A Doll’s House Henrik Ibsen

1. “A Doll’s House” fell like bomb into contemporary life” – Explain

2. How far Nora’s life a representation of social reality?

3. Justify the title of the play “A Doll’s House”

A Doll’s House is a realistic drama written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Johan Ibsen in the year 1879. His plays attacked the age worn values of male dominated society.  He discarded outmoded dramatic techniques such as soliloquies and monologues.  The theme of the play “A Doll’s House” is individual freedom and emancipation of self. The protagonist of the play Nora is the wife of Torwald Helmer and they are married for the last eight years. They have three children. “Doll’s House” is a problem play because Ibsen deals with a social problem. It is the status of a woman in relation to her husband and home. Ibsen shows the pathetic situation of Nora being treated by her husband as a mere child who doesn’t know anything and she is called the squirrel, the skylark and a doll.

When the curtain rises, Nora is seen on stage telling innocent lies in a child-like manner. Helmer treats her like an irresponsible being – like a child, a bird (skylark), a squirrel, a possession, anything except as a woman. From his speech, it becomes clear that she is nothing but a plaything (a doll) for him. But underneath the surface of Nora’s mind, there is lurking a strong protest against the male domination with its laws, religion and social customs, all trying to crush the individuality, freedom  and dignity of woman. Her father and later, her husband have with the help of these male dominated social laws tried to keep Nora ignorant of the “true realities of life”, of her reasonable rights, of her obligations. From the First Act onwards, the gradual growth of Nora is seen and it reaches its climax in the IIIrd Act when she goes out of Helmer’s home slamming the door against the male-dominated ideas, laws and social customs.

Nora’s father committed forgery while working as a government employee. Torwald Helmer was appointed to examine the documents of Nora’s father.  It was during this verification of the documents that Torwald met Nora, fell in love with her and married her. Nora made supreme sacrifice in order to save the precious life of her husband. She borrowed money from Krogstad, an unscrupulous man for a trip to Italy for the medical treatment of her husband. Helmer was seriously ill and her father too had been on his deathbed. Not desiring to trouble her father at such a time for a loan and knowing fully well that Helmer would never agree to take a loan himself, Nora secretly borrows the loan without Helmer’s consent.  Nora signs her father’s name on the back of the promissory note (bond) given by Krogstad. Whenever Torvald has given money to Nora for new dresses and such things for home needs, Nora never spends more than half of it and bought the simplest and the cheapest things.  Thus Nora made great sacrifices for her husband and family.

 In the concluding scene Nora questions the foolish male-dominated religious ideas, spiritual laws, the legal system and the social views about man-woman relationships. How can a woman be herself in a male dominated society where women are mere dolls in the palms of men? In the society laws are made by men for their own selfish interests with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view. Nora has committed forgery, and she admits her forgery and she is proud of it because she has done it out of her love for her husband, to save his precious life.  But her husband with his conventional outlook on religion and social etiquette cannot understand it. To him forgery is a crime, a sin and a woman’s duty is to look after the needs of her husband and children. She has no duty to herself. Therefore Torvald accuses her of a cheat and a misfit for her children.

Krogstad is dismissed from the Savings Bank by Torvald Helmer as soon as he becomes the manager of the bank. In retaliation, Krogstad writes a letter to Torvald Helmer revealing the forgery commited by his wife Nora. Torvald reads the letter and is angry with Nora and tells her that she is a cheat and dishonest and not fit for bringing up their three children and in that moment Nora sees him for what he is actually is. His masked face is torn to pieces in the mind of Nora. She learns that Torvald is a hypocrite and has no love for her. Meanwhile another letter comes from Krogstad with the forged promissory note and cancelling all revengeful action against Nora. This made Torvald happy and relieved and he forgives Nora and tells her that she is once again his skylark and squirrel.  But Nora tells him that she had expected a wonderful thing from Torvald that he would certainly take up the blame of the forged bond on his shoulder and say publicly that it he who committed the crime and that he was the guilty one and not Nora. But that wonderful thing did not happen. So Nora goes out of Torvald’s home slamming the door against the male-dominated laws and social customs.

The play “A Doll’s House” has dropped a bomb into the male dominated society not only in Europe but all over the world. Social life in the cities has changed fast since the publication of this play and woman has gradually attained equal status with man in all fields of life.

4. The role and character of Mrs. Linde

Mrs.Linde is the best friend of Nora who calls her pet name Christine. She narrates her tragic story to Nora. Christine and Krogstad are childhood friends and they fell in love with each other. But Christine had to look after her ailing mother and two younger brothers and she needed money for them. Being highly practical minded, Christine consented to marry a rich man so that she could provide money for the education of her two brothers and the sick mother. Krogstad is jilted by Christine and he gets married to another woman. Christine does not want to lead a poverty striken life and this is why she has rejected the love of Krogstad and married a rich man. But fate did not allow her to continue enjoying the happy rich life. When her husband died, and his business has collapsed, leaving Mrs.Linde penniless and childless. But when her mother dies and her brothers begin to earn their livelihood, a sense of loneliness seizes her and she finds her life meaningless. So three years after the death of her husband, she has come down to city to meet her old friend Nora, because Christine urgently wants a job so that she can forget herself by doing the work. Nora tells her that her husband is going to become the Manager of the Savings Bank and he will give her a job in the Bank. Torvald Helmer gives Mrs.Linde a job in the Bank in the place of Krogstad. Nora tells her dreadful secret to Christine and Christine helps Nora. Mrs.Linde offers to marry Krogstad who is now a widower with three children. Krogstand is thrilled with joy and promises to undo the mistake he has committed. He returns to Nora the bond and cancels all revengeful action against Nora. This made Torvald happy and relieved and he forgives Nora and tells her that she is once again the skylark and squirrel for him. Thus Mrs.Linde has played an important role in averting the crisis that faces the Helmers.

5. The role and character of Krogstad

 Krogstad is introduced in the Ist Act of the play “A Doll’s House” as a villain. He is a lawyer and a widower with “several children”. His marriage life was very unhappy according to Mrs.Linde. He is dismissed from the Savings Bank by the Manager  Torvald Helmer and Mrs.Linde is appointed in his place. According to Dr.Rank, the family friend of Helmers, Krogstad, the lawyer suffers from a diseased moral character. Krogstad comes to Nora and threatens her that if he does not get back the job in the Bank, he will file a case against her in the court for forgery. He has paid her a loan of two hundred and fifty pounds for the medical treatment of her husband in Italy. Krogstad reminds her that she has committed a major crime by forging her father’s signature on the bond given to him for the loan. In the court Krogstad can easily prove the case against her because her father had died before the date on which the bond was signed.

 Nora tries her best to persuade her husband Torvald not to dismiss Krogstad from his post in the Bank but Torvald was adamant said that he made up his mind to dismiss Krogstad and appoint Mrs.Linde in the post. Torvald tells Nora that while working in the Bank as a clerk, Krogstad committed forgery and has never confessed the guilt. This is why Torvald has decided to dismiss Krogstad from the Bank. As soon as Krogstad receives the order of dismissal, he again comes to Nora and threatens to reveal the truth about the forgery of Nora to her husband. Krogstad sends a letter to Torvald revealing the forgery of Nora.  But here Mrs.Linde comes to the help of Nora and she offers to marry Krogstad who was once upon a time the lover of Christine. The love of Mrs.Linde has changed Krogstad from a villain to a kind-hearted human being. He sends his second letter to Torvald cancelling all revengeful acts against Nora and also the forged bond is attached with the letter.

Kjt/19-09-213

CHURCH GOING (poem) [ Philip Larkin ]

“Church Going” is one of the best of Philip Larkin’s poems.  The title itself is puzzling. It gives us two different meanings. One meaning is that it is a regular visit to a church. The other shows the decline of the institution because people lost faith in God and religion. His greatest virtues are clarity and close observation of social life, perfect control over feeling and tone. The language is always simple and lucid and the idiom has great variety. Through his poetry Larkin advises us not to be deceived by illusions or ideals.  He asks us to have a better awareness of man’s weaknesses. Larkin is called a sceptic poet. He enters the church as a sceptic who does not have any faith in the church. But he slowly realizes the truth that church fulfils a deeply felt human need and that it is “a serious house on a serious earth it is”.

