Virgil’s Aeneid: Hearing Voices
Introduction
This essay plans to show how Virgil’s Aeneid shows a fusion of a public and private voice, by using the figure of Aeneas and how through books 1 to 6 of the Aeneid it is shown. It also shows the influence of fate and the involvement of the gods and the effect that they have on the public voice of Aeneas and his private voice. It shows the sacrifices that Aeneas would have had to make due to his fate, hence how all of these factors come together in the single figure of Aeneas in Virgil’s epic.
The Public and Private ‘Voice’ and Aeneas
Before looking at the figure of Aeneas in Virgil’s epic, it is best to first look at what exactly are the “Public” and “Private Voices”? The public and private voices can be described in numerous ways. The public voice in the Aeneid can be thought of as a voice of triumph, and then the private voice as that of regret. (Parry 1963, 79) It can also be seen as a personal thing as gaining personal glory or making the sacrifice of this for the good of something larger, and in the case of Aeneas it is his sacrifice of his own personal glory that is lost for the sake of something larger being the founding, that being Rome. (Parry 1963, 79) So it can be said that his personal tragedy is that while he is serving his followers and doing his duty of going forth to found Rome that he can’t be a hero. (Parry 1963, 80) So then if Aeneas is not to be a hero then what would he be as the founder of Rome? Some view him as more of a politician, but then to get there from the Homeric hero that he starts off as, he must look at putting aside his person feelings and desires to be a hero for politicians have very little time for their own feelings as they are concerned with the feelings and needs of their people. (Stuart 1972, 651) This then leads up to the start of the Aeneid and how in the beginning Aeneas is more focused on his own glory and destiny, but that his destiny is not entirely his own it relates to something much larger and that
This essay plans to show how Virgil’s Aeneid shows a fusion of a public and private voice, by using the figure of Aeneas and how through books 1 to 6 of the Aeneid it is shown. It also shows the influence of fate and the involvement of the gods and the effect that they have on the public voice of Aeneas and his private voice. It shows the sacrifices that Aeneas would have had to make due to his fate, hence how all of these factors come together in the single figure of Aeneas in Virgil’s epic.
The Public and Private ‘Voice’ and Aeneas
Before looking at the figure of Aeneas in Virgil’s epic, it is best to first look at what exactly are the “Public” and “Private Voices”? The public and private voices can be described in numerous ways. The public voice in the Aeneid can be thought of as a voice of triumph, and then the private voice as that of regret. (Parry 1963, 79) It can also be seen as a personal thing as gaining personal glory or making the sacrifice of this for the good of something larger, and in the case of Aeneas it is his sacrifice of his own personal glory that is lost for the sake of something larger being the founding, that being Rome. (Parry 1963, 79) So it can be said that his personal tragedy is that while he is serving his followers and doing his duty of going forth to found Rome that he can’t be a hero. (Parry 1963, 80) So then if Aeneas is not to be a hero then what would he be as the founder of Rome? Some view him as more of a politician, but then to get there from the Homeric hero that he starts off as, he must look at putting aside his person feelings and desires to be a hero for politicians have very little time for their own feelings as they are concerned with the feelings and needs of their people. (Stuart 1972, 651) This then leads up to the start of the Aeneid and how in the beginning Aeneas is more focused on his own glory and destiny, but that his destiny is not entirely his own it relates to something much larger and that