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Discussion of the AeneidThe Aeneid was written by Roman poet Virgil between 30 BC and 19 BC. It is an epic poem that is divided in twelve books or chapters and narrates Trojan warrior Aeneas story following the Trojan War. An epic poem is described as a long, narrative poem that describes the adventure of a great hero. The poem is partly modelled on Greek epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer. The aim of this paper is to understand the narratives of the books, with special emphasis on the flashbacks of Book II. However, before addressing the central issue, the paper will first address the style and structure of the epic poem in order to set a backdrop for the thesis.

As mentioned earlier, Virgil borrows heavily from Greek epic poems, Homers Odyssey and Iliad. The Iliad narrates the exploits of the protagonist Achilles and other Greek heroes in the Trojan War. It is the same Trojan War that forced Virgils hero Aeneas to leave Troy and is described in a flashback in book II. Meanwhile, the Odyssey narrates how Ulysses or Odysseus roam for several years in order to return to home following the Trojan War. While the first six books of Aeneid parallel the Odyssey, the remaining six books parallel the Iliad. Even though Virgil imitates the two Greek epic poems, he changes them to highlight Roman themes. For example, Aeneid is a patriotic poem, while the Odyssey and Iliad are poems about individual heroism. Kathleen ONeill in her book Virgils The Aeneid says that the chapters of the poem can be divided in pairs. The odd-numbered chapters are less dramatic, for example Book III where Trojans wandering is described, while the even-numbered chapters are emotional climax of the tragedy or glory, for instance the death of Dido in Book IV.The poem deploys several narrative techniques, including flashbacks, to help the reader understand how Aeneas was granted the region of Latium, a place in central Italy.

Aeneas, along with his father, Anchises, and his son, Ascanius, fled Troy during sack of the city. The narrative of the poem is generally through an omnipresent narrator. However, the sack of Troy and Aeneas subsequent wanderings are described in a "flashback". Similarly in Book VI, following the commemoration of Anchises first death anniversary, the second half of Book VI describes the encounter of Aeneas and figures from his past during Aeneas visit to the underworld. A prophecy of the destiny of Aeneas descendants is also announced during his journey to the underworld. As the poem progresses, Aeneas finally settles in Latium and Virgil concludes by affirming that Aeneas was the descendants of the Roman people.

The narrative of the poem is very subjective. Apart from the second and third books, the Aeneid is told from the point of view of an omnipresent narrator. Even though the narrator of the poem is Virgil, the poet uses the convention of epic poetry and invokes the muse, a style that helps Virgil to imply that the poem is objective. The poem is objective as Virgil wanted to praise the Augustus and Roman values, as Aeneas is seen as the embodiment of Roman values of duty and piety as well as courage. However, Aeneid is also very subjective. Virgil gives insight into the characters head and their feelings. For instance, although Dido is described from the outside, the reader can easily understand how she feels and her how she thinks. Therefore, one can say that Virgil combined both objective and subjective point of view to analyse Aeneas character from inside and outside.

In Book IV, Aeneas is almost seen from Didos point of view, as he hardly defends himself. The readers fails to understand his feelings and shows that Aeneas had to sacrifice his own feelings in order to find Rome. Didos point of view suggests that the poet shows that Aeneas feelings did not matter more than his duty. However, Virgil also shows the inside of Aeneas through flashbacks and his personal point of views. For instance, in Book I, Aeneas cries out and wishes to die when he is hit by Junos tempest. It shows that he was an unhappy and unwilling travel at the start of the poem. The second and the third books tell the most about him and are totally from his point of view. However, as the poem progresses, the point of view in the poem changes. This change in point of view also suggests the change in Aeneas character from an uncertain, scared exile to a heroic leader.

