1.

Virgil’s epic idiom is a mature and complex re-writing of Homer blended with the native Latin poetic style, along with nods to Apollonius, Catullus, and many other stylistic norms. As you have become accustomed to doing, pay particularly close attention while you read to formal features of epic style, such as similes, ecphrasis, etc. This will be useful for answering all of the questions below.

2.

The proem to the Aeneid ends, uniquely, with a question: "Can such resentment hold the minds of gods?" With this in mind consider the dynamics at the beginning of book 1. What themes and concerns are introduced in the opening encounters first between Juno and Poseidon and then Venus and Jupiter? What types of divine action are immediately felt in the world of Virgil’s poem?

3.

The status of the Aeneid as epic cannot be separated from the status of Aeneas as an epic hero. Considering, for the time being, only the early books of the poem identify some of the distinguishing characteristics of Aeneas’ brand of heroism. How is he specifically compared or contrasted to Achilles, Odysseus, and Jason? Do not think generally, but identify individual passages in the early books of the poem that relate significantly to specific passages of the epic poems we have already read. Also return to the Iliad and reread the passage (20.288-308) which gives the Homeric image of Aeneas. What are the qualities highlighted in the Iliad and how are these the same as and different from those in the Aeneid? What, if any, changes does Aeneas undergo in the first half of the poem? Is his character consistent?

4.

A late antique critic of the Aeneid (Servius) wrote of book 4 that "Apollonius wrote the Argonautica in which he represented Medea in love; this whole book is taken from there, from the third book of Apollonius." Leaving aside the over-statement, consider ways in which Dido is comparable to Apollonius’ Medea (and Aeneas to Jason). Again begin your analysis from considering specific passages which link the two poems. On a broader view, are there particular things about book 4 that make it stand out from the rest of the poem as particularly Apollonian, as opposed to Homeric or some other standard? Where else is the influence of Apollonius seen within the Aeneid? Are there connections to book 4? Consider also passages that show the possible influence of Catullus 64 on the poem.

5.

At the macro-structural level, Aeneid 1-6 are the "Odyssean" half of the poem. What thematic concerns do the wanderings of the Trojans touch on? Where do these connect with and depart from the thematic concerns of Homer’s Odyssey? What force is carried by the analogy between the journey of the exiled Trojans to a new land in the west and the journey home of Odysseus? As part of this consider the various false starts the Trojans make along the way to Italy. How do they come to the various locales where they attempt to settle? Why do their efforts at founding cities fail? As they travel, at several points their itinerary intersects with that of Odysseus himself. What are these moments? What effect do they have? How might the fact that the Trojans are following in the footsteps of Odysseus reflect on Virgil’s predicament, writing an epic poem in the wake of Homer’s Odyssey?

6.

As an element of the epic inheritance scenes of prophecy and communication from the divine are given particular prominence by Virgil. Consider both the content and the function of prophecies in Aeneid 1-6. These reflect both on future events within the story of the Aeneid and on the later history of Aeneas, his descendents, and Rome. Of particular importance are Jupiter’s prophecy to Venus in book 1 and Aeneas’ trip to the underworld in book 6. How do the events presented in various prophecies accord with the facts? What sorts of messages do they convey? How do people receive prophecy, react to it, act upon it? Can you identify a general drift to the truth-value of prophecy in the Aeneid, and the larger issues it raises concerning the status of knowledge, both for characters within the poem and for readers?