Kent-Drury Aeneid Study Questions Books 1-4

1. Compare the opening of the Aeneid  to the first 18 lines of the Iliad (p. 122) and the Odyssey (p. 219).  What is similar?  What is different?  How does the opening of Virgil's poem set itself apart from those earlier openings, which most of his readers knew by heart? Especially, is there anything about the opening that is particularly "Roman"?
2. What sort of a hero is Aeneas? How does he compare with Achilles in The Iliad? It has been said that Aeneas falls short of true heroic stature in the Homeric sense. What inadequacies does he have?  Or would you describe his differences as something other than inadequacy?  What does this suggest to you about the world of the Aeneid?
3. How does Aeneas sneak into Carthage unseen?
4. Which details of the  fall of Troy does Aeneas choose to reveal in Book II as he relates his participation in the war?  Why does he describe those details as he does?
5. In Aeneas's story, why does Venus stop Aeneas from killing Helen?
6. The story treats Dido and Aeneas differently.  Why?  What are the key differences in their actions? Who is Dido? What functions does she serve in the story?  Why does Dido fall in love with him? Are there any elements of cosmic irony in their affair?
7. What literary models does Dido incorporate?  What is Virgil's point here?
8. To see how the story of Dido and Aeneas has been treated by artists over the years, go to http://cti.itc.Virginia.EDU/~mpm8b/dido/dido.html, click on "Multimedia Presentation," and follow the links to various respresentations.  What do they suggest about how the story was viewed in later historical periods?