as ...

Questions and Answers

1. Review Dante’s Inferno 1. What is the purpose of Dante’s journey? The purpose of Dante’s journey through hell is two-fold. The first reason is to showcase hell and remind Christians the fate that awaits them if they did not follow God’s word. The idea was to scare readers into an upright and Christian lifestyle. Secondly, there is some political ideology as well. When he shows famous people in hell, such as the previous Popes Boniface and Nicholas III, he is condemning some of the political and religious leaders of his time. This was his ...

Literature:

Latin Class The Aeneid (from Latin Aenēis) is an epic work, written in Latin, the author of which is Virgil. This work comes from time, between 29th and 19th year B.C. This work dedicated to the story of Aeneas, a legendary Trojan hero who moved to Italy with the remains of his nation; hero, who established the Lavinia, while his son established Alba Longa city. Virgil wrote this poem in dactylic hexameter and it consists of twelve books, six of which are mimic to Odysseys and the other six to Iliad. The chronology of Aeneid is intentionally violated; ...

Cоurse

Dаte The Aeneid The image of Dido is one of the most tragic representations in Roman literature. Virgil reminds us all - even in the most severe situations of our lives, we all stay human beings. It requires sharing the experiences and knowledge. And this is the humanitas of the poet. The tragic love of Dido begins with the libido. When the persecuted by the will of the gods, the Trojans surpassed Italy, and arrived at the coast of Libya to Carthage, which was founded and ruled by Dido, at a Banquet hosted in honor of the guests, ...

Dante’s Inferno presents an allegorical biography of Dante’s effort to conquer sins and enjoy God’s love. The author of this compelling book presents the idea of Hell by explaining nine different circles. The levels descend towards the depth of the hell the (9th level), the circle inhabited by the devil himself. Each circle is a reserve for particular sinners. Furthermore, different punishments are administered at each level. The nature and extent of the sins committed define the magnitude of the recommended punishment. The higher the severity of the sin the lower the circle in which one ...

Prejudice and discrimination

Summary of the movie A very rich and powerful man known as Philip Colbert who comes from Chicago and who had plans to construct a factory in a rural southern town called Sparta in Mississippi was found murdered. The regional police boss Chief Bill is under pressurre to investigate the murder of Philip quickly. A well-dressed African-American northerner named Virgil Tibbs, who was waiting for a train in a deserted station, is picked up by a police officer who is a racist. Virgil is found with a lot of money in his pocket. After being arrested, he is brought ...

The law of the contrapasso in Dante’s Inferno is one of the laws of nature with an application to hell. It denotes that for individuals crimes committed by every sinner there must exist an equal punishment, The punishment according to the law of the contrapasso is neither simple nor obvious. It is a punishment that is related to the crime on a metaphoric rather than literal basis on sin. The law of the contrapasso can also be defined as divine retribution. This paper seeks to examine and analyze the law of the contrapasso as it relates to complex ...

Divine Comedy of Dante is the greatest monument of Italian literature, real medieval scientific encyclopedia of political, philosophical, moral and theological knowledge. This is allegorical description of the human soul with its vices, passions, joys and virtues. This is live human characters and vivid psychological situations. According to Virgil, Dante will have to learn in “Hell” not in words but in reality all human evil, fallen away from God, and to see the futility of earthly grandeur and ambition (Heather et al., 2005). For this poet shows in the Divine Comedy underground kingdom, where he connects everything he knows ...

Virgil and Homer were two authors who did excellent work that gave so much detail about the Romans and the Greeks. The odyssey was a written work that gave a reflection about the journey of one of the victorious heroes who came back from the Trojan War. Shrewd Odysseus was a true reflection of the society that existed in Greece during Homers time. On the other hand, Aeneid was a narrative that was created by Virgil who part of the roman society. The primary reason behind the creation of Aeneid was to create a national hero who would be ...

Introduction

Before this case of Mapp v. Ohio, it was inadmissible in a federal court of law to use evidence that had been obtained in violation of the 4th amendment, if federal officers had obtained that information. On the other hand, in a state court, law enforcement officers – whether federal or state - could take evidence seized in violation of the amendment and present it to the state courts. As a result, someone could be prosecuted criminally in state courts based on evidence acquired in breach of the 4th amendment. Mapp v. Ohio is a benchmark case that led to ...

