Week 3: Michelle Dennis

During the time The Aeneid was written, it was believed that everything happened for a reason and destiny or fate would always be the determining factor. This epic poem teaches us that one should never let their emotions make them lose sight of reality. In a sense, it is warning us that giving into human emotions, such as infatuation or love, can be a weakness that comes with serious consequence.

Dido was once viewed as a courageous leader and Queen of her city of Carthage. This began to change once she was “consumed with passion to her core” (line 144), causing her to lose her grip on reality.

When Dido’s infatuation with Aeneus began, she sought guidance from her sister, Anna, who began to fill her mind with things that were escaping reality.

Lines 67-70

What a great city you’ll see rising here,

And what a kingdom, from this royal match!

With Trojan soldiers as companions in arms

By what exploits will Punic glory grow!

Dido got caught up in this “fairytale.” She allowed herself to become vulnerable to love, letting her emotions get the best of her; sacrificing everything she had for love and the idea of what could be. Dido believed her union with Aeneas was legitimate like a marriage, when in reality it was more like “a roll in the hay."

From the beginning, the author uses adjectives and imagery with a negative connotation when referring to Dido’s emotions for Aeneas. He hints that Dido is not going to come out of this for the better. She is not described as feeling happy or giddy about her infatuation, but rather tortured by it. In line 3, Dido’s passion for Aeneas is described as “a wound or inward fire eating her away.” In line 10 Dido is described as “this queen, far gone and ill …” In other words she is now a woman that is so lovesick she has lost her senses, she was once strong but is now weak.

Aeneas, on the other hand, is portrayed as strong. He had enough strength to resist the lure of love focus on his destiny to return to Italy and provide a kingdom for his son to rule. He controlled his human emotions and followed his duty to follow fate.

Line 95-102 refers to Dido as “unlucky Dido, burning in her madness…” the author uses the imagery of the doe “hit by an arrow shot from far away by a shepherd hunting…” (98) to hint to the reader that Dido is not going to come out of this in a positive manner. He says “The fatal shaft clings to her side,” suggesting that she is blinded by love and it would ultimately lead to her demise. After the union between her and Aeneus, line 233 confirms for the reader the future fate of Dido. “That day was the first to cause death, and first of sorrow.”

In the end fate, destiny, and divine intervention overpower the human emotion of love, suggesting that they are often at odds with each other. Just as Dido’s unreturned love had caused her to feel there was no other alternative than to take her own life, this outcome also hints that her city of Carthage fall to Italy when Aeneas accomplishes his duty and follows his destiny to Rome. This reminds us that fate cannot be altered, even by love.