Making sure that nothing is going on inside, the speaker of the poem enters the church and closes the door behind him. He finds that it is just like any other church.  He also notices the furniture, furnishings such as the plate, the pyx, prayer books, the Bible, flowers cut for Sunday holy Mass, matting, seats, the baptismal font and the organ. There are no worshippers in the church and the silence tensed him. He looks around him with contempt and he feels a bad smell when he stands staring at the altar where the church services are conducted. Having observed these details, the speaker takes off his cycle-clips in an act of mock-reverence. He did not wear a hat.

The speaker then moves forward and touches the baptismal font with his hands. He notices that the roof looks almost new but he does not know whether it has been cleaned or restored because he is not a regular church-goer. Then he mounts the lectern and began to read out a few verses from the Bible.  After that he comes back to the door and signs the visitor’s book and donates an Irish six pence which has no value in England. Thus all his activities and manners inside the church show that he is a sceptic who has no faith in the church service. Finally he thinks that his time is wasted, because the place is not worth visiting at all.

But the speaker could not avoid the church. Over and again he visited the church and each time his skeptical attitude grew less and less. This time he stood inside the churching thinking about its future. As science and technology began to develop, people lost faith in the institution of church. In future, churches will become empty and completely out of use.  A few cathedrals may be preserved as museums for future generation because of its great art and architectural value. Their parchment, the plate and the pyx may be kept in locked cases. But other church buildings will become sheltering centers for sheep and other animals and poor people during rainy time. Sometime people may avoid such places as unlucky because of its graveyard. The speaker of the poem thinks that perhaps the church will become the centre of superstitions in the coming years. But if faith disappeared, naturally superstition will also be disappeared because both are connected with each other. Finally the church buildings will tumble down and only its concrete pillars would be standing as silent witness of the past glory of the church. The church path will be over grown with grass, weeds and creepers. It will become a deserted place. In course of time future generation will forget even the shape of the churches.

Now the speaker of the poem reflects who will be the last person to visit the church for its purpose. It may be a lover of antiquity who is eager to see very old things or some Christmas-addict who visits church only on important occasions such as the Easter or Christmas and he wants to enjoy the smell of myrrh burnt, the flowers, the choir music, the dress worn by the choir and the priest and the music of the organ.

Finally the speaker realizes that the church is a serious house on a serious earth. A church is a symbol of man’s sincere search for the ultimate meaning of life. Science and technology cannot solve his spiritual needs. That is why the speaker himself comes to the church again and again when he is tired of the problems of life. A church is equipped with baptismal fond, flowers and the graveyard where “all human glories are buried” with his bones. Thus the ceremonies of most important events in man’s life such as birth, marriage and death are conducted in the church. In this sense we can say that this is a religious poem. Thus the first meaning of the title “Church Going” is affirmed. The poem underlines the truth that the power and the glory of God cannot be destroyed by the advancement of science and technology. On the other hand the church will continue to be the centre focusing universal love and peace and giving spiritual solace to man’s problems and sufferings in his life.

Annotate the following

1)      Back at the door

I sign the book, donate an Irish sixpence,

Reflect the place as not worth stopping for

2)      But superstition, like belief, must die,

And what remains when disbelief has gone?

3)      For, though I’ve no idea

What this accountred frowsty barn is worth,

It pleases me to stand in silence here.

4)      A serious house on serious earth it is,

In whose blent air all our compulsions meet,

Are recognized, and robed as destinies

Paragraph questions

1)      Larkin’s description of the church

2)      Larkin’s views on the function of religion

Essay: Write an essay on Larkin’s fears and hopes about the future of the church.

Note: My dear students study the poem as well as this note and prepare your own answers. Printed on 20-10-2012 at Changanacherry.

Kjt/

To A Skylark [ P.B.Shelley ]

P. B. Shelley is a great revolutionary Romantic poet in English literature. In the poem “To A Skylark”, Shelley wants to learn the skylark’s poetic skill, so that he can make such a wonderful music full of revolutionary ideas for the making of a new civilization based on equality, liberty and fraternity. He says that the skylark is invisible but its melodious music is overflowing the sky and the earth and the poet is absorbed in “a flood of rapture so divine. The poet believes that the skylark is not a mere bird of the world, but a divine spirit, for she sings in full hearted ease and her poem is unpremeditated art. It is spontaneous and natural just as her flight in the depth of the sky. And the music is everlasting. This poem is addressed to the skylark.

2. While sitting at home one evening Shelley heard a sweet music and it delighted his sad mind. It is the music of a skylark, which is invisible in the sky. The bird sings as easily as its flight in the blue. Its poetic skill is “unpremeditated art”. A poem is created by human poet after hundreds of corrections and many months of hard work. Even then the poem is not perfect and sweet as the song of the skylark.

3. Shelley is a master of using beautiful and striking similes in his poetry especially in his poems “Ode to the West Wind” and “To A Skylark”. The skylark is compared to the sun in the morning. When the sunlight becomes brighter, the sun goes invisible. Similarly the skylark is invisible, but the poet feels its presence in the sweet music, which is overflowing everywhere.

4. Again the poet compares the marvelous poetic skill of the skylark to a “poet hidden” and to a “high-born maiden” imprisoned in a palace tower. The hidden poet is singing hymns which create feelings of hopes fear and sympathy in the hearts of the listeners. The highborn maiden is kept in the palace tower and she is singing about her lover.  The music is as sweet as love, which is overflowing the palace tower and the passers-by enjoy the music. But they don’t see the beautiful singer who is hidden in the tower. 

5. The flow of comparisons continues and the skylark is compared to a “glow-worm golden” and a rose hidden by leaves. People feel the presence of the glow-worm by its golden light. Next example is about the “embowered rose flower:” The beetles don’t see the flower, but they are attracted by its sweet smell. Similarly Shelley knows well the skylark is there, although he cannot see the bird, for its music is overflowing everywhere and the poet himself is absorbed in the magical power of the music. And this music gives him “a flood of rapture so divine”.

6. Shelley tells the skylark that her music is far sweeter and more beautiful than all the beautiful sights in human world. The sound of rain falling on the twinkling grass and the rain-awakened flowers are joyous and clear and fresh. But the skylark’s music surpasses everything in the world. Therefore the poet requests the bird to teach him the secret of her poetic skill.  Wedding songs and victory songs are the sweetest songs, which delighted all people alike. But even these human songs are empty sounds compared with the bird’s music.

7. Shelley thinks that the skylark’s clear joyful music contains no dullness or irritation. Her love is divine for there is no dullness in her love.  On the other hand human beings are mortals and they are always afraid of death, diseases and sorrow. They can never be satisfied in their life. They suffer from hate, pride and fear. That is why man made music is dull and imperfect. Sorrow and anxiety follow every man like a shadow till his death. So even the sweetest songs of men contain the tinge of sad thoughts and they cannot delight men.

The poem ends in hope because P.B.Shelley requests the Skylark to teach him the divine poetic skill of the bird which is unpremeditated art so that the poet will compose such sweet songs and the world will listen to him. In his poems he will give his revolutionary ideas to the world, so that a new civilized society can be built up based on equality, liberty and fraternity.

Kjt/1/12/2012

"Refugee Mother and Child" [ Chinua Achebe ] AND "I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS" - Maya Angelou

Chinua Achebe is a great Nigerian novelist poet and short story writer.  His first novel “Things Fall Apart” has been translated into 45 languages.  His poem “Refugee Mother and Child” is a celebration of motherhood. It is a refugee camp somewhere in Africa. The poet gives us a realistic picture of a mother and her child. Hundreds of poor people are thrown out of their homes due to political disturbances or natural calamities. The refugees are in a miserable condition. There are innumerable mothers and children in the same miserable condition in the refugee camp. Their children are slowly dying of poverty and diseases.

 But the poet draws our attention to a particular mother and her child. They are compared with St.Mary holding infant Jesus in her arms. Madonna loves her child because Jesus is the saviour of mankind and the son of God. The world worships her and her child. Juxtaposed with this, the poet introduces a poor ordinary, unknown mother and child. The mother knows her child is slowly dying. It is of no use caring for him. Other mothers in the camp know this truth about their children and so they are careless about their dying children. They don’t want to further waste their time and energy and love for the dying children. It is futile for them. So they are passive. The air was heavy with odours of diarrhoea of unwashed children.