In this paper, I will look at the themes in The Odyssey and Inferno. The theme I will look at first is journeys. In the Odyssey, Odysseus struggles to return to his home and family. His journey takes ten years to complete. Unlike Odysseus, whose journey is physical in the Inferno, Dante’s journey encompasses the struggle between good and evil within himself. Dante see’s the afterlife as consisting of three level heaven, purgatory and hell. In the Odyssey as Odysseus is traveling back to Ithaca he encounters a number of mythological and supernatural creatures like Poseidon, Circe, ...

Better Luck Tomorrow, is a 2002 film that explores the lives of four Asian-American youth who decided to venture into the excesses of life and ended up getting involved in mischief, petty crime and eventually murder. It was an MTV success that sparked outrage and mixed emotions from the movie goers. The plot begins with a flash-forward of events in the future when the character Ben Manibag (played by Pary Shen) and Virgil Hu (Jason Tobin), his socially unschooled best friend, are involved in a dialogue when they hear a phone ringing. Their curiosity leads them to dig up ...

Discuss the conflict between pietas and furor in the relationship of Aeneas and Dido. How does the concept of Stoicism in Rome help you, as a modern reader, to understand the conflict of duty and love as a conflict of pietas and furor? Pietas and Furor are quite complicated philosophical phenomena. Pietas symbolises peace, calmness and a strong devotion to doing one’s duty. In Rome it was believed that an ideal citizen should first of all think about how to carry out the duties and not about the fulfilment of his own needs. Those duties concerned the devotion ...

Mary Shelly’s novel, Frankenstein, is one of the greatest works of literature of all time. The author goes on to leave a lasting impression on the minds of the readers with the excellent aesthetic charm and emotional appeal of the novel in context. The literary artist shows her skills as a creative artist as she portrays her content via the use of effective literary elements. Now, this novel goes on to show inter-textual references that only work to enhance the charm and literary excellence of the work by Shelly. A close introspection of the novel in context enables ...

The Old Testament and the Epic of Gilgamesh both share stories about floods. However, the emphasis and morals derived from the stories tend to contradict each other. In the epic of Gilgamesh, the floods occur as a punishment to the people for the noise they made (Jason Colavito). However, instead of letting humankind to be wiped off by the flood, one of the god’s Ea reveals to Utnapishtim what to do to survive the flood. He is granted the opportunity to start over without the knowledge of the other gods. This depicts the need to do what is ...

The apparent modeling of Virgil’s Aeneid around Homer’s epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey is evident in the sixth book as the protagonist in the former’s work visits the Land of the Dead. In particular, the eleventh book of the Odyssey gives a similar account as Odysseus visits Hades in his efforts to return home and reclaim his rights as King of Ithaca. Naturally, Virgil does not adopt a blind imitation of the Homeric account and instead, approaches the adaptation process while making sure it serves his purposes. For that reason, while the visit to ...

1. In questioning the ways that the Romans can be considered to have been heirs to Greek and Hellenistic civilization it becomes evident that there were various cultural influences that the Greek's idea of civilization provided to the Roman identity. In looking at the various aesthetic, cultural, and religious values that were derived from Greek culture, it is evident that there was a profound influence that occurred between the Greek and Roman's point of view. Furthermore, in comparing the answers to this question given by Professor Weber and by Professors Matthews, Platt, and Noble further insight into this relationship ...

Young Minority Delinquency as Explained through the Lenses of Strain and Social Learning Theory: Insights from “Crips and Bloods: Made in America”, “Grand Torino” and “A Better Life” Young Minority Delinquency as Explained through the Lenses of Strain and Social Learning Theory: Insights from “Crips and Bloods: Made in America”, “Grand Torino” and “A Better Life”

Introduction

Young minority males from poor families are more likely to turn to delinquency than any other group in the United States of America. In an attempt to explain this tendency by means of well-established criminal law theories, this paper will look at three ...

Bildungsroman Novel are ones that represent the evolution of a personality and character in a gradual pace and process that explore every phase of that development. Often, the depiction of the progression is such that it leads to great insight about human nature and condition. Sometimes, as in the following texts, they also lead to such aspects of a personality that leaves a permanent imprint on the readers; as the readers often find that the exploredareas are often features of their very own nature that they often remain deliberate aloof about. Then again, very strange personality traits also are observed often that are ...

