Book 4
- Created by: Clive Frimpong
- Created on: 05-06-13 17:25
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:
- You are surrounded by chieftains who are unfriendly
- There is the possibility of war with Tyre and your brother Pygmalion
- You need a husband like Aeneas at your side to help you
- 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…
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