 But this mother is very different. She is the epitome of motherhood. She loves her child. Her love for him is infinite and divine. She does not want anything in return for her love and sacrifice. She combs his dirty hair left on the skull of his head. She carefully parts the hair as if she were preparing him to his school in the morning. She is doing a lot of work including kissing his forehead. It was an act of putting flowers in his small coffin- the last love of a mother to her son. The poet uses the words ‘ghost’ and ‘rust’ as metaphors of death. The mother keeps smiling while combing his hair, because she knows that very soon the child will die. While carrying infant Jesus in her arms, St.Mary too knows well that her son will be nailed to the cross for the benefit of humanity. Therefore he would become the Saviour of mankind. But the refugee mother cannot be proud of any such achievement of her poor son. His death is not a matter for the world. Yet her maternal love for her child surpasses even the love of Madonna for her infant Jesus. The refugee mother cannot expect anything in return for her sacrifice and maternal love for her poor sick child. Still her love and care continues for him till his last breath. The comparison with Madonna and Infant Jesus serves to heighten the emotional appeal of the poem. Simple and direct, the poem “Refugee Mother and Child” touches our hearts with love and compassion and enhances the dignity of motherhood.

I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS                                                                                             Maya Angelou

Dr.Maya Angelou is an African American poet, memoirist, educator, historian, best-selling author, actress, dramatist, civil rights activist, film maker, director and teacher. She won international recognition with the publication of the poem “I know why the Caged Bird Sings”. Maya Angelou portrays white supremacy by comparing the white people to free birds because the whites believe that the history of America is the history of whites only. But in truth America is a land of various cultures and nationalities. It is the Blacks who built today’s America with the sweat and blood of their forefathers. The whites think that they are the inheritors of the national tradition. So the poet says that “the free bird leaps on the back of the wind and dips his wing in the orange sun’s rays”.

Maya Angelou evokes sympathy for the black by comparing them to caged birds who can only be silent witness of the injustice around them. The caged bird sings of freedom. The Blacks have been oppressed and enslaved by the whites for centuries. The caged bird’s “wings are clipped and his feet are tied”. It means that its wings are useless because it cannot fly in the cage.  Every bird is born to fly in the blue sky. It is his birth right. Similarly freedom and citizenship rights are the birth right of the blacks. The bird opens his throat to sing of the freedom. On the other hand the free bird stands for the whites of America. They enjoy freedom and all other pleasures of life. So they don’t know the pain of the caged birds. They dream of more and more profits and pleasures of life. In the past they were engaged in slave trade, taking innocent people away from Africa and are sold to various parts of Europe and America and made huge profits. But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams. It means the Blacks are the silent witness of the injustices around them. They are helplessly watching the segregation and discrimination in their country. In this poem Maya Angelou inspires the blacks in the USA to continue their protests under the leadership of Martin Luther King for their constitutional and God given rights.

 The poet compares the whites to the free bird and the black to the caged bird. The metaphor is a poetic technique which adds charm to the poem. The wings of the caged bird are clipped and its feet tied. By means of this metaphor she convinces us of the world of the miserable and pathetic living condition of the blacks in America. With the use of another metaphor “fat worms” the poet speaks about the greed and profit that the white people are still dreaming of.  When the free bird is thinking of opportunities of trade, the caged bird stands on the grave of dreams. This is another metaphor for the unfulfilled dreams of the blacks about their freedom and citizenship rights.

Telephone Conversation Wole Soyinka

Wole Soyinka is a renowned African novelist and poet.  Soyinka was the first African to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.  “Telephone Conversation” is a simple and amusing poem.  As the title suggests, it is a conversation over ‘phone between an African and a white lady who is the owner of the apartment in London.  The narrator is looking for a rented apartment in London. In this poem, the poet is able to portray the hypocrisy and cold inhumanity of the white lady who rejects the African only because he is ‘black’. Thus the poem is a strong satire on racial prejudice.

The speaker of the poem is an African. He is well educated, cultured and willing to pay the rent demanded by the landlady. At first the white English land lady is very happy that a tenant has come to stay in her apartment. The location of the building is not good. But the African is not worried about it. For him, the rent is reasonable and the landlady promises that she is living in another place. Therefore the Nigerian is also very glad to get such an apartment in London City. But he has a big problem. His skin is black. So he is afraid whether the white lady likes him or not. The flora and fauna in Nature have different colours. The colour of the skin is not a problem for animals, birds and other objects in the world. The sky is blue, the rose is red, the oak is black, the crow is black, orange is yellow, there are black dogs and cows and here the colours are blessing and beautiful. Nature is blessed with all the colours given by God. But man hates man if his skin is not white. So the African confesses to the white lady that he is an African. It is a rude shock to the white lady as if “African” is a criminal. There is a prolong silence. This silence hurts the African. He is insulted. Humanity is insulted. After some time she asks politely ‘how dark he is’?  She enquires whether he is light black.

She does not say that she does not want an African. Instead she asks again whether he is dark or very light. She uses two terms such as plain or milk chocolate to describe his dark skin.  He tells her that he is “West African sepia in his passport”.  Again there is a long silence. Her words were compared to stinking or polluted air because her words are poisonous.

Now the African knows that he will not get the apartment, because the landlady does not want a black man as her tenant.  So the African tells her that the colour of his face is dark brown (brunette), but unfortunately certain parts of his body are very dark. The palm and sole of his feet are semi dark. But the bottom is raven black because of friction by sitting and requests her to see it by herself personally. At that moment the white lady knows that she is insulted by the African and she angrily puts the ‘receiver on the thunderclap. Thus the poem proves that it is the white people who believe in the colour prejudice are always insulted. The colour prejudice boomerangs upon the white people themselves!

Answer in a paragraph of not more than 100 words

1.       Comment on the use of satire, irony, sarcasm, imagery and pun in this poem

“Telephone Conversation” is a vehement attack on racial discrimination. The poet uses various poetic devices such as satire, irony, sarcasm, imagery, pun, alliteration and assonance have been used to bring home to the reader the hypocrisy and racial discrimination of the white landlady. “Location indifferent”, Nothing remained but self-confession”, “Caught I was foully” are all used in ironical tone. The speaker very politely tells the English landlady over phone that he hated a wasted journey- he was an African is irony because he speaks that he is an African is like a crime.There is also pun here because African means a criminal. “Plain or milk chocolate” is also a pun.“Silence for spectroscopic flight of fancy” is an example for double alliteration of ‘s’ and ‘f’. The satirical poem reaches its climax with the words ‘wouldn’t you rather see for yourself?” shows the irony in judging people based on the colour of their skin.

Kjt/23-03-2013

THE ILIAD HOMER

The Iliad continues…..

While Father Jove was sleeping peacefully on the crest of Ida embracing his wife Juno, far down below on the earth the spirit Sleep rushed to Neptune the sea-god to do his best for the victory of Ahaeans for Juno has hoodwinked her husband Jove to bed with her and she asked me to give him sound sleep. As a result Hector, the bravest warrior of Trojans fought fiercely against Neptune on the side of the Achaeans and they fought like wolves. As a band of reapers mow swaths of wheat or barley upon a rich man’s land, and the sheaves fall thick before them, even so did the Trojans and Achaean soldiers fall upon one another as blood-stained dead bodies. Hector first aimed his spear at Ajax but his aim missed and Ajax took a huge stone and struck Hector at his neck. Hector spun round like and top and fell like a huge tall oak tree and bite the dust. Achaeans came running with a loud cry towards him, hoping to drag the dead body away to their ships. They also tried to would Hector with their arrows, but the princess Polydamas, Aeneas, Agnor, Sarpedon protected the body of Hector and took him to the nearby stream Xanthus and washed him with the sacred water of the river. Then Hector breathed again and opened his eyes. Then he vomited blood, but soon fell back on to the ground, and his eyes were again closed in darkness for he was still stunned by the blow.

