Writings Of Virgil

The Writings of Virgil Why is Virgil mostly remembered for his epic The Aeneid? Virgil wrote two other significant works, The Eclogues and The Georgics, which are very well written and definitely worth the time to read. In fact, The Georgics are considered the epitome of Roman Poetry. Virgil died before he even finished editing The Aeneid. So why is the Aeneid so much better known? The Aeneid contains themes and philosophies of Virgil that developed over time. His skills and talent were refined through writing The Eclogues and The Georgics. Virgil’s writings seem to grow and mature as he himself grows and matures. The Aeneid contains themes people can relate to and is an exceptionally wellcrafted piece of literature. The Eclogues are Virgil’s first major work. The original title of the Eclogues was the ‘Būcolica’, which means ‘cowherd songs’ (“Virgil”). The Eclogues consist of ten books of pastoral poetry that were written between 42 and 37 B.C. (Snodgrass 102). The Eclogues give the reader a look into life in the countryside. Virgil emphasizes flowing rhythms, idealized locations like Northern Italy, but also emphasizes concerns of his such as seizure and redistribution of farmland (Snodgrass 102). The first writer of pastoral poetry was Theocritus, who wrote the ‘Idylls’. Theocritus heavily influences the general structure and subjects of Virgil’s Eclogues. However, Virgil does do some things differently. Theocritus sets most of his poem ‘Idylls’ in the Eastern Mediterranean. Virgil sets his Eclogues in an imaginary land named Arcadia, which is usually in Italy but also contains Greek cities and also a river in Gaul (Fowler xii). Theocritus never references political figures or events of his time, while Virgil references many events and people of his time. Virgil references Octavian, Varus, Pollio, the rise of Julius Caesar, and the

eviction and rearrangement of lands around Northern Italy (Fowler xii). In addition, Latin is not nearly as flexible as Greek. Greek has articles, pronouns, and other parts of speech that help greatly when writing in verse. Latin, however, does not have articles and other certain parts of speech so it is significantly harder to write poetry in Latin than in Greek (Fowler xiii). The most famous of Virgil’s Eclogues is the fourth Eclogue. This eclogue has a very mysterious ‘prophecy’ about a ‘glorious age’ of peace brought about by the birth of a divine child. Some critics believe that the divine birth refers to Pollio’s son, to whom Virgil dedicated this poem. Others believe that the birth refers to Augustus, the first emperor of Rome and Virgil’s friend. Yet others believe that the fourth eclogue refers to Christ’s birth (Snodgrass 102-103). When Christianity spread across much of the civilized world, many pagan Greek and Roman writings were suppressed. However, Virgil’s works were still popular because of his fourth eclogue and some similarities between his philosophy and the philosophy of the Hebrew Prophet Isaiah (Snodgrass 106). Virgil’s Eclogues are very interesting. Virgil’s Georgics are his second major work. The Georgics are four books about the technical and the philosophical aspects of farming. The first book is about crops and climate. The second book is about trees. The third book focuses on cattle, while the fourth book concerns bees and bee keeping (Ogilvie 120).His main influence for this book is Hesiod’s Works and Days. However, Virgil depends a lot less on other authors in this book. Hesiod uses poetic language that was meant to be read aloud and he has a very factual message in his work. Virgil, however, did not want to create a manual. Virgil took his knowledge of other Roman poets such as Lucretius and Ennius and purified the Latin language in order to create a more graceful and efficient language for writing poetry

