Emotions In 'The Aeneid Of Virgil'

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In the poem, The Aeneid of Virgil, emotions plays an important role in Aeneas who has to repress many of his feelings in order to carry out his public duty. Aeneas faces many emotions throughout his journey since the fall of Troy and these emotions are both positive and negative, which only push him to carry out his main duty of founding Rome in Italy. Aeneas faces many negative emotions through his journey like grief, anger, revenge, but not always are these emotions negative they are also positive emotions like love and hope. The emotions that Aeneas faces contribute and interfere with his performance duty to an extent where Aeneas has to be remembered that he has to carry out his duty. Aeneas encounters both negative and positive emotions …show more content…
As Aeneas was helping his family out of the chaos that broke out when the Greeks attacked Troy with the wooden horse he lost his wife within the chaos and that was the first moment of grief he felt once he realized Creüsa was dead. Aeneas was filled with grief, but Creüsa told him what lay ahead of him and he was driven by this emotion to keep going to what awaits him. As Creüsa says “Along your way lie long exile, vast plains/of sea that you must plow: but you will reach/ Hesperia, where Lydian Tiber flows,/ a tranquil stream, through farmer’s fruitful fields” (The Aeneid Book 2 1052-1055), Creüsa meant that a long journey awaits him, and he must go through different situations before he gets to where he wants to be. Therefore, the grief he felt towards Creüsa’s death only pushed Aeneas to move forward and carry out his duty without her. Creüsa also explained to him that there will be good days for him and have a bride await for him on his …show more content…
Aeneas is only facing the grief of the losses of his family and friends, but since he learned that his friends are safe it brought him joy while affecting his performance of duty. Even though Aeneas felt these emotions and were affecting him carry out his duty the thought of what he needed to do was always in the back of his head. Aeneas was told before by Venus that he needed to follow his commands and he was by getting her help to enter Carthage inside an invisible mist or cloud. Following Venuses commands allowed him to realize he needed to continue forward with the grief of the death of his father. Aeneas says as he is telling Dido his story of his journey, “ And this was my last trial: this was the term/ of my long journeying. I left that harbor./ And then the god drove me upon your shore” (Book 3 925-927), this shows how Aeneas performance was being affected because he believes this was the last of his journey after his father's death. Aeneas is failing to recognize his duty because of the grief of his father but then remembers that he still has his comrades he believed were dead and it fulfills his emotions once again, which he keeps in his head that he still has a duty to carry out. With both negative and positive
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