When Father Jove woke up from his deep sleep, he saw far below, Hector lying on the ground with his comrades gathered round him, gasping for breath. Jove felt pit for him and looked angrily on Juno who is lying on the bed beside him. He called her ‘mischief-making trickster, ‘you are the greatest vixen living’  Do you not remember one upon a time I had you hanged, fastened two anvils on to your feet and bound your hands in a chain of gold for many days and no god could help you. So don’t repeat this cheating! Juno trembled as Jove spoke and apologised. She also said that it was the doing of Neptune and she was innocent. On hearing this Jove became happy and asked her to go and tell Neptune to leave off fighting and go home. He also advised her to go and tell Apollo lord of the bow to send Hector again into battle and give him fresh strength so that he will forget his present sufferings, and chase the Achaeans back in confusion till they fall among the ships of Achilles. Achilles will then send his comrade Patroclus into battle, and Hector will kill him in front of Illius after he has killed many warriors including my own noble son Sarpedon. Achilles will kill Hector to avenge Patroclus, and from that time I will bring it about that the Achaeans will continue to drive the Trojans back and in the end the Achaeans will take Ilius and thereby fulfilling the counsels of Minerva.

King Apollo helped Hector and Trojans to reap victory by killing hundreds of Achaeans and they have almost reached the ships of Achaeans. Eurypylus,a great warrior of Achaeans was critically wounded in the fight against Hector and Patroclus took him to his tent in the ship and began nursing  him.

Finally Patroclus approached Achilles and told him that all the great warriors of Achaeans have been wounded and hiding in the ships. Many Achaeans are being slaughtered by Hector and his allies. So Achilles must act now and only he could defeat the onslaught of Hector and his allies. Achilles advised Patroclus to go and fight the Trojans. He could put on the armour that Achilles’ mother had made for her son. He asked Patroclus to fall upon the Trojans and save the ships of Achaeans otherwise the Trojans would burn all the ships of Achaeans and they could not return to Greece and perish in the sea. As soon as Patroclus has driven the Trojans from the ships, he must safely come back to Achilles. Though Juno’s thundering husband should put triumph within Patroclus’ reach, do not fight Trojans further in the absence of Achilles, and it would be the glory of Achilles alone to kill Hector and Patroclus never tempts to rob the glory, don’t go near Hector or fight with him. Achilles warned him. Meanwhile Achilles went about everywhere among the tents and asked his Myrmidons put on armour.  Fifty ships had noble Achilles brought to Troy and in each ship there was a crew of fifty oarsmen, over these he set five captains whom he could trust, while he was himself commander over all the Myrmidons. Achilles asked Patroclus to lead all the Myrmidons to the battle against the Trojans to drive them away from the ships.

 Patroclus called out his men at the top of his voice “Myrmidons, followers of Achilles, be men my friends, fight with might and main and drive away the Trojans from all Achaean ships, so that King Agamemnon would be sorry for his mistake in humiliating Achilles”. Patroclus drove his chariot everywhere in the field looking for Hector. Sarpedon, seeing Patroclus, jumped down from his chariot and ran towards Patroclus and he also jumped down to fight Sarpedon and fought like two eagle-beaked vultures. The son of Saturn (Jove) was looking down from Ida saw the fight of Sarpedon and Patroclus and he felt pity for his own son Sarpedon and said to Juno who was his wife and sister “Alas,that it should be the fate of Sarpedon whom I love so dearly to perish by the hand of Patroclus. I am in two minds. Should I save him or let him die, I don’t know what to do. What’s your opinion? He asked Juno. She said, “he is only a mortal, let him die” The matter ended there.

Sarpedon aimed a spear at Patroclus, but it missed him and Patroclus aimed his spear right at the chest of Sarpedon and it went straight to his heart and he fell like some oak or silver poplar or tall pine fell on the ground stretched full length in front of his chariot and horses, moaning and clutching at the blood stained dust. Death closed his eyes and Patroclus planted his heel on his breast and drew out both spear point and Sarpedon’s soul at the same time.

Father Jove is very sad that his own son Sarpedon was killed by Patroclus. So he decided to kill Patroclus with the help of Hector. Therefore he filled pride and foolishness in the mind of Patroclus.

Meanwhile, Patroclus, with many a shout to his horses pursued the Trojans in the pride and foolishness of his heart. Had he but obeyed the warning of Achilles, he would have escaped death, but the cousels of Jove pass man’s understanding; he will put even a brave man to flight and snatch victory from his grasp. On the advice of Father Jove, Phoebus Apollo has taken his stand upon the wall to defeat Patroclus’ purpose of taking the wall of Troy and also help Trojans. Thrice Patroclus charge at an angle of the wall, and thrice did Apollo beat him back. When Patroclus was coming on like a god for yet a fourth time, Apollo shouted to him an awful voice and said “Draw back, noble Patroclus, it is not your lot to sack the city of Trojan chieftains, nor yet will it be that of Achilles who is a far better warrior than you are”. Patroclus withdrew and avoided the anger of Apollo. Meanwhile Hector weas waiting with his horses inside the Scaean gates, in doubt whether to drive out again and continue fighting or call the army inside the gates. Then Apollo approached him in the form of his maternal uncle whom Hector loved much and spoke to Hector thus: “Hector, why have you left off fighting?, drive straight towards Patroclus and if so be, that Phoebus Apollo may grant you a triumph over him, and you may rule him”. These words encouraged Hector and he asked his charioteer Cebriones to drive again into the fight. They drove straight to Patroclus who seeing Hector, spring from his chariot to the ground with a spear in his left hand, and in his right a rough stone as large as his hand could hold. He threw the stone, which hit Cebriones, a bastard son of King Priam and he dropped dead from his chariot. Hector sprang from chariot to the ground and both of them fought for the dead boy like two lions fight fiercely over some high mountain over the body of a stag that they have killed. But the gathered Achaeans forcibly took the body of Cebriones and stripped his armour from his shoulders. Then Patroclus sprang like Mars and his shouting was terrific upon the Trojans and he alone killed twentyseven Trojans in a shortwhile. While he was engaged in human slaughter, Phoebus Apollo walked in thick darkness and the god struck him from behind his back and broad shoulders with the flat of his hand andPatroclus’ eyes turned dizzy and his mind become clouded, and his limbs failed him and he stood as one dazed. On seeing this Hector forced his way through the soldiers and struck Patroclus in the lower part of his belly with a spear, driving the bronze point right through it. Patroclus fell on the dust and Hector shouted at him “Patroclus, you thought that you should sack our city, rob our Trojan women of their freedom,and carry them off in your ships to your own country. Fool; Hector and his fleet horses were ever struggling their utmost to defend them.  I am foremost of all the Trojan warriors to protect Troy and it people”. Then as life ebbed out of Patroclus, the brave warrior said,” Hector, you enjoy victory because Father Jove and Apollo have given you victory. But you too shall live but for a little season; death and the day of your doom are close upon you”. While saying thus, his eyes were closed in death, his soul left his body and flitted down to the house of Hades. Hector stripped Patroclus of his armour and dragged him away to cut off his head and take the body fling before the dogs of Troy. But Ajax came up with his shield like wall before him, on which Hector withdrew under shelter of his men and sprang on to his chariot, giving the armour over to the Trojans to take to the city, as a great trophy for himself. After some time Hector changed his mind and took the armour of Achilles that Patroclus wore in his last hours in the battlefield. Hector put on the armour of Achilles which had been given to Achilles by his mother Tethys.

 Seeing Hector in the armour of Achilles, Jove said to himself, ”You have killed Achilles’ comrade, a brave strong warrior, but it was not well that you should strip the armour from his head and shoulders. For this you shall not return from battle to lay the armour of Achilles before Andromache”.

Meanwhile the fleet runner Antilochus rushed to Achilles and told him the sad news that his greatest comrade Patroclus had fallen and his armour was put on by Hector. A dark cloud of grief fell upon Achilles as he listened. He filled both hands with dust from off the ground, and poured it over his head, disfiguring his handsome face, letting the dust settle over his shirt so fair and new. He flung himself down at full length, and tore his hair with his hands. Then Achilles gave a loud cry and his mother Tethys heard him as she was sitting in the depths of the sea by the old man her father and she also screamed. She went upto Achilles as he lay groaning. “Mother, my dear comrade Patroclus has fallen- he whom I valued more than all others and loved as dearly as my own life. So I will not live nor go  about among mankind unless Hector fall by my spear”. Thetis wept and answered “Then, my son, is your end near at hand-for your own death awaits you full soon after that of Hector. Tomorrow at break of day I shall be here and will bring you goodly armour from King Vulcan”

Achilles arranged a fitting burial for his comrade Patroclus. The famed lame god Vulcan made a beautiful armour and gave it to Thetis and she took the rich and goodly armour to the ships and gave it to her son Achilles.

