With close reference to the text show how in Book 4 of the Aeneid the relationship between Aeneas and Dido change.

In Book 4 we see a radical change in Dido and Aeneas relationship. Before Aeneas's arrival, Dido is a strong and competent ruler of Carthage. She is resolute, we learn, in her determination not to marry again and to preserve the memory of her dead husband, Sychaeus, whose murder at the hands of Pygmalion, her brother, caused her to flee her native Tyre. Despite this turmoil, she maintains her focus on her civic responsibilities. When Aeneas arrives, straight away the readers can feel the chemistry between her and Dido since they both have a lot in common. Dido is already aware of the heroic deeds preformed by Aeneas as depicted on the temple frieze. These tales overcome with love for . At dawn, Dido turns to her sister and expresses how impressive she thinks Aeneas is. She admits that Aeneas is the only man who has moved her since the death of her husband . She swears that she will not give up her vow of celibacy, but Anna tells her that Sychaeus would not begrudge her the opportunity to take such a new and powerful husband. She explains that with so many hostile tribes around them, a joint city with the Trojans would be desirable. The blaze within Dido’s heart only grows stronger when her sister Anna encourages her to pursue Aeneas. “This counsel fanned the flame.” Dido sacrifices sheep and tries to discern answers from their entrails She is wild with love and she staggers through the city like a dove hit by an arrow. She keeps thinking she sees Aeneas even when he is not there.

Virgil depicts the suddenness of the change that love provokes in the queen with the image of Dido as the victim of Cupid's arrow, which strikes her almost like madness or a disease. Virgil describes her love as an“illness” for which she can find no cure. Dido states that a flame has been reignited within her. In addition to this Dido also recalls her previous marriage in “the thought of the torch and the bridal bed” (IV.25). Torches limit the power of flames by controlling them, but the new love ignited in Dido's heart is not regulated by of the ...

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The plotting of Juno and Venus mean that finally Dido and Aeneas can be united which they conspire will take place during a hunt. Virgil portrays Aeneas as compared to Apollo whilst dido is dressed like a huntress. Storm hits while they are out riding and Aeneas and Dido find shelter in the same cave. "That day was her first day of death and ruin." Juno flashes lightning and nymphs sing as the two make love in the cave. Almost immediately rumour reaches all the cities that both couple are supposedly married. By taking Aeneas as a lover, she compromises her previously untainted loyalty to her dead husband's memory. Dido can no longer rule her city because she is overcome with love. When she has sex with Aeneas, she thinks that this is marriage, but he does not. Aeneas, as usual, does not express his emotions and instead just silently goes along with the woman. Aeneas is talkative when it comes to the struggle of the Trojans, however he never proclaims his love for Dido — never offers a commitment. Yet, Aeneas silently dallies in Carthage with Dido “laying the foundations of a citadel and putting up buildings” wearing “a rich cloak given to him by Dido.” However on the other hand Dido has began to lose the support of Carthage's citizens, who have seen their queen indulge an passionate obsession at the expense of her civic responsibilities. Further, by dallying with another foreigner, Dido alienates the local African chieftains who had approached her as suitors and now pose a military threat.

Dido and Aeneas spend the winter together. They both rule the city of Carthage together. However , a local chieftain and son of Jupiter, is enraged because Dido refused him when he asked her for marriage. He then pleads with Jupiter who is prompted to instruct to go and tell Aeneas to seek his real destiny. Mercury repeats Jupiter's order for Aeneas to go to where he is fated to go. Aeneas waits for the right moment to tell her, but Rumour brings her the news and she goes into a frenzy. The essential character of her passion remains unchanged, however, as is demonstrated by Virgil’s continued use of fire imagery. She walks the streets of Carthage “all aflame with rage.” She tries to plead with him by saying that she is in danger with the native chieftains because she snubbed them. She also says that she has upset her people. Her last desperate attempt is saying. Aeneas does reply that he does not wish to go but that it is his fate that drives him on. Repeatedly he tries to explain to Dido the importance of the fate to which the gods have called him. As much as Aeneas loves Dido, he simply cannot stay with her. Devotion to the gods will not allow it; the memory of Troy will not allow it; all hope for Iulus’ future will not allow it. Aeneas is strong enough to honor his obligations; he is pietas personified. He admits that his abandonment of the queen was not an act of his own will and after Dido’s outburst he does urge her to stop making “appeals that set us both afire.”

However Aeneas’ is response is rather formal and cold towards her. He continues to distress her by stating that if he had his way, he would never have left . It appears that Aeneas does not love Dido as much as she believed it to be as he is quick to dimiss any relationship that they had and does not recognise it as marriage, Dido risks everything by falling for Aeneas, and when this love fails, she finds herself unable to reassume her dignified position. She doesn't believe that Mercury came to him and becomes irate. Dido goes from being humble and hurt to doubting him and then finally backs to intense anger. She is a figure of passion and volatility, qualities that contrast with Aeneas's order and control, and traits that Virgil associated with Rome itself in his own day. When Aeneas had arrived in Carthage Virgil portrayed Aeneas as her wound. As Dido realizes that she is losing Aeneas, her “wound” seems to become infected with hatred. The vocabulary used from her confrontation of Aeneas onwards reflects a long-term illness rather than an immediate injury. As she gives Anna instructions to prepare a pyre, her “cheek and brow [grow] pale.” Dido’s illness is fatal; her physical state matches her emotional one:

Her irrational obsession drives her to a frenzied suicide, out of the tragedy of her situation and the pain of lost love, but also out of a sense of diminished possibilities for the future. By the time Aeneas leaves she is not even willing to acknowledge his existence anymore as she speaks in past tense during his presence. Through Dido, Virgil affirms order, duty, and history at the expense of romantic love.

Dido ends her life in a manner that reinforces the fire imagery Virgil has used. She asks Anna to gather all the possessions that Aeneas has left behind and prepare them for a ritual pyre. She then places herself at the top of the fire, stabs herself with Aeneas’ sword, and dies amidst the flames. This sequence combines Virgil’s metaphorical use of fire with a portrayal of a physical reality. Anna’s role in the preparation and the use of Aeneas’ sword as the instrument of Dido’s death reflect the development of her love, passion and frenzy. The flames within her soul are reflected in the flames around her body.

In conclusion, during Book 4 the relationship that develops between Aeneas and Dido end tragically for both. Aeneas has to leave his love and Dido is the victim of a tragic destiny. She is filled with passion, madness, and selfish thoughts; Aeneas is concerned with the memory of his fatherland and the future of his descendants. Dido is closely tied to Juno. Aeneas is tied to Jupiter. However Aeneas’ experience with Dido enriches him and gives him a new commitment to his purpose.

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09/05/07