Introduction

The duty herein is to assess and evaluate the speech presentations given. The paper covers those speeches given at the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research, for the year 2014. Professor Bill Cunliffe is the key speaker, representing the Music Department at California State University at Fullerton (CSUF) and has delivered the longest speech presentation (taking up approximately half of the video) brief comments on the other three speakers shall be included. As a key academic field, speech communications empowers people to prepare for careers in many areas. For example, ...

Freud was a human psychologist who studied behaviours of human beings in relation to the environment. He developed a psychoanalytic theory of personality where he argues personality composes of three elements that work to develop human behaviours, the id, the ego, and the superego. The following paper focuses on two of these elements and their application in the book Civilization and its Discontents. The ego element deals with reality while the superego maintains a person’s moral standards and ideals acquired from the family and the society. The Freud investigated the spiritual phenomenon that connects the ego with the outside world through ...

- Virgil. Classical poet, who lived in the 1st century B.C. His most important work was Aeneid, which describes adventures of Aeneas, the leader of Trojans. - Homer. Ancient poet, the author of Iliad and Odyssey. - Ovid. Roman poet, author of the Metamorphoses, which provides an insight into dozens of Roman myths. - Lucan. Roman poet and historian. His most famous work named Bellum civile sive Pharsalia. It describes war between Caesar and Pompey. - Beatrice. Beatrice Portinari, Dante’s muse. She died in younger age and Dante placed her in Heaven. - ...

The Aeneid is an ancient Latin poem, telling the legendary story of a Trojan who travels to Italy and later becomes the ancestor of the Romans. The poem depicts many themes that are resonant with the era in which the poem is set and with the Roman people. Below is an analysis of some of the themes/symbols that are listed in the poem and hence will go ahead to explain their authenticity as themes. Themes are fundamental, and sometimes universal ideas that have been explored in literary work. They include the following:

Favour

During the Aeneid, many of the characters make ...

The paper is devoted to the problem of ruining the site which is believed to be the ancient city of Troy. In particular, the paper studies historical archaeological evidence of the conflict resulting in the fall of the empire comparing it to mythological description of the war called Trojan in classical epics. The legend of the Trojan War – the Bronze Age severe conflict between the kingdoms of Mycenaean Greece and Troy, – reflecting Greek invasion on Troas (present North West Turkey), has been striding through the mythology and history of ancient Greece, inspiring the greatest men of letters of ...

Web

I think that Aeneas, the protagonist in Virgil’s Aeneid, would be a modern-day hero because . . . I am going to look at the scene where Aeneas kills the deer (Book I, Lines) I am going to look at the scene where Aeneas wants to die in the battle of Troy because he wants to avenge his wife’s death. (Book II, Lines) I am going to look at the scene where Aeneas kills Turnus. (Book XII, Line)

Aeneas as Hero

A hero is one who is courageous in the face of great danger or harm. A hero is one who ...

Virgil’s Aeneid is a literary epic and the national story of the Roman Empire. The story is an attempt to link the history of the Roman Empire, and its emperor Augustus Caesar, to the ancient wanderings of the Trojan people to its establishment. By doing so, Virgil hoped to not only create a common national identity of his country’s people, but to link this identity to historical symbols that people would recognize, in an effort to legitimize the Caesar and his empire. By doing so, Virgil creates a story on a grand scale that encompasses not only the history of his ...

Classic English Literature

The classical mythological stories and beliefs of religions, great heroes, Gods, monsters, sins, right and wrong doings, souls, among others have been an inspiration for many poets and authors. Many books have been written on how God would like to have his children live in a holy fashion, virtuous all their lives and enter the gates of heaven. The fear of being thrown in hell and being cleansed for unholy, immoral and sinful acts are also described in many books. Dante’s Divine Comedy written when he was exactly half way through life, at the age of 35 is ...