Achilles told Agamemnon that that he was going to battle to avenge the death of Patroclus and he would fight fasting and without food till Achaeans avenged the Trojans. Meanwhile Jove of many delled Olympus bade Themis gather the gods in council, whereon she went about and called them to the house of Jove. Jove told them that he would watch the fight of the Achaeans and Trojans and all other gods and goddesses can join either Achaeans and Trojans as they wished, but don’t fight against Achilles. Juno, Pallas Minerva, earth encircling Neptune, Mercury bringer of good luck and excellent in all cunning- all these joined the Achaeans. With them also the lame god Vulcan joined. On the Trojan side, Mars, Apollo, Diana, Leto ,the river god Xanthus and Venus stood. God Apollo encouraged Aeneas to fight against Achilles and they fought against each other like two lions. Aeneas drove his spear at the great and terrible shield of Achilles, but Aeneas’ spear did not pierce the shield, for the gold, gift of the god stayed the point. Achilles in his turn threw and struck the round shield of Aeneas and Achilles could have easily killed Aeneas, but Neptune helped Aeneas,  because Jove loved Aeneas above all the sons born to him of mortal women. Noble Anchises for his father and Venus for his mother. Now Jove hated the blood of Priam, while Aeneas shall reign over the Trojans, he and his children’s children that shall be born hereafter.

Phoebus Apollo came upto Hector and said. ”Hector, on no account must you challenge Achilles to single combat; keep a look out for him while you are under cover of the others and away from the thick of fight”. But when Achilles killed Polydorus, the youngest brother of Hector, he could not control himself and fought against Achilles. Hector stood outside the gate of Troy city. But old King Priam asked every Trojan to get inside the gate and he wanted to shut the gate against Achilless. But Hector alone stood outside the gate of Troy city for he decided to battle with Achilles. King Priam again and again begged Hector to go inside the gate and not to fight with Achilles. “Hector, the old man cried, stay not to face this man Achilles, alone and unsupported, or you will meet death hands of Achilles, for he is mightier than you. Come, then, my son within the city to be the guardian of Trojan men and Trojan women, or you will both lose your own life and afford a mighty triumph to the son Peleus. Have pity on your unhappy father”. The old man tore his grey hair as he spoke, but he moved not the heart of Hector. His mother nearby stood and wept. “Hector, she cried, weeping bitterly the while, “Hector, my son, spurn not this breast, but have pity upon me too”. On hearing the words of beloved parents, Hector thought for a while with the heaviness of his heart that if he did not fight against Achilles all Trojans would blame him. Suppose Hector tries to settle with Achilles by giving Helen and allthe wealth taken from Greece, Achilles would not accept them because he wanted to kill Hector, he alone wants the glory of it. So it is better to fight against Achilles and die a heroic death. At that moment Achilles rushed to Hector at it were Mars himself and he brandished his terrible spear and Hector fled in dismay before the gates while Achilles darted after him at his utmost speed. As a mountain falcon, swiftest of all birds, sweeps down upon some cowering dove, the dove flies before him but the falcon with a shrill scream follows close after- Achilles make straight for Hector with all his might, while Hector fled under the Trojan wall as fast as his legs could take him. They ran for a long time along the waggon-road, hills and valleys. All the gods watched them and Jove said that his heart was full of pity for Hector. “So let gods decide whether we should save him or let him fall”. Then Minerva said to Jove, “Father Hector’s death is already decreed by you and you can do as you like, but we don’t feel pity for him” Then Jove said “it is your will shall be done”. On hearing this Minerava is happy and flew down to the plain of Troy and approached Achilles who is still running after Hector and said “You stay here and take breath while I go upto him and pursued Hector to make a stand and fight you”. Achilles obeyed her gladly. Then Minerva disguised herself as Deiphobus, the dearest brother of Hector and spoke to Hector in his voice “Dear brother, I see you are running for a long time and Achilles is chasing you at full speed round the city of Priam, let us wait and attack Achilles, we together”. Hector trusted the words of his brother and faced Achilles boldly. Achilles hurled his spear at Hector but Minerva snatched the spear and gave it back to Achilles without Hector’s seeing her. Hector hurled his last spear at Achilles, but it missed its aim and there was no weapon and cried for the help of his brother Deiphobus for a spear, but there was no man, then he saw the truth and said to himself “Alas! the gods have lured me on to my destruction” He took his sword and rushed to Achilles to kill him, but Achilles struck him with his sword on the neck of Hector and Hector fell headlong.

Kjt/23-02-2014

THE ILIAD: Homer

One of the finest achievements in Western literature, Homer’s ILIAD tells the story of the darkest episode of Trojan War. At its centre Ahilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks and his conflict with his leader King Agamemnon. The story centres on the critical events in four days of the 10^th and final year of the war between the Greeks and Trojans that led to Achilles killing Hector the leader of the Trojans. The Iliad is written in the 10^th year of the Trojan War.   

The great heroes on the Trojan side are: Aeneas, Hector and Paris (Alexanderous). On the Spartan(Greek) side are: Ajax (there were two Ajaxes), Achilles, King Agamemnon, Menelaus and Odysseus.   

Greek and Roman conceptions of myth. Mythology was at the heart of everyday life in Ancient Greece. Greeks regarded mythology as a part of their history. They used myth to explain natural phenomena, cultural variations, traditional enmities and friendships. It was a source of pride to be able to trace one’s leaders’ descent from a mythological hero or god. The profound knowledge of the Homeric classics was deemed by the Greeks the basis of their acculturation.  Homer was the “education of Greece”. But Plato the great Greek philosopher expelled the study of Homer of the tragedies and of the related mythological traditions from his utopian ‘Republic’.

After the rise of philosophy, history, prose and rationalism in the late 5^th century B.C. the fate of myth became uncertain, and mythological genealogies gave place to a conception of history which tried to exclude the supernatural such as the Thucydidean history, while poets and dramatists were reworking the myths, Greek historians and philosophers were beginning to criticise them. A few radical philosophers like Xenophanes of Colophon were already beginning to label the poets’ tales as blasphemous lies in the 6^th century B.C. Zenophanes had complained that Homer and Hesiod attributed to the gods “all that is shameful and disgraceful among men; they steal, commit adultery, and deceive one another”.  This line of thought found its most sweeping expression in Plato’s ‘Republic” and “Laws”.  Plato created his own allegorical myths (such as the vision of Er in the Republic), attacked the traditional tales of the gods’ tricks, thefts and adulteries as immoral, and objected to their central role in literature. Plato’s criticism was the first serious challenge to the Homeric mythological tradition, referring to the myths as “old wives’ chatter. Nevertheless, even Plato did not manage to wean himself and his society from the influence of myth; his own characterization for Socrates is based on the traditional Homeric and tragic patterns, used by the philosopher to praise the righteous life of his teacher.  But perhaps someone might say, “Are you then not ashamed, Socrates, of having followed such a pursuit, that you are now in danger of being put to death as a result?” But I should make to him a just reply. “You do not speak well sir, if you think a man in whom there is even a little merit ought to consider danger of life or death, and not rather regard this only, when he does things, whether the things he does are right or wrong and the acts of a good or a bad man. For according to your argument all the demigods would be bad who died at Troy, including the son of Thetis, who so despised danger, in comparison with enduring any disgrace, that when his mother (and she was a goddess) said to him, as he was eager to slay Hector, something like this, I believe, My son if you avenge the death of your friend Patroclus and kill Hector, you yourself shall die”; for straightway, after Hector, is death appointed unto you”. Achilles, when he heard this, made light of death and danger, and feared much more to live as a coward and not to avenge his friend’s death and said “Straightway, may I die, after doing vengeance upon the wrongdoer, that I may not stay here, jeered at beside the curved ships, a burden of the earth.