In Book II, Aeneas, speaking "ab alto" (2.2) fully describes the fall of Troy, and the reader sees a shift into a realm of changing experience, history, and its implications for Aeneas. The language used in this flashback to describe the old world and the advent of the new world changes from realistic to symbolic. In this episode, Aeneas transforms into a hero who fails to impose his ordering on the world. Aeneas, the medium of Roman destiny, endures patiently and sufferers. Initially Aeneas leaps into the war "'Rage and wrath drive my soul headlong and I think how glorious it is to die in arms'" (2.316-17). However, he loses such conviction and certainties and the inevitability of Troy's fall is focused on the defenders themselves ruining their city, The Trojans in turn tear down the towers and roof-covering of the palace; with these as missiles for they see the end near even at the point of death they prepare to defend themselves; and roll down gilded rafters, the splendours of their fathers of old (2.445-49). Even though Aeneas survives the destruction of his city even though he suffers. While the flashback helps him to move inward, it also helps me move upward and gain perspective of an understanding that is in proportion to his helplessness during the war. He experiences death throes of Troy that gives him an immediate meaning of Hector's initial warning to run away, "Then first an awful horror encompassed me. I stood aghast, and there rose before me the form of my dear father, as I looked upon the king, of like age, gasping away his life under a cruel wound. There rose forlorn Creusa, the pillaged house, and the fate of little Iulus." (2.559-63). Aeneas love of a particular place and its people corroborates the prophecies he receives, but which he only slightly understands. Book II becomes important, and more particularly the flashback, because it evolves Aeneas as a character. It also shows that gods themselves had brought down Troy. It is the appearance of Venus that makes this message clear. It also makes it clear that the counteractions of the circumstances that brought down Troy will lead to the founding of a "new Troy". From that moment onwards, Aeneas starts living for tomorrow and starts relying on his family as a connection between the sacredness of the past and the glorious promised future. Aeneas believes that he bears the symbolic structure of three ages: the golden age where gods themselves appeared, his fathers silver age where men spoke with gods as friends and his own bronze age where the heroic image had been tarnished and destroyed due to the war. However, as the poem progresses, Aeneas gathers hope in the people he leads and the prophecies of a foreign city that sharpen both the past and the future. Aeneas is only at the start of a new phase of historical consciousness tremulous . . . and fearing alike for my companion and burden" (2.729). By recollecting the downfall of Troy, Aeneas gains an initial perspective, "ab alto", on it. He expresses his deepest love for the fallen Troy and this catastrophe forces him to widen the distance between emotion and action, between what can be acknowledged in words and in actions. The opposition presented in the poem cannot be considered as alternatives, but as an ongoing process whose evolution may exceed the solutions proposed in the poem. The poem addresses the historical change of Virgils time. Rome of Virgils time was experiencing a change and Virgil himself was involved. The Actium was quite a fresh incident to offset years of the traumas of expansionism and civil war. Moreover, there was a constant fear that the Augustan peace may not outlive Octavius himself. Virgil selected Aeneas story, which was popular at the time, and created an epic on the founding myth for Rome. The Aeneid connects Rome and the legends of ancient Troy. The poem also glorifies Roman values, and asserted that Roman emperors were the descendants of heroes and gods.Thus, Virgil tries to present an attitude for combating traumatic change and starts dialectically. The flashbacks, like in the second book, helps to clearly, yet painfully, understand the experiential knowledge of the shortfalls of the past. This knowledge of the past is used to form patient expectation, to develop, strengthen, and increase the initial basis of one's existence, and to enable humans to support growth. Primitive figures such as Dido and Turnus fade away in the poem because they cannot understand the historical situation clearly in order to modify their situation. In conclusion, flashbacks in the poem not only helps the readers to understand the downfall of Troy, but also helps Aeneas to understand the historical situation and modify his situation to become the king of Latium.Work CitedVirgil. The Aeneid. Trans John William Mackail. 18 Apr 2014. Web. http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7396124.J_W_John_William_Mackail ONeill, Kathleen. Virgils The Aeneid. Barrons Educational Series Inc. New York.1984. Print