Aen. 8. 624-731: The Shield of Aeneas.
General comments on ekphrasis
- A pause in the narrative where the story does not advance –
‘Precisely because ekphrasis represents a pause at the level of
narration and cannot be read functionally, the reader is possessed
by a strong need to interpret’ (Fowler, Narrate and Describe: The
Problems of Ekphrasis)
- Description as fundamentally at odds with narrative in the Western
tradition, thus is ekphrasis at odds with the narrative form? – it is
fundamentally ‘aiming at energeia, a vivid quality of language
producing evidentia (evidence) and rousing emotions through lively,
precise, and detailed verbal descriptions’ (Rippl, Ekphrasis) – this is
similarly to Fowler’s argument that it is for the purpose of
interpretation, caused by the emotion it raises
- Linguistics differ from visual art as the existence of synonyms
requires someone to choose a precise word for something, e.g. a
particular way to describe something – ‘visual art must be more
open, less tied to a point of view, less fixed in its interpretation than
literary art in which a point of view is constantly imposed by the
medium’
- Thus general aim seems to be evoking emotion whilst
simultaneously freezing a moment in the narrative, whether to
pause to create an artistic mental image or to delay an event’s
occurrence
Other Classical influences:
- The Shield of Achilles (Iliad. 18.469)
1. Both are gifts from their mothers (Venus and Thetis respectively)
2. Both are made by Vulcan/Hephaestus, the craftsman god
3. Both are described at a turning point in the war, with Aeneas
deciding to attempt an alliance with Evander and Achilles
choosing to return to battle
However
1. Description of Achilles’ Shield takes up 468-618 (150 lines),
Aeneas’ takes up 618-732 (114 lines) – Aeneid is half the size of
the Iliad, shows the significance of this ekphrasis to be almost
equal in length to that in an epic twice its size
2. Aeneas’ shows prophetic images depicting the future of Rome
and its glory, Achilles’ shows both war-torn and domestic images
(‘in one of (the towns) weddings and feasts were in progress...
the other town was under siege from two armies’ (18.490) –
Homer’s shield presents ‘scenes… full of ordinary people taking
part in the activities of ordinary life’ (Edwards, The Iliad: A
Commentary, Vol. V, Books 17-20, 208)
3. Achilles’ shield is needed (his previous was lost when Patroclus
used it as a disguise ), Aeneas’ is unnecessary
4. ‘Virgil's most famous ekphrases – Daedalus' relief, the temple of
Juno, Aeneas' shield and Pallas' belt- all seem to play into an
General comments on ekphrasis
- A pause in the narrative where the story does not advance –
‘Precisely because ekphrasis represents a pause at the level of
narration and cannot be read functionally, the reader is possessed
by a strong need to interpret’ (Fowler, Narrate and Describe: The
Problems of Ekphrasis)
- Description as fundamentally at odds with narrative in the Western
tradition, thus is ekphrasis at odds with the narrative form? – it is
fundamentally ‘aiming at energeia, a vivid quality of language
producing evidentia (evidence) and rousing emotions through lively,
precise, and detailed verbal descriptions’ (Rippl, Ekphrasis) – this is
similarly to Fowler’s argument that it is for the purpose of
interpretation, caused by the emotion it raises
- Linguistics differ from visual art as the existence of synonyms
requires someone to choose a precise word for something, e.g. a
particular way to describe something – ‘visual art must be more
open, less tied to a point of view, less fixed in its interpretation than
literary art in which a point of view is constantly imposed by the
medium’
- Thus general aim seems to be evoking emotion whilst
simultaneously freezing a moment in the narrative, whether to
pause to create an artistic mental image or to delay an event’s
occurrence
Other Classical influences:
- The Shield of Achilles (Iliad. 18.469)
1. Both are gifts from their mothers (Venus and Thetis respectively)
2. Both are made by Vulcan/Hephaestus, the craftsman god
3. Both are described at a turning point in the war, with Aeneas
deciding to attempt an alliance with Evander and Achilles
choosing to return to battle
However
1. Description of Achilles’ Shield takes up 468-618 (150 lines),
Aeneas’ takes up 618-732 (114 lines) – Aeneid is half the size of
the Iliad, shows the significance of this ekphrasis to be almost
equal in length to that in an epic twice its size
2. Aeneas’ shows prophetic images depicting the future of Rome
and its glory, Achilles’ shows both war-torn and domestic images
(‘in one of (the towns) weddings and feasts were in progress...
the other town was under siege from two armies’ (18.490) –
Homer’s shield presents ‘scenes… full of ordinary people taking
part in the activities of ordinary life’ (Edwards, The Iliad: A
Commentary, Vol. V, Books 17-20, 208)
3. Achilles’ shield is needed (his previous was lost when Patroclus
used it as a disguise ), Aeneas’ is unnecessary
4. ‘Virgil's most famous ekphrases – Daedalus' relief, the temple of
Juno, Aeneas' shield and Pallas' belt- all seem to play into an