The story of ILIAD begins with the quarrel between Achilles and King Agamemnon over a beautiful young girl called Briseis. She was given to Achilles by the Achaeans when they plundered the city of Thebes as his share of the loot. Achilles, the tower of strength of the Greek army loved the girl and she also was in love with the great Greek warrior and stayed with him in his tent in the ship. King Apollo sent pestilence upon the host (the Greek people who had come to the seashore of Troy in many ship and anchored in the sea around the city of Troy) The Greeks have been fighting with the Trojans for the last ten years over the issue of Helen, the wife of Menelaus who had been abducted by Paris (Alexandrus), the youngest son of King Priam of Troy. Menelaus is the brother of Agamemnon, the King of Greek people. Paris is the brother of Hector of Troy. Chryses is the priest of  God Apollo and prayed to the God that he was dishonoured by the King Agamemnon. The old man had gone to the King Agamemnon and requested him to get back his daughter Chryseis and he was willing to give him ransom but the King was angry with the old priest and said that he would not free her and she would live in the household of King Agamenon. This is why King Apollo sent pestilence on the Greek people and they died in hundreds and thousands. An assembly was held and Achilles asked King Agamemnon to free the girl to her father. But Agamemnon demanded the girl Briseis from Achilles. Thus they quarrelled over the girl and she was taken away by force from the ten of Achilles King Agamemnon. Achilles is the son of mortal Peleus and his mother is the Silver-footed Thetis a goddess. She is the daughter of old Merman of Oceanus and lives with her father in the Oceanus. Goddess Juno is the sister and wife to Father Jove, the dread son of Saturn. Juno has a son called Vulcan, the lame footed semi god,  who is the smith of Olympus. King Apollo is also known as Foebus Apolo is the son of Jove and lovely Leto. Apollo is always seen as a hunter with a silver bow and aquiver upon his shoulder. When he shoots arrows one by one pestilence struck man, animals alike and fall dead like rain drops.

THE AENEID - VIRGIL (continued)

The Aeneid                                                                                              VIRGIL    ……continued

On the way to Sicily, Aeneas and his fleet are caught in a whirlpool of Charybdis and driven out to sea. Soon they reached the land of the Cyclops. There they meet a Greek named Achaemenides who belonged to Ulysses and he was left alone on the island when all his comrades escaped the cave of Polyphemus.  Shortly after, Anchises dies peacefully of old age. Now they have reached the shores of Carthage.

Meanwhile, Venus (Aphrodite) sends Cupid to Dido, the queen of Carthage and makes her fall in love with Aeneas. Venus goes to her son Cupid who is the half- brother of Aeneas and tells him to disguise himself as Ascanius and goes to Dido with gifts. Cupid goes to Dido and offers the gifts expected from a guest. With her motherly love revived in the presence of Aeneas’ boy, Dido’s heart falls in love with both the boy and his father. During the banquet, Dido realizes that she has fallen madly in love with Aeneas Dido had promised her husband Sychaeus that she would be for ever loyal to him even after his death. Sychaeus had been murdered by her brother Pygmalion. Juno seizes this opportunity to make a deal with Venus, the mother of Aeneas. Juno wants to distract Aeneas from his destiny of founding a city in Italy. Aeneas is inclined to return Dido’s love, and during a hunting expedition, a storm drives both Aeneas and Dido into a cave in which they have sex and thereby Dido violated her fidelity to her late husband. Dido thinks that it is a sign of her marriage with Aeneas.

 But when Jupiter sends Mercury to remind Aeneas of his duty and destiny, Aeneas has no choice, but to part with Dido. It is so shocking to Dido that her heart broken, she commits suicide by stabbing herself with upon her funeral pyre, the sword of Aeneas which, was given to her as gift. Before her death she curses and predicts eternal strife between Aeneas’ people and the people of Carthage. She said, “Rise up from my bones, avenging spirit”.  Looking back from the deck of his ship, Aeneas sees the smoke rising from the funeral pyre of Dido and knows its meaning very clearly. Nevertheless, destiny calls, and the Trojan fleet sails on the winds and waves towards Italy.

The Trojan fleet of Aeneas reaches Sicily.  Here Aeneas organizes funeral games on the anniversary of his father’s death. A boat race, a foot race, a boxing match, and an archery contest. In all those contests, Aeneas is careful to reward both winners and losers, showing his leadership qualities.  Each of these contests comments on past events or prefigures future events.

 The boxing match is a preview of the final fight between Aeneas and Turnus. The dove, the target during the archery contest is connected with the death of Polites and King Priam in Book 2 and that of Camilla in Book 11. Finally the boys’ military parade led by Ascanius and mock battle is a tradition that Aeneas will teach the Latins when Aeneas and the Trojans reach Italy.  The participants of all these funeral games are men only. While the games are going one, Juno incites the womenfolk to burn the Trojan fleet and prevent the Trojans from ever reaching Italy, but her plan was spoiled by the timely inter vention of Aeneas and his son Ascanius.

Aeneas prays to Jupiter to put out the fire, which the god does excellently with a torrential rainstorm. Besides, at night Aeneas is comforted by a vision of his father Anchises, who tells him to go to the underworld to get a vision of his and Rome’s future. Jupiter promised a safe journey to Italy and all the gods and goddesses will help him and in return for these divine services, they will receive one of Aeneas’ men as a sacrifice. Palinurus, while steering Aeneas’ ship at night falls overboard!

Under-world  In Book 6, Aeneas, with the guidance of the Cumaean Sibyl, goes down to the underworld through an opening atg Cumae; there Aeneas speaks with the spirit of his father and is offered a prophetic vision of the destiny of Rome.

Books 7 – 12 describe war in Italy. Upon coming back from the underworld, Aeneas leads the Trojan fleet to Italy. At Latium, Aeneas falls in love with Lavinia, the beautiful daughter of King Latinus.  Although Aeneas wished to avoid a war, hostilities break out between the Trojans and the Latins. Juno is actively involved in bringing about this war. Juno has persuaded the Queen of Latium to demand that Lavinia be married to Turnus, the ruler of local people of Rutuli. Juno tries her best to stir up trouble and she even brought the fury Alecto to ensure that a war takes place. In the war between Aeneas and Turns. In the battles that follow, many are killed notably Pallas who is killed by Turns; and Mezentius, Turnus’ close friend.  Another notable, Camilla a sort of Amazon character, fights bravely but is killed. She has been a virgin devoted to Diana and to her nation; the man who kills her is struck dead by Diana’s sentinel, Opis.  Single combat is then proposed between Aeneas and Turnus, but Aeneas is so obviously superior that the Italians, urged on by Turnus’ divine sister Juturna break the truce and war resumed between Aeneas and Turnus, but when Aeneas makes a daring attack at the city of Latium, causing the queen of Latium to hang herself in despair, Aeneas forces Turnus into single combat once more. Turnus tries to hurl a rock at Aeneas, his strength spoiled and Aeneas struck him in the leg with a spear.

 Finally when Turnus is begging on his knees for his life, Aeneas is angry at him on seeing Pallas’ belt worn by Turnus, and kills him. The epic Aeneid ends here.  Critics say that the tone the poem is pessimistic and politically subversive to Augustus Caesar’s government. But some of the critics are of the opinion that the Aeneid is the mark of celebration of the Battle of Actium in 31BC when Augustus Caesar became the master of the great Roman Empire. Some scholars say that there is strong association between Aeneas and Augustus, the one as founder and the other as re-founder of Rome.  The Aeneid is full of prophecies about the future of Rome, the deeds of Augustus, his ancestors, the famous Romans, and the Carthaginian Wars; the shield of Aeneas even depicts Augustus’ victory at Actium in 31 BC. As a protagonist of the epic poem, Aeneas seems to constantly waver between his emotions andc commitment to his prophetic duty to found Rome; Critics note the breakdown of Aeneas’ emotional control in the last sections of the poem where the “pious” and “righteous” Aeneas mercilessly kills Turnus.

Briefly describe the various themes depicted in the epic poem “Aeneid”?

                  Virgil’s epic poem “The Aeneid” contains many major themes. They are Pietas, Divine intervention,   Fate, Violence and Conflict, propaganda and Allegory.