Introduction

Virgil was an important poet in the Roman Empire. He was born in Italy, but finally got settled in Rome. Virgil was a favorite amongst the patrons in his time and gained a lot of wealth, fame and emperor’s favors simply because of his writing. Virgil lived through several tumultuous wars and regime changes (one of Octavian’s regimes as well, who was also called as Augustus later). Always being in the good books of the emperor Augustus, Virgil started working on his most famous book the Aeneid, which also immortalized the reign of Augustus. The Aeneid is the story ...

With Luca Signorelli (1445/1450 - 1523) was accomplished, with a clearer awareness, the transition from painting as a representation to painting as example of a more aware artistic poetic. The antithesis between the pictorial formal system of Piero della Francesca and the Florentine method was essentially the antithesis between being and becoming, between stasis and movement. The historical moment was of a great religious crisis: the Catholic Church needed a form of art that did not search the absolute, on the contrary the role of a work of art was to speak and persuade the shaken believers with clear arguments. Luca Signorelli was born ...

Saving Grace is a novel written by Lee Smith and first published in 1995. It is a fictional journal of a middle aged woman named Grace Shepherd who embarks on a meandering pilgrimage with her father. Florida Grace is the daughter of Rev. Virgil Shepherd, a travelling preacher who handles snakes and performs signs and wonders. His family is forced to follow Reverend Virgil around in his travels in order to support his preaching ministry. Grace believed in Jesus, but hated Him because she was forced to travel all over in many hardships in support of His ministry. The novel talks about the life ...

Synopsis

Wyatt Earp, a retired lawman, and his brothers (Morgan and Virgil) arrive at the town of Tombstone, Arizona, to make their fortunes as businessmen after the latter had retired as a lawman. However, they meet “The Cowboys”, a very ruthless criminal gang, organised around Curly Bill and Johnny Ringo. Wyatt, his brothers and friend Doc Holliday, are forced to become the law enforcers of the town due to their on-going businesses of saloon and gambling. Although Wyatt had planned to stay in retirement and make money, he is drawn into conflicts by his brothers after the gangs had come to terrorise the ...

The daughter of a King, Andromache was married to Hector of Troy and Achilles slew not only her beloved husband, but her seven brothers shortly after her nuptials. A classic figure in Greek mythology and a key character of any epic of the Trojan War, Andromache is certainly portrayed in various publications, including the Illiad, the Aeneid, The Trojan Women, and Ars Amatoria. Obviously each poet, writer, playwright or screenwriter has all viewed Andromache through their own lens. For the purpose of this paper, however, we will focus on Euripides’ perspective in The Trojan Women and Virgil’s view in the ...

The works Odyssey and Inferno are both recognized as revealing the beliefs and practices of life with reference to the era which these epics date, particularly the struggle of good versus evil. The poem Odyssey deals with the struggles of Odysseus against various impediments he faces on his journey back home from the Trojan War after a gap of twenty years. In Dante’s Inferno, the protagonist Dante is conflicted while choosing good from evil. Referring to the Biblical Heaven and Hell, this struggle is the primary essence of the story. In both these works, the angels and the gods ...

Dante Alighieri wrote the Divine Comedy (Divina Comedia) in the thirteenth century. The work was divided into three stages namely, Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory) and Paradiso (Paradise). It was a well-renowned religious epic during Dante’s time which tells about his journey from Hell to the Paradise. Virgil, who was also a great Roman poet and Beatrice, Dante’s beloved lady guided him through the different circles of hell. The poem which was written in the Tuscany dialect also establishes the modern Italian language. The poem was divided into nine circles. Each circle represents the deadly sins of the mortal world ...

The Amazons also referred to in Iranian as Olorpata was a nation that constituted of the female warriors during Greek mythology. Herodotus had placed this group in an area that bordered Scythia in the boundaries of Ukraine. Some of the Historiographers placed them in the Asian population which is the present day Libya. Some of the notable queens of the Amazons were Penthesilea, who earlier participated in the Trojan War accompanied by her sister Hippolyta. She had a magical girdle that her dad Ares gave her. During classical times, the Amazonian raiders were often known for the battle with the Greek ...

Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010), Divine Comedy of Dante It is a common knowledge that this movie is adapted from Dante Aligheri’ called The Divine Comedy. This movie is animated from the country of Japan. The story is really simple. Dante had apparently gone to the Crusades for spiritual nourishment. However, when he came back, he found that his wife, Beatrice had been slaughtered. The Dark One, the name Dante gives to grim the reaper, was nonetheless present to take to hell, the girl’s soul. Dante did not know the reason for this. He therefore followed the ...

