I do, however, have a huge amount of background knowledge on another, very different, classical text: the Aeneid, by Virgil. I studied this text during most of 2012 as part of my Stage 2 Latin course, and feel the knowledge I have of this text - especially in the context of the fact that I've read a good deal of the final book (in my opinion, the most intriguing of the poem) in Latin, and have, therefore, a much better understanding of its function as poetry - would be an invaluable resource to use in my project. I have also read a good deal of Caesar's De Bello Gallico in Latin, which was extremely interesting as a propaganda and historical document, and would be very interesting to examine in this context - perhaps even in comparison to the Aeneid, given the way this poem champions the emperor Augustus?
Some of my ideas for questions are below:
- In what ways are the characters of Odysseus and Aeneas comparable, and how are they presented as different types of heroes by Homer and Virgil?
- How do the Aeneid and the Odyssey differ in the ways in which they present relationships between demos, aristoi, heroes and immortals?
- In what ways are Caesar's De Bello Gallico and Virgil's Aeneid comparable as documents of propaganda?
- What are the differences in the morals of the two stories of the Odyssey and the Aeneid?
- How do the Aeneid and the Odyssey present Roman and Greek culture in similar and different ways?
I do very much like the fact that you are considering the 'Aeneid', and to link it to a question around propaganda would be very effective. I'd suggest yiu stick to one text and show your depth of knowledge, otherwise, you run the risk diluting your knowledge of depth and mastery of the text. The 'Aenied'alone will impress the marker and moderators.
ReplyDeleteThat's great news! The fewer things I have to compare, the less I expect I'll have to worry about my word count. In that case, I wonder if it would be a nice idea to look at it just as a propaganda text, to keep my focus narrow; I'm thinking I could maybe use a question along the lines of:
ReplyDelete"The Aeneid was written primarily as a propaganda text, and the way in which it is written reflects this.
Discuss."
It could be a bit of a challenge to look at it this way, given that it's really only book 8 that extolls the virtues of Augustus Caesar (obviously, Rome's emperor at the time the book was written), but I can use that question to explore the elements that make it read a bit like a religious text - especially its status as a story describing the creation of Rome, as well as its interesting comments on morality (books 5 and 12 especially feature these, in my opinion). Any thoughts?
The problem with the question is that the second part assumes that the first part is true. The Aenied and the Nazi masterpiece 'Triumph of the Will'.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triumph_of_the_Will
The intention of my question is that I might be able to challenge the statement that I'm making. Having read a bit more of the Aeneid, I'm expecting that (if I follow through with this question) I'll argue that the Aeneid is less a propaganda document than it is a religious document, one designed to teach modern Romans about ethics and the qualities that make a noble man. Interesting that you're suggesting a comparison to this film; I think it's a very interesting film when viewed in isolation, but I'm also thinking that there are probably only very limited elements of the poem which will compare well to the film's overall message and intent... also, looking at the poem in isolation is going to allow me to discuss many more points about the techniques it uses, et cetera, which ought to please moderators!
ReplyDeleteTo what extent was 'The Aeneid' a propaganda text for Caesar Augustus?
ReplyDeleteThis is perfect. I'll start an essay plan for this now...
ReplyDelete