                  Pietas  The Roman ideal of pieta(“piety,dutiful respect”), which can be loosely translated from the Latin as a selfless sense of duty toward one’s filial, religious, and societal obligations, was a crux of ancient Roman morality.  Throughout “The Aeneid”, Aeneas serves as the embodiment of pietas, with the phrase “pious Aeneas” occurring 20 times throughout the poem thereby fulfilling his capacity as the father of the Roman people. For instance, in Book 2 Aeneas describes how he carried his father Anchises from the burning city of Troy: “No help/ Or hope of help existed./So I resigned myself, picked up my father,/And turned my face toward the mountain range.  Furthermore, Aeneas ventures into the underworld, thereby fulfilling Anchises’ wishes. His father’s gratitude is presented in the text by the following lines: “Have you at last come, has that loyalty/ your father counted on conquered the journey? However, Aeneas’ pietas extend beyond his devotion to his father; we also see several examples of his religious ferver. Aeneas is always obedient to the gods, even if it is contradictory to his own desires as he says, “I sail to Italy not of my own free will” In addition to his religious and familial pietas, Aeneas also displays fervent patriotism and devotion to his people, particularly in a military capacity. For instance, as he and his followers leave Troy, Aeneas swears that he will “take up/ the combat once again. We shall not all/ Die this day un-avenged.  Thus Aeneas is a symbol of pietas in all of its forms, serving as a moral paragon to which every Roman should aspire.

                 Divine Intervention

                 One of the themes that occur in The Aeneid is that of divine intervention. Throughout the poem the gods are constantly influencing the main characters and trying to change and impact the outcome, regardless of the fate that they all know will occur. For instance, from the very beginning of the voyage of Aeneas from Troy to Italy, Juno tries her best to intervene and change the fate, but fails.

                 Fate, described as a preordained destiny that men and gods have to follow, is a major theme in The Aeneid. One example is when Aeneas is reminded of his fate through Jupiter and Mercury while he is falling in love with Dido.

                 Another theme of the epic poem is “Violence and conflict”. This is used as a means of survival and conquest.  Aeneas’ voyage is caused by the Trojan War and the destruction of Troy.  This violence continues as Aeneas makes his journey.  Dido kills herself in an excessively violent way over a funeral pyre in order to end and escape her worldly problem.  Dido’s violent suicide leads to the violent nature of the later relationship between Carthage and Rome.  Finally when Aeneas arrives in Latium, conflict inevitably arises. There are wars between Latins and Trojans under the leadership of Turnus and Aeneas and finally Aeneas kills Turnus leading to the end of the epic poem “The Aeneid”.

                 Propaganda is also a theme of the epic poem of Virgil. Written under the reign of Augustus Caesar, “The Aeneid presents the hero Aeneas as a strong and powerful leader which in turn represents the progressive and powerful leadership of the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar himself. In The Aeneid, Aeneas is portrayed as the singular hope for the rebirth of the Trojan people.  Augustus as the light of saviour and the last hope of the Roman people is a parallel to Aeneas as the saviour of the Trojans.

                  Allegory    The epic poem “The Aeneid” abounds with smaller and greater allegories. Two of the most important allegories are the exit of Aeneas from the underworld and to Pallas’s belt.  There are two gates of Sleep, one said to be of horn, whereby the true shades pass with ease and the second gate is all white ivory, yet false dreams are sent through this one by the ghost to the upper world. Anchises let his son Aeneas and Sibyl go by the Ivory Gate.  Aeneas’ leaving the underworld through the gate of false dreams has been variously interpreted. One interpretation is that all of Aeneas’ actions in the rest of the epic poem are somehow “false”. It has been suggested that Virgil believes that the history of the world since the foundation of Rome is but a lie.

                  Kjt/20-03-2014

The Aeneid Virgil

The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled from Troy to Italy where he became the ancestor of the Romans. Aneas is the hero of Virgil’s great epic poem “Aeneid.  Aeneas is the son of Anchises and Aphrodite (Venus).  Aeneas fought against the Greeks in the Trojan War. There is the legend that Aeneas carried his father Anchises on his shoulders out of the burning Troy.

Augustus Caesaar, the great Roman Emperor asked Virgil, the great Roman poet to write The Aeneid in celebration of the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, because this Battle made Augustus the master of the entire Roman world. Initially reluctant to accept the commission, Virgil took several years to write and re-write the poem, dying before he had finished the final draft. Virgil left instructions for The Aeneid to be burnt, but Augustus evidently considered the poem a fitting eulogy, and not burnt honoured the great epic and kept it for future generations.  Virgil’s choice of Aeneas rather than Augustus Caesar as the hero of his epic was inspired. Aeneas was already worshipped by the Romans as the founder of their race and civilization and Virgil wanted to explain he luxurious Roman civilization and to inspire belief in an equally glorious future.  Writing for the survivors of a long and savage civil war, Virgil constructed a fairy tale modelled on the epics of Homer namely Iliad and Odessey. Intellectually challenging and tragic in its view of the world, The Aeneid roused the Romans’ pride in their past and upheld Roman ideals. Set one thousand years before Augustus Caesaar, the epic poem The Aeneid alludes directly to the emperor in prophecies and visions throughout the narrative, subtly suggesting that after a century of decline, Augustus will give birth to the recovery of Roman fortunes. The Aeneid is composed of 9,896 lines and written in Latin hexameter, it is divided into twelve books.  The first six books tell the story of Aeneas’ wanderings, divine interventions, battles and speeches from Troy to Italy and the poem’s second half tells of the Trojans’ ultimate victory in the war against the Latins under the leadership of Aeneas. The epic poem is almost similar to Homer’s Iliad and Odessey in God’s interventions, battles, speeches and extended similies that are the stock-in-trade of Hellenistic epic verse. As a document the Aeneid is central to Roman culture. The poem is given universal and timeless relevance by the broad sweep of Virgil’s narrative which includes the lives of ordinary folk. The Aeneid is a story full of individuals who  behave as real people still do.

The Aeneid can be divided into twelve books and 1-6 books explain Aeneas’ journey from Troy to Latium in Italy and books 7-12 explain the war in Latium between the Trojans and the Latins. These twelve books reflect Virgil’s ambition to rival Homer by treating both the Odyssey’s wandering theme and the Iliad’s warfare themes.  Virgil begins his poem with a statement of his theme – “I sing of arms and of a man….” And an invocation the Muse “O Muse, recount to me the causes of the principal conflict in the story…” He then explains the reasons for the main conflict in the story of The Aeneid: the enmity of the goddess Juno against the Trojan people. Virgil imitates many styles of Homer. For instance, the Aeneid also begins in medias res (in the middle of the story) and then gives flash backs to past and future – this method is followed by Homer in Iliad and the Odessey. Virgil al so uses a lot of similies. The Trojan fleet led by Aeneas left Troy for Italy, the second home of the Trojans. It has been foretold that in Italy, Aeneas will give rise to a race both noble and courageous, a race which will become known to all nations. Juno is angry because she had not been chosen in the judgement of Paris, and because her favourite city Carthage will be destroyed by Aeneas’ descendants. Also, Ganymede, a Trojan prince, was chosen to be the cup bearer to her husband, Jupiter, replacing Juno’s daughter Hebe. So Juno asks Aeolus,the King of the Winds to release a violent wind to destroy the Trojan fleet. But Neptune notices this and is angry with Aeolus and Juno for the intrusion into his domain and asks the winds to calm down. So the Trojan fleet is not destroyed and takes shelter on the coast of Africa. There Aeneas’ mother Venus, in the form of a hunting woman, very similar to the goddess Diana, encourages Aeneas and recounts to him the history of the city Carthage. Thus Aeneas reaches the city and in the temple of Juno, he seeks and gains the favour of Dido, the queen of the city. Dido falls in love with Aeneas but he goes away from Carthage on the intervention of gods, and Dido burns herself on the funeral pyre.