Music is an integral part of everyone’s life. There is no aspect of any person’s life which does not include music or has never been influenced by music. There are many who take up music as a career and so we find that many colleges and universities across the world have included many programs and courses in music. These programs are directed towards those people who want to learn about this art. But in the daily course of life music provides a very good medium for expressing one’s thoughts and feelings. That is why one would see that ...

11th book of the Odyssey and the Aeneid by Virgil

Katabasis can be defined as a descent of some type; like moving downhill, a military retreat, sinking of the sun and winds or a trip to the underground. There exist numerous related meanings in rhetoric, poetry and modern psychology. This essay seeks to compare two katabasis i.e. the eleventh book of the odyssey and Aeneid. In the two pieces, the heroes to the underworld are articulated exactly in the middle of the poems. They are extremely similar however the differences in the purposes as why the two are composed and the societies for which they have been created for means that ...

The way one’s mind interprets sensation is the referred to as perception of the world around them. With advanced technology as well as improved study of the human anatomy, doctors can now restore the sight of blind person. However, there is a major problem that is more likely to be experienced. Upon restoration of the eye sight, the person who was initially blind now interprets the world around them in a way that is different from the way they interpreted the world before losing the sight. Sensation refers to the process through which sensory receptor’s stimulation produces neural ...

In Inferno by Dante, there is a great deal of symbolism due to the allegorical nature of the work. In this poem, man’s relationship between good and evil, Heaven and Hell, and more are explored with symbolic representations of man’s own iniquities. The circles of Hell are depicted as different areas where people who have committed specific sins are doomed to rest. The second through fifth circles are the resting places for sins of incontinence; these are sins without malice. These are a unique category distinct from the other sins, and they all have very distinct similarities - the ...

Analysing The Aeneid

The link between love and violence’: Analysing The Aeneid

Introduction

The Aeneid is a one of the most renowned Latin poems which was written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC depicting a legendary tale of a Trojan named Aeneas who left his city with many Trojans after a war and found the Roman Empire (Fagles, 2006). When one reads the poem and understands the story, there are several themes which come alive with its well-written lines. And extreme violence is definitely one of those central themes. But as claimed by most, the violence being talked in The Aeneid is borne out ...

Abstract

Inferno is a terminology in Italy, which connotes Hell. Dante Alighieri uses this allegory in the form of an epic poem of the 14th century. The poet, Dante, narrates his ordeals as he maneuvers through hell in an effort to reach a certain solace. The chief references in the story circumnavigates between the guides of Virgil. The allegories of the allures determine nine circles of pain and suffering established within the global earthly expanse. The poem and its ordeals are allegorical in the representation of the soul and its journey to God. The inferno in the poem is reminiscent of a cognizant ...

Introduction

Vigil and Dante are main characters in the Divine Comedy poem of the 14th century. Its first part is the inferno followed by Purqatorio and Paradiso in that order. The poem is the author’s allegory of the journey through hell. In the poem, Virgil acts as a guide to Dante’s vigil journey. The poem portrays hell as having nine circles where suffering and torment goes on earth. Symbolically, the divine comedy is a representation of the soul’s journey to heaven. Describing rejection and recognition within the Inferno is the theme of the entire poem. Virgil’s presence in ...

Aeneas and Achilles are two brave heroes whose names are recognized as role models for generations. The character of Achilles is portrayed by Homer in Iliad however we see Aeneas in Virgil’s Aeneid. There are some similarities as well as differences in both the heroes. Since these two heroes represent two different civilizations, they are often compared to each other. This paper intends to discuss the characters of Aeneid and Achilles and further talks about similarities and differences of their character. Achilles is son of goddess Thetis and this divine ancestry makes him outstanding. He has some ...

This paper intends to analyze homer’s Odyssey and Vergil’s Aeneid in order to find out similarities as well as differences between the descriptions of underworld and afterlife as portrayed in the two literary works. Further, Homer and Virgil two great ancient authors along with their reputed works are compared to know about their views on underworld and afterlife. It is interesting to see that what makes these two literary works similar to each other is what makes them different from each other. A number of scholars believe that homer made considerable influence on religious views of ...

