"Dido to Aeneas" is an excerpt from Ovid’s poem Heroides, a selection of letters from mythical heroines to the heroes who have wronged them in some way. Ovid, a Roman who lived from 43 B.C. to 17 A.D., is considered a canonical poet of Latin literature. This specific collection of poems features a variety of disgruntled couples, from Penelope and Odysseus to Medea and Jason. "Dido to Aeneas" is adapted from Virgil’s Aeneid, a story about Aeneas, famous Trojan soldier and son of Aphrodite. A response to Homer’s famous epic The Odyssey, The Aeneid begins with the sack of Troy, which forces Aeneas and his company to flee. Aeneas is thought to be the ancestor of Romulus and Remus, making his journey a precursor to the founding of Rome. Ovid’s poem refers to Aeneas’s brief stop in Carthage and his encounter with Queen Dido. After getting acquainted, the two enter a romantic relationship and plan to get married. However, in his sleep, Aeneas is visited by the god Mercury, who tells him that he needs to leave Carthage, as he is destined to create Rome. Not wanting to upset the gods, Aeneas leaves Carthage in the night for Italy without discussing it with Dido first. "Dido to Aeneas" begins right after Aeneas leaves, depicting the heartbroken Dido’s criticism of Aeneas’s sudden departure and her subsequent suicide after writing the letter. The part of the poem I chose was near the very end, as this piece contains a octane rhythm and a finishing climax; Ovid most likely chose to write in a rather fast pace to show the the queen's frustration and anger. Ovid also switches between the third and first person in order to give information as the narrator. Additionally, unlike in his Metamorphoses, Ovid writes these poems in elegiac couplets instead of dactylic hexameter. I go into more detail about this type of meter on the scansion page.
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