Analysis Of The Aeneid

The Aeneid is certainly a political poem, but this is just one aspect of a multilayered and multidimensional piece of work. While this essay states that the Aeneid is a political poem it also argues the necessity of viewing the Aeneid in all its complexities, dimensions and layers, including its political nature, in order to best understand it. The Aeneid is many things; Virgil manages to narrate a foundation myth of Rome while including references of other poets, most notably Homer, and consistently alluding to Augustus. Virgil takes this myth of Roman origin and uses it as a vehicle to express and explore issues from his context. In a sense, he takes the myth and grounds it in his own historical, political and social framework. History, myths and narrative become intertwined in the Aeneid as Virgil echo’s his contemporary concerns through his epic poem. The aim of this paper is not to narrate or explain the Aeneid; rather it aims to explore the multifaceted nature and aspects of this epic poem. Explaining the political aspects of the Aeneid through exploration of the context of Virgil and examination of the links that he makes between Aeneas the hero, and Augustus the legitimate ruler will achieve this. The Aeneid will also be explored as a means of creating and fostering a national Roman identity. Finally, the Aeneid will be examined as a work of intertextuality through its references to other epic works of poetry.

Virgil was born Publius Vergilius Maro and he lived during the reign of the emperor Octavian, who later became known as Augustus. Before Octavian was made emperor, the Roman state was in a state of political unrest. Virgil grew up during this period of political unrest, which culminated in the Battle of Actium in 3...

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...plored how the Aeneid is a multilayered and multidimensional piece of literature, which includes political aspects. The necessity of viewing the Aeneid in all its complexities, dimensions and layers, including its political nature, in order to best understand it, has been demonstrated. This paper did not narrate or explore the plot of the Aeneid; instead it explored the multifaceted nature and aspects of this epic poem. This was achieved by initially explaining the political aspects of the Aeneid through exploration of the context of Virgil. Secondly the links that Virgil makes between Aeneas the hero and Augustus as legitimate ruler were explored. Thirdly, the Aeneid was explored as a instrument for creating and fostering a national Roman identity. Finally, the Aeneid was examined as a work of intertextuality through its references to other epic works of poetry.