Monday, April 30, 2012

The Aeneid, week 24

"     So all his shipmates gathered round his body and raised a loud lament, devoted Aeneas in the lead. Then still in tears, they rushed to perform the Sibyl's orders, no delay, they strive to pile up trees, to build an altar-pyre rising to the skies. Then into an ancient wood and the hidden dens of beasts they make their way, and down crash the pines, the ilex rings to the axe, the trunks of ash and oak are split by the driving wedge, and they roll huge rowans down the hilly slopes."
                                                 ~from The Aeneid by Virgil, book six
___________________________________________________

     This particular passage of book six is one of my favorites from The Aeneid so far. This is because it displays a dramatic, yet applicable happening. The men who are with Aeneid on his journey are forced to say goodbye to a comrade, a companion - a friend. Plenty of people today have to do this, but fewer have to go right back into laboring, minutes after a funerary farewell. These particular men, though, do so with dignity, courage, and silent sorrow - 'still in tears'. Even Aeneid weeps as he carries out his instructions. but through the tears, they carry on.
     I love the emotion in this piece, and how it's not an unheard of emotion - but a circumstance that can be very real.


Monday, April 16, 2012

Purity beneath the veil


A charm invests a face
a poem by Emily Dickinson

A charm invests a face

Imperfectly beheld.
The lady dare not lift her veil
For fear it be dispelled.

But peers beyond her mesh,
And wishes, and denies,
Lest interview annul a want
That image satisfies.
____________________________________________________
       This poem about purity took a while to find, but was worth being found. It's about the purity of the veiled woman - whether the veil be metaphorical or physical. Metaphorical veils are much more popular today than are physical ones, but - sadly - any type of veil is either unheard of or rare in most places. Girls today just don't care as much about saving purity for the man God has planned for her. They want satisfaction now, the satisfaction being found in small, temporary things such as 'the first kiss' (often at age 10) or the prom later on. And as I strive to be a pure young woman in an impure world, watching some of my friends slowly lose their purity has become a lesson to me. Every week they break up with someone, and every week their heart is broken. So I'm waiting on what the Lord has in store for me - avoiding trauma, heartbreak, and wave-like relationships. Sure - it's hard - but it will be so, so worth it. 

Monday, April 9, 2012

The Aeneid - book 4

" But the queen -- too long she has suffered the pain of love,
  hour by hour nursing the wound with her life blood,
  consumed by the fire buried in her heart.
  The man's courage, the sheer pride of his line,
  they all come pressing home to her, over and over.
  His looks, his words, they pierce her heart and cling --
  no peace, no rest for her body, love will give her none."
                               ~from book 4 of The Aeneid by Virgil

___________________________________________________

    This paragraph is the first of the quite lengthy poem in book four of The Aeneid, called 'The Tragic Queen'. This paragraph fits the description held in the title very well for we do indeed see that the queen is tragic. I like in this piece how well Virgil commands the use of imagery. The first segment of this tool is found in the very first line - 'the pain of love'. Love is considered an abstract noun - something that is definitely tangible, but not visible to others around you. So this creates an image of something hidden - which seems to be an oxymoron, but adds to the mystery and awesomeness of what Virgil is trying to say.
    Another great form of imagery Virgil uses is found in the last line when he says - 'no peace, no rest for her body, love will give her none.' The way the words in this line have been put together makes love seem like a demanding, resentful, un-compassionate authority - which is true, in many ways. Overall, the final line of the first paragraph of book four's poem gives love the character of a person in a truthful, colorful manner.