(Ogilvie 119). There are three central themes of The Georgics. The first theme is Virgil’s love for the rural countryside. His detailed descriptions of even the tiniest details show his affection for the land. However, Virgil counterbalances his love for the countryside with the severe reality of nature. Life in the country is not perfect is the second main idea. Crops fail; cattle die; grapes spoil; nature is not a kind and benevolent creature (Ogilvie 120). Virgil believes that man and nature are at odds against each other and that man’s duty is to expand his knowledge so he can live in agreement with the being that controls nature. This connection shows a change in philosophy; Virgil changes from his idealistic and epicurean ideals to a more realistic and stoic philosophy. The third major concept of The Georgics is the unification of Italy. Italian cities and Roman cities were traditionally not friendly neighbors. Virgil understood that in order to unite Italy, the people must work towards a common goal. The fourth book shows this. The bees of a hive work together in an organized fashion for the benefit of the hive (Ogilvie 122-123). The Georgics express Virgil’s knowledge of nature, but also help to give him the stability he needs in order to begin writing an epic to rival Homer. The Aeneid is composed of twelve books of hexameter verse modeled on Homer’s epic and dedicated to Augustus and his ancestry. Virgil linked his epic to Homer’s epics by selecting the Trojan hero Aeneas as his main character. Virgil combines history, prophecy and literary style from many different stories to create a solid, understandable epic, even though it is a tribute to Augustus (Snodgrass 103). Virgil died before he had a chance to finish editing the Aeneid and wrote in his will for his work to be destroyed. However, Augustus stepped in and had two of Virgil’s poet friends edit the Aeneid, but were told not to add anything to it. Once it was published, it

quickly was accepted throughout the Mediterranean as the authoritative Roman epic (Snodgrass 104). The Aeneid is not an epic centered on Aeneas or any one individual person but it is about the destiny of the Roman people. It is not about the life or adventures of Aeneas but it is about his part in founding the Roman state and the most important Roman values that he embodies, especially sense of duty and responsibility (Snodgrass 105). The Aeneid is different from Homer’s epics in many significant ways. The first major difference is that the Aeneid is a spiritual quest. Aeneas’s character grows and develops as the story line grows. In early books, Aeneas is unsure of himself and always seeks the advice of others. The gods in the Aeneid supervise all parts of life and determine the essential plot line for the story. Homer’s gods are very different. Homer’s gods are like his heroes except that they are supernatural. These gods are concerned about their own self-interest. Aeneas does not fight with the gods about his destiny and tries to fulfill his destiny, even though he has to sacrifice his personal happiness (Ogilvie 125126). Another core difference is the idea of patriotism. There is no patriotism in Homer’s epics. The Aeneid is about Rome and Aeneas is never allowed to forget his mission to found Rome (Ogilvie 127-128). This sense of patriotic duty is another important virtue to Romans and this idea helps to shape the idea of patriotism throughout Europe. The third key distinction is that Aeneas is a very human hero that has very human emotions. There are many emotional moments in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, but the characters are ‘larger than life’. The trials of Aeneas help the reader relate to him. In the forth book, Aeneas is shipwrecked in Carthage. He is weak, discouraged, and in a foreign land and needs the help and protection of Queen Dido (Ogilvie 128-129). Homer would

never show the heroes of his epics to be this weak. The Aeneid is an important part of Western literature. Virgil’s writings are definitely assets to western literature. The Aeneid contains ideas and philosophies that took several years to fully mature. The Aeneid is considered Virgil’s greatest work. If this work had been burned as he requested, imagine what a loss to literature that would have been. If Virgil lived long enough to finish editing this epic, would it have been more popular or would it have mattered?

Note: If you are reading this for research that is fine, but if you steal this, I pity you. That means you do not have enough of a brain to make up a report yourself. I do not mind if you use this as a source or a place for ideas but taking whole paragraphs is plagiarism and will not be tolerated.

Works Cited Fowler, Barbara Hughes Introduction. Vergil’s Eclogues by Publius Vergilius Maro. Trans. Barbara Hughes Fowler. North Carolina: UP North Carolina, 1997. Ogilvie, R.M. Roman Literature and Society. New Jersey: Barnes & Noble, 1980. Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. Cliffs Notes on Roman Classics. Nebraska: Cliffs Notes Inc., 1988. “Virgil.” Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World. 2007. Oxford University Press. 16 November 2008