Aeneid Aeneas Is a Complex, Term Paper

" Finally, Lantinus seals Aeneas's fate as a future Latin by commenting on how the Trojan will bring peace. The king states, "peace is made when I behold him here." Aeneas's being welcomed with genuine warmth into Latinus's home and homeland signal a tremendous transformation in the title character of the poem. Aeneas is no longer just a Trojan, and he is no longer a Trojan without a homeland. Now Aeneas will inherit the kingdom and start a new lineage of Latins.

Aeneas becomes more emotionally hardened as he matures, although he is no less passionate of a man. His experience with Dido illustrates the shift in his emotions. Aeneas is known for his emotional stoicism, referred to in the epic as piety or temperance. Yet Aeneas's temperamental passion is one of his core character traits. He falls in love readily, and cannot communicate his feelings to Dido. Although he suppresses his feelings, his emotions guide many of his actions throughout the poem. His vengefulness is part of his passion, as he kills Turnus instead of showing mercy. Therefore, Aeneas is no less passionate in Book 12 than he is in Book 1. In Book 1, Aeneas is described as having an "anxious life in endless cares, / Expos'd to wants, and hurried into wars!" His life is no different at the conclusion of the poem, and he is equally as resolute to fulfill his destiny. His emotional hardening is particularly evident in his treatment of Turnus, which was an act of Aeneas's own free will rather than influenced by the gods. Aeneas does not always conceal his emotions, either.Book 6 begins with him weeping as the crew sails for Italy. In Book 8, Aeneas is "floating in a flood of care." He only becomes truly anger-filled after the death of Pallas in Book 10, when Aeneas becomes "glad with sight of hostile blood."

At the onset of the Aeneid, the title character is shown to be partly aware of his destiny; by the end of the epic Aeneid takes control of his destiny. He is "forc'd by fate" in Book 1. By Book 11 Aeneas is being referred to as a "pious chief," and the term denotes someone who is in control of their personal destiny as well as their people. Aeneas's actions are more clearly his own, stemming from his own heart than from the gods whose wills theretofore guided him. In general Aeneas's transformation from a follower of destiny to a commander of his own fate is gradual, but key moments such as Pallas's death in Book 10 motivate Aeneas to take charge of his destiny but in accordance with the gods' will.

Aeneas is not the most dynamic character in epic poetry but he starts out in defeat and becomes a victor; he shifts his identity from being a Trojan to being the founder of a new Latin nation; he becomes more emotionally hardened; and more in charge of his destiny as a political leader. Key moments in the Aeneid that reveal the title character's maturity include the death of Pallas, and the passing on of the Latin….....