Dante’s inferno is a story in the 14th century that was developed to show the experiences that are found in hell as well as in heaven. This story has been narrated by Dante himself, who had experienced problems in hell. This story has been very influential to many audiences in the world. It has also been narrated as a poem. In addition to this, there are games that reflect the happenings in this story. It forms the initial part of the poem of Divine Comedy. This poem was also written by Dante to express his experience both in the real ...

Dante’s Confession – A Literary Analysis

In his “Inferno” Dante Alighieri, the author of The Divine Comedy, portrays himself as the 35 year old Dante the Pilgrim, who is “Midway along the journey of [his] life” (Alighieri & Musa, 2002). Alighieri’s Dante the Pilgrim is a man who has “wandered off from the straight path” (Alighieri & Musa, 2002) and has gone astray from “the path of truth” (Alighieri & Musa, 2002). Dante wrote the Inferno as a public confession of his sins, to make his readers comprehend the redemption of the soul. After all, confession is the first step toward redemption. In the Inferno, Dante the Pilgrim feels ...

The link between Virgil and Limbo is that Limbo is the area of hell which is the home of Virgil. When he and Dante reach this first circle, Virgil tells his companion that his pale complexion is not a sign of terror; instead, it is sympathy for his fellow people, as they all share Limbo as their home. In fact, he has friends in here. In this realm, the sinners also sigh, but not as noisily or excruciatingly as the neutrals. Distressed by these peoples’ troubles, Dante solemnly questions Virgil as to whether anybody is permitted to escape Limbo, providing ...

The Hero-Warrior Ideal in Western Literature

Stories of the hero-warrior in literature trace the progress of Western civilization and the inexorable influence of Christianity. The heroic ideal is one in which the accomplishments and legacies of great warriors have been passed on in stories originating in ancient populations, who adopted the virtues of the hero as their own. In this way, the moral and physical worthiness of a tribe or nation could be traced to the exploits of a mighty forbear. The Romans, for example, exhibited this phenomenon in their claims to have preserved and carried on the martial greatness of Troy. Heroic qualities of courage and ...

1. How does Aeneas’s piety and sense of duty change as the poem unfolds?

Aeneas was a Trojan who travelled to Italy and became the ancestor of the Romans. He was deeply pious, “you bear no more than what the gods ordain” (Virgil, 19). He followed the instructions of gods to set off on a journey to Italy as quoted from book 1 “he came to Italy by destiny” (Virgil, 24). Aeneas’s sense of duty keeps changing as the poem unfolds. The first six of the twelve books making up the poem describe how Aeneas wandered from his native ...

Have anyone asked himself who is a hero? A hero is usually perceived as someone who achieved win fame due to his heroic deeds. As it is known from the Virgil’s poem Aeneid, Aeneus achieved his goals through divine intervention. Thus, his deeds must not be perceived as his own. Divine intervention can be observed throughout the poem: Gods command the life of his wife when they left Troy, Venus begged Jupiter to calm the storm so Aeneus and other people could save their lives, later they guided him to Italy. On the other hand, Aeneus was a hero ...

1. Aeneas is admired for his heroic qualities and nobility of his race because of his deeds, words, lineage and appearance (Ross, 2007). He came from a powerful lineage because he was the son of Anchises, a mortal father and Aphrodite, a divine mother (Powell, 2008). His deeds, manners and conduct are superior over the others because he is considered a demi-god, who is born partly human and partly god. He had the same qualities as Achilles. He can be considered as a very brave and ambitious warrior of his time because he had hopes of succeeding Priam as king (Powell, 2008). Aeneas was ...

Gilgamesh

As the world’s earliest known “hero tale,” the Epic of Gilgamesh established the literary tradition of the hero that today pervades our cultural perspective and self-image. This socio-cultural construct is present in folklore, books, movies and even in high-tech media, such as video games and computer programs. In recent years, the 9/11 attacks and the conflicts that followed in its wake have produced a modern hero image that we have come to idealize, a crusader who ignores grave danger to protect the vulnerable and innocent. Gilgamesh is the epitome of this brave protector who, through courage, persistence and physical strength ...