Prior to lines 81-91 of the Aeneid, Juno has Aeolus send a storm to Aeneas and his crew. In these lines, using various rhetorical devices and specific word choice, Vergil illustrates the feeling of being within the storm to readers, therefore creating violent imagery. Roman readers, Vergil’s audience, primarily had poetry read aloud to them. Due to this, Vergil was also able to utilize auditory devices to further enhance his poetry. Vergil creates a vivid and violent setting for the events that follow by utilizing auditory devices as well as word order and rhetorical devices that elucidate the storm brewing.
There is a lot of energy within the storm, as displayed by the fact that many of the lines begin with a verb with an intensifying prefix before its subject. For example, Insequitur and then clamorque following, Eripiunt with nubes closely after, and Intonuere with poli following it. Furthermore, Vergil also used alliteration as an auditory device to mimic the sounds of the storm, such as lightning and thunder. There is also a repetition of consonant sounds within these lines, as there is an internal “t” that works as a form of alliteration. This contributes to the sound of lightning, which enhances the setting of the storm.
To embody the panic and confusion Aeneas and his crew felt within this storm, the word order in these lines is mixed up. Vergil creates choppy and chaotic word order, in which a reader must jump around to read the lines, elucidating this idea. By mimicking the panic and fear Aeneas and his crew felt, Vergil brought the audience into the story. Vergil also utilized scansion to drive home his imagery. Spondees are slower and more serious, whereas dactyls showcase more urgency. Therefore,by using a lot of dactyls in these lines, Vergil adds to the sense of urgency and fear, which Aeneas and his crew may have felt during the storm. When read aloud, as the poem would have been to Roman readers, you can hear the wind blow through due to the dactyls.
Vergil’s use of various rhetorical devices, auditory devices, and word choice to create violent imagery brings his audience into the story, allowing them to relate to how Aeneas and his crew might have felt while this storm was occurring. By bringing readers into the story in this way, Vergil sets up Aeneas’s own first lines, and allows the reader to relate to how hopeless he was feeling during his first speech. Vergil is able to create a violent and vivid setting by utilizing rhetorical devices, auditory imagery, word choice, and scansion.
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