Trojan Horse

At a banquet given in honour of the Trojans, Aeneas sadly recounts the events that occasioned the Trojans’ arrival. He begins the tale shortly after the war described in the Iliad. Cunning Ulysses devised a way for Greek warriors to gain entry into the city of Troy by hiding in a large wooden horse. The Greeks pretended to sail away, leaving a warrior Sinon, to inform the Trojans that the horse was an offering (gift) and that if it were taken inside the city compound, the Trojans would be able to conquer Greece. The Trojan priest Laocoon saw through the Greek plot and asked to destroy the wooden horse, but his protests fell on deaf ears, so he was angry and hurled his spear at the horse and at once two serpents emerged from the sea and swallowed Laocoon, along with his two sons and the Trojans took it as a punishment from the gods and trembled with fear. They took the wooden horse inside the fortified walls of the city and went to bed. At midnight the armed Greek warriors emerged from it and opened the city’s gates and allowed the returned Greek army to kill the Trojans. Thus the ultimate victory of the Trojan war was celebrated by the Greeks.

In a dream, Hector, the fallen Trojan hero advised Aeneas to run away with his family. Aeneas awoke and saw with horror what was happening to his beloved city Troy. At first he tried to fight the enemy, but soon he lost his comrades one by one and was left alone to defeat the Greeks. He witnessed the murder of the old King Priam by Achille’s son Pyrrhus. Aeneas’ mother Venus appeared to him and led him back to his house. Aeneas tells of his escape with his son Ascanius, and father Anchises, after the occurrence of various omens such as Ascanius’ head catching fire without his being harmed, a clap of thunder and a shooting star, all explained to Aeneas to run away from Troy, his beloved city. After fleeing Troy, Aeneas goes back for his wife, but she has been killed. Her ghost tells him that his destiny is to found a new city in the West.

Aeneas continues his story. He says that he mobilised all the surviving Trojans and built a fleet of ships and continued their journey through the Meditarranean taking shelter at various sea shores. At Thrace they found the last remains of a fellow Trojan, Polydorus; at the Srophades, they encountered the Harpy Celaeno; at Crete, they thought this is the place they had to build their city but God Apolo appeared to Aeneas and said it was not the place. At Buthrotum they tried to build a new city of Troy. At Buthrotum, Aeneas meets Andromache, the widow of Hector. She is still lamenting the irrepairable loss of her husband Hector and beloved child. There too Aeneas meets Helenus, one of Priam’s sons, who has the gift of prophecy.  Through him, Aeneas learns the destiny laid out for him: he is divinely advised to seek out the land of Italy (also known as Ausonia or Hesperia), where his descendants will not only prosper, but in time rule the entire known world. In addition, Helenus also asks him to go to Sibyl in Cumae. Thus Aeneas leaves Buthrotum and goes to Sicily (Trinacria).                                           …to be continued……                               kjt/15-03-2014

The Odyssey - Homer (summary)

As soon as the Trojan War was over, Odysseus, the great Greek hero set out his voyage. Odysseus is not only a great warrior but also a great scholar and traveller. On his way he reached the island of the beautiful goddess Kalypso who seduced the Greek hero to become her lover and prisoner. Odysseus stayed with her long eight years. During this time the people of Ithaca, the island kingdom had been eagerly waiting to welcome their king Odysseus.  A group of rowdy suitors attacked the palace of Odysseus and courted his faithful but weakening wife Penelope. In this miserable situation, Odysseus’s greatest immortal friend goddess Athena asked permission from Zeus to help Odysseus and Zeus granted permission and Athena called Telemakhos, the son of Odysseus and asked him to search for his father at Pylos and Sparta. Telemakhos wandered through the places of Pylos and Sparta meeting the old companions of his father who fought with him in many wars and travelled with him to many places. But they all told him that they have not seen or heard of Odyssus for many years.

Athena found Odysseus in the palace of Kalypso and she released him. Odysseus sets sail on a makeshift raft. But the sea god Posidon was angry with Odysseus and created a tempest to wreck the raft because many years ago Odysseus had blinded Posidon’s son Kyklops Polyphemos. At last with the miraculous help of Athena, Odysseus reached the island of Phaiakians. Odysseus was welcomed by the beautiful princess Nausikas of Phaiakians. Odysseus did not tell her his identity for a long time but finally at the request of the Phaiakians, Odysseus tells them the story of his adventures.

 Odysseus tells them that when the Trojan War was over, Odysseus and his companions suffered more losses at the hands of the Kikones. After that Odysseus and the rest of the companions reached an island of ‘lotus eaters’.  All the people of this island were the addicts of a drug called ‘lotus.’ It is a kind of plant and when you eat the leaves, you fall into a kind of comfortable sleep, forgetting the present past and future. After some years they woke up and resumed their adventurous voyage. It was then Kykolps Polyphemos killed many soldiers of Odysseus. Odysseus made a clever plan to blind Kykolps Polyphemos and escaped with his men. But Odysseus had to disclose his name and identity to Kyklops Polyphemos and thus he started his personal war with Posidon the wind god. Odysseus was helped by Ailos, another wind god with a bagful of wind for his safe journey home to Ithaca the small island. But the crew of the ship greedily opened the bag and the ship was sent wrongly to the land of the giant Laistrygonias who was a man-eating cannibal. Odysseus and his companions had a miraculous escape and continued their voyage.

The ship of Odysseus anchored near the island of the goddess Kirke, who metamorphosed the men of Odysseus to pigs. But Odysseus sought the help of the goddess Hermes and destroyed the magical power of Kirke and turned the pigs once again to human beings. Goddess Hermes was very kind to Odysseus and his men and they stayed on the rich island of Hermes for a year leading luxurious life. Hermes was very fond of Odysseus and she had blind love for him.

 Odysseus had to face the temptations of the seductive and dangerous Seirenes and continued his voyage through the violent waves of the sea. The sea monster Skylla attacked Odysseus but he boldly defeated the sea monster. When his ship reached Kharybdis, the vessel was violently shaken and spun by the whirlpools. The ship plumbed into the depths of Hades. When they reached Hades, they heard the prophecy from the blind seer Teiresias. When they came back to the surface of the sea from the Hades, Odysseus and his men wanted rest because their journey to Hades was very tiresome. They saw a beautiful island called the island of Helios and landed there and took rest for many days. Odysseus asked his men not to touch the oxen on the island. But they disobeyed his orders and touched the oxen.  When their happy holidays were over on the beautiful island, they resumed their voyage again. But a great tragedy awaited them at sea. Zeus punished all the men on the ship. Zeus sent a tempest and all the men except Odysseus were killed. Thus Odysseus reached Kalypso’s island sadder but wiser.

When Odysseus has finished his story, the Phaiakians gave him precious gifts and ferried him home on a ship. Thus after a long voyage, Odysseus reached Ithaca disguised as a beggar. Athena disguises Odysseus as a beggar and instructs him to find out his old swineherd Eumaios because Eumaios can bring Telemakhos back to Ithaca from his travels. With the help of Athena Telemakhos escapes from the attack of the suitors and the son is reunited with his father Odysseus, who reveals his true identity only to his son and swineherd Eumaios.

Odysseus, the clever architect of Trojan horse, devises a clever plan to overthrow the suitors with the help of Telemakhos and the swineherd Eumaios.  In disguise as a beggar, Odysseus, examines and every nook and corner of his palace and observes many things. The suitors and a few of his old servants treat him badly when Odysseus seeks the loyalty of his wife Penelope and other servants. When days pass by Penelope notices many striking resemblances between the beggar and her supposed to be dead husband. So Penelope proposes a contest. She declares that she will marry the suitor who can string her late husband Odysseus’ great bow and shoot an arrow through a dozen oxen-heads.

Only Odysseus can pull of the feat. Bow in hand, he shoots and kills the leader of the suitors Antinoos and reveals his identity that he is no longer a beggar but Odysseus himself. With Telemakhos, the swineherd Eumaios and his goatherd Philoitios at his side, Odysseus killed the rest of the suitors. Athena helps Odysseus in the slaughtering of the suitors. The victorious Odysseus is welcomed by his dearest Penelope only when Odysseus finds out the strange bed built by Odysseus many years ago, removed the last bit of doubt that he was an imposter. Odysseus goes out of town to visit his ailing father Laertes, but an army of the suitors’ relatives come there and attack them. Goddess Athena appears there disguised herself and helps Laertes to kill the ringleader Antinoos’ father. When Antinoos’ father is killed by Odysseus father Laertes, Athena gets command from Zeus to bring peace between the sides and the war is stopped.                                                               Kjt/29-12-2013