1) Symbolism: Homer's epics are very straightforward. We do get glimpses of past histories, such as that of families and honor, but there is little connection between past and present. Virgil's text is different. He finds it important to recount the history of the Aeneas and make it strikingly similar to that of the Romans. The wars between the Trojans and Italians resembled the Roman civil wars. Showing Aeneas's victory suggested the parallel between Aeneas and Augustus and the end of the Roman civil wars. Dido, the Queen of Carthage, is also a symbol for Cleopatra and her allure of Antony. The Aeneid also provides some fictionalized history of the bad blood between the Rome and Carthage which resulted in multiple wars. Symbolism is an important aspect of literature to teach to students. Guess what? Yes, using symbolism deepens comprehension. Here's an article telling you why and how to incorporate it in your classroom: Using Symbolism.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Why teach The Aeneid?
As you might have guessed over the last posts that The Aeneid is very similar to the Odyssey and Iliad, so why should we teach it if it is so much like the two epics before it? Although the Aeneid does have common characteristics with Homer's works but it is also different. One main thing to remember is that there are definite teachable aspects of the epic that are important for our students today.
1) Symbolism: Homer's epics are very straightforward. We do get glimpses of past histories, such as that of families and honor, but there is little connection between past and present. Virgil's text is different. He finds it important to recount the history of the Aeneas and make it strikingly similar to that of the Romans. The wars between the Trojans and Italians resembled the Roman civil wars. Showing Aeneas's victory suggested the parallel between Aeneas and Augustus and the end of the Roman civil wars. Dido, the Queen of Carthage, is also a symbol for Cleopatra and her allure of Antony. The Aeneid also provides some fictionalized history of the bad blood between the Rome and Carthage which resulted in multiple wars. Symbolism is an important aspect of literature to teach to students. Guess what? Yes, using symbolism deepens comprehension. Here's an article telling you why and how to incorporate it in your classroom: Using Symbolism.
2) Themes: Like the other texts I've gone over, there are themes that can be tied into our society. One of the themes is that of power. Virgil wrote his text in a time when Rome was just blossoming into a powerhouse empire. Caesar Augustus (Octavian) made himself a symbol of political power, ending the civil wars that started after Julius Caesar's death. Power of Rome is discussed in the text, such as when Jupiter and Aeneas's father predict that Rome will expand to the edges of the earth. The Aeneid argues that with great power comes great responsibility. You can easily have students translate this into a discussion about power today. What does it mean for a leader to be powerful? What about a country? Is peace a symbol of power? There are other themes such as warfare, duty, mortality, the past, and family that are all aspects of our global society today.
Again, this has been a crazy week, but next week should be a good one. I'm read The Metamorphoses by Ovid. Listen to this description. The Metamorphoses was written in approximately 8 CE. It begins with the story of the creation of the universe all the way to the death of Julius Caesar. There are multiple tales many readers know such as the one about Jason and the Argonauts, Orpheus and Eurydice, the Trojan War, Echo and Carcissus, the Minotar, Daedalus and Icarus, Hercules, Aeneas and Dido, the wedding of Perseus and Andromeda, and others. There is a common theme through all the stories: transformation. Through this common theme there is humor, pathos, death, and cruelty. As the text I have says, "Ovid reveals how the endless ebb and flow turn to stone, and is mirrored in the often paradoxical and always arbitrary fate of the poem's characters, both human and divine." I KNOW you're excited to hear about this one. Here's the schedule for the week:
7/1: History
7/2: Books I-III
7/3: Books IV-VII
7/4: Books VIII-XI
7/5: Books XII-XV
7/7: Final post
This is going to be a good week because I'm in Key West. I'll channel my inner Ernest Hemmingway and it will be magical. Get ready for the week!
Cassy
1) Symbolism: Homer's epics are very straightforward. We do get glimpses of past histories, such as that of families and honor, but there is little connection between past and present. Virgil's text is different. He finds it important to recount the history of the Aeneas and make it strikingly similar to that of the Romans. The wars between the Trojans and Italians resembled the Roman civil wars. Showing Aeneas's victory suggested the parallel between Aeneas and Augustus and the end of the Roman civil wars. Dido, the Queen of Carthage, is also a symbol for Cleopatra and her allure of Antony. The Aeneid also provides some fictionalized history of the bad blood between the Rome and Carthage which resulted in multiple wars. Symbolism is an important aspect of literature to teach to students. Guess what? Yes, using symbolism deepens comprehension. Here's an article telling you why and how to incorporate it in your classroom: Using Symbolism.
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