Book 4

BOOK 4- Revision

Lines 1-53                  

For a long time Dido had been in love, ever since the banquet. (Her son cupid had  disguised

himself as Ascanius).

Dido was impressed by Aeneas:

•          his bravery

•          his looks

•         the fame of his family

•         Dido told Anna her sister that she believed Aeneas was the son of a god

•         Dido was determined she would never marry again

•         She would remain faithful to the memory of her dead husband Sychaeus

•         But Aeneas was the first man who had ever made her want to break that promise

Anna said:

•         ‘Why waste your youth in sorrow and loneliness?

•         Why go through life without love or children?

•         Do you think a ghost in a tomb cares what you do?

There are good reasons for you to marry:

1.  You are surrounded by chieftains who are unfriendly
2.  There is the possibility of war with Tyre and your brother Pygmalion
3.  You need a husband like Aeneas at your side to help you
4. If the Tyrians and the Trojans unite, what a great empire will arise in Carthage!

Anna advisesd Dido to ask the gods for their help and make offerings to them.

Lines 54-89                

•         What Anna said helped Dido overcome her conscience

•         She made sacrifices to the gods, and especially to Juno the goddess of marriage

•         Dido was like a deer in a wood who has been wounded by an arrow

•         The hunter who shot the arrow doesn’t even know he has wounded the deer.

•         Dido became obsessed with Aeneas

•         At night, when she was alone, she could see and hear Aeneas even though he was not there

•         The work on Carthage ground to a halt

•         Because she was in love Dido was no longer doing her duty as a queen.

Lines 90-128               The scene changes to Olympus, home of the gods.  Juno suggests a truce:  let Aeneas marry Dido and have Carthage as her dowry.

Juno said to Venus:

Ø  Let us arrange a marriage between Aeneas and Dido.

Ø  Dido is in love with Aeneas

Ø  Let us govern a united people between us

·         Venus understood that Juno only said all this because she wanted to keep the Trojans from Italy.

·         Venus agreed to the plan

·         Dido and Aeneas would be married the next day when they go out together hunting. Juno will raise a storm and Dido and Aeneas will find shelter in the same cave.  There they will be ‘married’.

Lines 129- 172            The hunting party assembles at dawn. 

•         The Carthaginians poured out of the palace, ready for the hunt

•          Dido took her time getting ready, but eventually emerged from her room

•          She was…