And now Dido leads her guest through the heart of Carthage, displaying Phoenician power, the city readied for him... Now at dusk she call for the feast to start again, madly begging to hear again the agony of Troy, to hang on his lips again, savoring his story. Then... alone in the echoing hall, distraught, she flings herself on the couch that he left empty. Lost as he is, she's lost as well, she hears him, sees him or holds Ascanius back and dandles him on her lap, bewitched by the boy's resemblance to his father, trying to cheat the love she dare not tell. The towers of Carthage, half built, rise no more, and the young men quit their combat drills in arms. The harbors, the battlements planned to block attack, all work's suspended now...
This passage is from Virgil's Aeneid, chapter 4, verses 92-110. This is a very interesting and well known passage, as it expresses the chaos caused by Aeneas' presence. In the Latin original, the pronouns used to refer to Dido are actually masculine, which is abnormal. Virgil did this to show that she was working and leading like a man, yet prone to the mistakes and emotional pit-falls of women. "Beware of manly women." As her attention shifts from the care of her city to Aeneas, Dido is described as "mad" and she "savors" Aeneas' story as if it were feeding her. In a sense, it is feeding her, or at least the fire which Venus -- goddess of love -- sparked into being. The passage becomes almost ironic, as she is obsessed with Ascanius (who is Cupid in disguise), yet tries to "cheat the love", which is impossible. The end of the passage is completely contradictory to the beginning. The first showing a beautiful bustling beehive, and the second describing a dejected dream. Thus Aeneas' entrance and beginning is the end and destruction of Dido.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Another Poem
Who says that I am dead
Knows nought at all.
I -- am that is,
Two mice within Redwall.
The warrior sleeps
'Twixt Hall and Cavern Hole.
I -- am that is,
Take on my mighty role.
Look for the sword
In moonlight streaming forth,
At night, when day's first hour
Reflects the North.
From o'er the threshold
Seek and you will see;
I -- am that is,
My sword will wield for me.
This poem is taken from Brian Jacques' "Redwall". The poem is actually a puzzle, which makes it a significant part of the book. Because its a puzzle, the whole poem is basically a poetic device.
The end of every second line rhymes, giving it a nice pattern. Besides that, the third, seventh, and fifteenth lines are identical, making a kind of extended anaphora. They also seem a sort of interruption of the poem (aposiopesis?) until you reorder the letters so that they spell: Matthias. Then the puzzle of the poem comes through and it begins to make more sense. The point of view is also a type of poetic device, as it was supposedly written by someone who has been long dead. In which case, it becomes a prophecy. Thus this poen has many poetic devices in it.
Knows nought at all.
I -- am that is,
Two mice within Redwall.
The warrior sleeps
'Twixt Hall and Cavern Hole.
I -- am that is,
Take on my mighty role.
Look for the sword
In moonlight streaming forth,
At night, when day's first hour
Reflects the North.
From o'er the threshold
Seek and you will see;
I -- am that is,
My sword will wield for me.
This poem is taken from Brian Jacques' "Redwall". The poem is actually a puzzle, which makes it a significant part of the book. Because its a puzzle, the whole poem is basically a poetic device.
The end of every second line rhymes, giving it a nice pattern. Besides that, the third, seventh, and fifteenth lines are identical, making a kind of extended anaphora. They also seem a sort of interruption of the poem (aposiopesis?) until you reorder the letters so that they spell: Matthias. Then the puzzle of the poem comes through and it begins to make more sense. The point of view is also a type of poetic device, as it was supposedly written by someone who has been long dead. In which case, it becomes a prophecy. Thus this poen has many poetic devices in it.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Ides of March
[LVIII: Caesar to Brutus]
I now wish you to hold a similar position in the capital and to discover for yourself a similar truth concerning our citizens in Italy.
I wish you to serve as Praetor. I am appointing your brother-in-law (Cassius) to serve with you. I wish you to be Praetor of the City; of the two offices it is the most difficult, the one more exposed to the public view, and the one closer to my self...
...I believe that you possess that love and are so endowed; the training I have been in a position to secure for you. The decision as to whether you wish to assume the supreme command [as successor] is open to you.
This passage is taken from Thornton Wilder's "The Ides of March". I thought it very interesting how Thornton portrays Caesar as very trusting of Brutus, or at least confident in his abilities as a leader. He makes it seem as though Caesar never expected Brutus to help in the assassination and even gives him the opportunity to become the next dictator. Whether or not this actually was the case, it gives a side to their relationship I had never even suspected. Maybe Caesar is suspicious of Brutus and thought that if he gave him power he could sway him to his own side. Apparently he underestimated Brutus' beliefs in "freedom". Brutus took the position as Praetor where he could get on the public's good side, and then take over. Brilliant. Did Caesar even guess that his own "son" would plot to kill him? Maybe that's why he adopted Augustus. But did he trust Augustus any more than Brutus? It's hard to know. What if Brutus had accepted the position as successor? How much of history would be different?
I now wish you to hold a similar position in the capital and to discover for yourself a similar truth concerning our citizens in Italy.
I wish you to serve as Praetor. I am appointing your brother-in-law (Cassius) to serve with you. I wish you to be Praetor of the City; of the two offices it is the most difficult, the one more exposed to the public view, and the one closer to my self...
...I believe that you possess that love and are so endowed; the training I have been in a position to secure for you. The decision as to whether you wish to assume the supreme command [as successor] is open to you.
This passage is taken from Thornton Wilder's "The Ides of March". I thought it very interesting how Thornton portrays Caesar as very trusting of Brutus, or at least confident in his abilities as a leader. He makes it seem as though Caesar never expected Brutus to help in the assassination and even gives him the opportunity to become the next dictator. Whether or not this actually was the case, it gives a side to their relationship I had never even suspected. Maybe Caesar is suspicious of Brutus and thought that if he gave him power he could sway him to his own side. Apparently he underestimated Brutus' beliefs in "freedom". Brutus took the position as Praetor where he could get on the public's good side, and then take over. Brilliant. Did Caesar even guess that his own "son" would plot to kill him? Maybe that's why he adopted Augustus. But did he trust Augustus any more than Brutus? It's hard to know. What if Brutus had accepted the position as successor? How much of history would be different?
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