but to me, although the poem might end abruptly, compared to its predecessors, i am not sure how else the aeneid *could* have ended. i do not think that anybody disagrees that aeneas is greatly changed by the end, specifically in terms of how his own passions influence him. to end the poem with some allussion that creates a more perfect whole, which is i think what you want, that features aeneas not in the midst of passion, must become artificial. true, the epic has certain conventions, but there is constant, albeit slow, evolution. from the first epic hero achilles, we then get odysseus, as the hero dressed as a beggar, and it is athena who makes so much of his artiface possible. in both, the endings are appropriate. with aeneas, however, we get the reluctant hero. the ending shows us a hero acting in a situation he never wished to be in, giving us a huge contrast between the enraged, now turnus-like aeneas and the aeneas from the beginning. and then the last line alludes to the first mention of that reluctant hero, before the forces of history had forged a 'turnus' out of him. i am not sure. i guess i'm just throwing some ideas out, but i probably am the most stupid person on this list, and certainly the least knowledgeable. all i know is that when i read the ending of the aeneid i am overwhelmed with a feeling of completeness, and a stasis of the soul that i cannot explain. i love it so much.
have you ever seen those sculptures, i cant remember by whom or by what name they are called, of men, left unfinished that, precisely because they are unfinished, they create a sense of the man struggling to break out of the rock? in being left unfinished, they attain an greater end. i feel the same thing at the ending of the aeneid. in the case of those sculptures, i would never have thought them unfinished had i not been informed by the text book. i am still not at all convinced that the aeneid likewise is a perfect whole, even if virgil had envisioned more. -matthewspencer > 2. the abrupt ending of this epos: hwo does "an epos" end? > a) Ilias: one verse only like a chapter-title: > "h�s hoi g' amphiepon taphon Hektoros hippodamoio" > "so they cared for the funeral of Hektor, the horse-thamer" > > that is also a little bit abrupt, but the chapter itself rounds the theme of > the > beginning, "m�nin ... Achill�os", fullfilling it, satisfying it: "m�nin" of > course meant the not-fighting of Achileus, not willing to fight, withdrawing > from the battle; then he comes back, kills Hektor, and with the funeral ends > the > whole plexus very round-circled. > > b) Odyssee: > "Mentori eidomen� �men demas �de kai aud�n" > - (Pallas Athene, who was) > "totally similar to Mentor, in her outer form and in her voice" > > not less abrupt; a feeling of "ending the eops" comes only by this Taking-off > the view from the theme, like "let's change the view now, it was enough about > the struggle"; and it is a little praise of Pallas Athene; and it is an epic > formula, theophanic (or simply epiphanic) epitheton of Pallas Athene. Singing > the muse in the beginning, singing the goddes in the end. > Here also the story has become rounded in fullfilling and peace. > ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub
