To what extent is there a blend of fantasy and realism in Book 1 of the Aeneid?

which he must endure by himself “I sing of arms and of a man: his fate had made him fugitive.” Virgil is quick to show that Aeneas is but a mortal man with human qualities. It is these human aspects of Aeneas: his leadership, his emotional strengths, and his heroism that make him a crucial character in the Aeneid. Leadership is one of the first humanistic qualities that Aeneas is given to create a sense of realism and heroism within his character. This evident when they arrive at Carthage and immediately Aeneas is off to hunt food for his fellow comrades and thus gives a speech to his army in order to uplift his morale even though he feels hopeless himself. In the Aeneid, Aeneas serves as the vehicle through which fate carries out its events. Virgil does not hide what will happen, but instead, allows the reader an insight into the future through prophecies In book 1 we hear of the prophecy from the scrolls of fate. This imagery of the scrolls allows the reader to become involved in the plot.  Here Virgil is using prophecies to foreshadow future events and prepare the reader for the events leading to the founding of Rome. To some extent this is also an example where Virgil blends together fantasy and realism. Virgil's audience, however, hears these predictions with the advantage of hindsight, looking backward to observe the realization of an already accomplished fate. As observers who know about the future, the audience is in the same position as the gods, and the tension between the audience's and the characters' perspectives therefore emulates the difference between the position of mortals and that of gods and the blend of fantasy and realism. To a large extent fantasy and realism is blended together during the storm, Aeneas is recalling all of the people that died in the battle of Troy.  He begins to pray for all of them and he questions why his life was not taken too and the reason for all his hardships.  As all the ships seem to disappear one bye one into the sea storm the god the sea appears. Neptune is part of the fantasy element of a realistic sea storm. Neptune becomes angry because Aeolus has infringed on his own territory, he then calms the water, and the seven remaining ships of Aeneas's fleet find a safe harbour on the North African coast of Libya, site of the city of Carthage. A classic example of how Virgil blends realism and fantasy together is when is narrating passages of Aeneas’ journey. For something to be realistic, the reader must be able to imagine it. Aeneas talks about more or less ordinary events but incorporates the fantasy element through his use of language. He uses rich and vivid imagery to encourage to the reader to become aware of their surroundings. “There is cave at the foot of the hills, inside is fresh water and seats cut in the living rock…for the nymphs” passages such as these are very detailed but often lack realism. Furthermore, to some extent fantasy is blended with realism at times when events are physically unexplainable. The concept of deux et machinae is exercised for example when it seemed that all the ships were lost, Venus compares their landing to birds. In a natural disaster it would have been very unlikely for the comrades to survive if it had not of been for the protection of the gods. It could be said that Aeneas journey seems to lack credibility, for example even though they have just suffered a storm they still manage to have gifts such as necklace, gold lace etc. for Dido with them when they arrive at Carthage. Details such as these are questionable and thus lead us to believe that it is fantasy. Virgil often tends to exaggerate his description too. He suggests that there are hundred male servants and fifty maids serving at the banquet. The palace also indicates massive amount of wealth as “there was massive array of silver on the tables and gold plated engraved with heroic deeds of the people’s ancestors” This is quite amazing since Dido is supposed to be a refugee and yet is still living a life of luxury. Previously she has sent twenty bulls for the seven ships that have accompanied Aeneas which is rather excessive. However there are some elements of realism too. For example Virgil uses the names of places and rivers to give an indication of his location. If the readers can identify with these places then the events that take place there will look more realistic. Yet again the author has managed to blend in reality and fantasy is once again through the interference of divine powers. For example, Venus sends cupid to instil love in Dido for Aeneas.  Here Virgil exploits the natural and genuine feelings of attraction and affection between two people by overwhelming Dido with intense lust, often referred to as “flames of passion.” The flames she feels do not keep her warm but rather consume her mind. Virgil describes the way she falls in love in the synonymous terms “enflamed and driven mad” Furthermore, when Aeneas reaches Carthage, he becomes very emotional at seeing the temple frieze which is quite reasonable when considering everything that he has been through and even allows the reader to sympathise with him. There is short flashback, which leads us to greater understanding of the reasons behind Aeneas sadness. He is obviously homesick and realises everything that he has had to suffer through. However the same passage raises obvious doubts about the lack of realism. Is it really possible for the Carthaginians to be aware of Aeneas past in such great detail as to depict them on the frieze. They would not have been aware of the characters appearances and exact battle scenes so their understanding of would not have been completely accurate.  Secondly, it is too much of a coincidence that they already knew about Aeneas and then he actually arrives. However their knowledge of each other does conveniently give great impact to the meeting. Both have already got a lot in common; refugees, founding a new city and both have lost a partner violently. In conclusion to a large extent there is a blend of fantasy and realism in Book 1 of the Aeneid. This is primarily evident even with Aeneas’ character, as he possesses such divine qualities that allow him to undergo all the suffering and hardships. No mortal man could still be so hopeful or even alive to that matter if he had suffered all of Aeneas experiences. y:\svn\trunk\engine\docs\working\acumen3\37549.doc02/05/07alex