The Power of the Flame
The image of the flame has had many different meanings over time. Although an actual flame has its own significant denotation in today’s society, the image of a flame has been used to describe diverse feelings and states of emotion in many pieces of literature over time. In The Aeneid of Virgil, the image of the flame ultimately leads to states of emotional and physical change of the people it comes in contact with. The two characters the “flame” seems to affect most throughout the story are Queen Dido and the warrior Turnus. The reader witnesses this affect by the sudden swift change of emotion these characters undergo. In turn, these emotional changes lead to a physical tragedy in each character lives.
In The Aeneid of Virgil, Queen Dido and Turnus’ emotions are greatly influenced by the flame of passion. Queen Dido is first presented to the reader as a powerful and strong leader of her people. When Aeneas first reaches her city, many new buildings are being built and work is running smoothly (I.598-601) However, when Aeneas is telling the story of his journeys to Dido and her people, the gods send down Cupid to influence Dido to fall in love with Aeneas. At the beginning of book four, the reader is exposed to the first use of flame imagery concerning Dido’s sudden swift change of emotional state towards Aeneas: “The queen is caught between love’s pain/and press. She feeds the wound within her veins; /she is eaten by a secret flame” (my emphasis, IV.1-3). This unexpected flame demonstrates the sudden passion Dido has gained towards Aeneas and the beginning of her physical and mental downfall. To confirm her passion for Aeneas, Dido has a discussion with her sister, Anna, who encourages Dido to love him and removes all doubt from her mind; “These words of Anna fed the fire in Dido./Hope burned away her doubt, destroyed her shame…the supple flame devour[ed] her marrow”(my emphasis,IV.74-75,88). This detailed...