Nilay Barde
Mr. Ludt
Humanities
Section C
January 6 2017
The manner in which an author describes the characters of any piece of literature is the only
way the reader will be able to understand the mentality of any of the characters. In book IV of the
Aeneid, Virgil develops the main characters of the book and does not develop the minor characters.
Queen Dido is the main focal point of book IV, and her importance is shown by the extensive
amounts of development she receives in this chapter. In contrast, Anna, Queen Dido's sister, is
undeveloped, and Virgil does not allow the reader to understand the mind of Anna, as a reflection
of Anna's subservient role in the plot. Virgil develops Queen Dido and under develops Anna during
the beginning, middle, and end of book IV of the Aeneid.
In the beginning of book IV of the Aeneid, Virgil develops Queen Dido and under develops
Anna. He does this by explaining the dilemma that Queen Dido is in and how she deals with it.
Queen Dido swore that she would never love again because she wants to remain faithful to her
dead husband, Sychaeus. However, she is very deeply in love with Aeneas and does not know
what to do. She decides to confide in her sister Anna and ask for her opinion on what she should
do. When Dido tells Anna about her predicament, Anna says that if Dido and Aeneas were to get
married, it would be better for the city and for Dido. Also, Aeneas has been the only one who has
moved her sad heart since her husband died. This is a major encounter that takes place because
this changes how Queen Dido feels about herself. For example, in line 25, Virgil writes that "these
words of Anna fed the fire in Dido. Hope burned away her doubt, destroyed her shame." She is no
longer worried about whether she should be allowed to have these feelings. She only cares about
Aeneas. This character development is the first that is portrayed by Virgil in this book, and it also
shows a characteristic of Anna. Anna is someone who Dido can rely on to help her during her
times of trouble. This is shown by the way Anna begins her answer to Dido. She says in line 38,
"Sister, you more dear to me than light itself, are you to lose all your hope in dreary loneliness?"
This shows that Anna truly cares for her sister. She cares for her sister, and her feelings for her
sister remain the same throughout the remainder of the book. The steady behavior of Anna is very
different from the ever-changing behavior of Dido.
In the middle portion of book IV, Virgil continues to develop Queen Dido and not develop
Anna. When Dido learns that Aeneas has been secretly planning to leave the island, she becomes
enraged. She becomes uncontrollable and attacks Aeneas with her words. In line 410, she attacks
Aeneas and says, "Deceiver, did you even hope to hide so harsh a crime, to leave this land of mine
without a word? Can nothing hold you back, neither your love, the hand you pledged, nor even the
cruel death that lies in wait for Dido?" Queen Dido was completely oblivious to Aeneas’ plan until
the unholy Rumor told her. She went from being completely in love with Aeneas to feeling a strong
hate for him. Because of this encounter with Aeneas, Dido's character is impacted heavily. She
begins to show signs of being very angry and overwhelmed by all of her feelings. She cannot even
bear the thought of Aeneas leaving her, whereas Anna remains her customary dutiful self to her
sister. After Dido's confrontation with Aeneas, Dido pleads to Anna to try and convince Aeneas to
wait for better winds before sailing off. Anna obediently listens without any questions. For
example, Virgil even writes in line 602, "So Dido pleads, and her poor sister carried these
lamentations, and she brings them back." Anna does not even give her own opinion to Dido and
tell here whether or not this is a good idea. She simply fulfills Dido's wishes as she always does.
Dido goes through many stages of development that are clearly shown by the way she acts
throughout the story. Anna remains the undeveloped character that she is and it is shown by the
way she always remains conscientious towards Dido.
In the end of book IV, Dido goes through lots of developments in her character whereas Anna
remains a static character. It was not until the end of the book that Virgil truly shows how crazy
Dido has become for Aeneas. For examples, in lines 654 to 656 Virgil writes, "when she had
gripped this madness in her mind and, beaten by her grief, resolved to die." Dido has become
completely insane and plans to commit suicide because she cannot bear to not be with Aeneas.
When the reader learns that Dido plans to kill herself on a funeral pyre, it becomes evidently clear
that Dido has developed into a mad woman because of Aeneas. She has had a complete change in
her character from the beginning of book IV to the end of it. In line 628 Virgil writes, "but no one
learns of this, not even Anna," he emphasizes the fact that even though Anna has been dutiful and
obedient to Dido as her sister, she does not tell Anna about her plan. When Anna finds out about
her plan, she becomes enraged; however, she still feels pity for her. For example, in line 932, she
says "she scorned your sister's company in death; you should have called me to the fate you met;
the same sword pain the same hour should have taken the two of us away." Even though Anna felt
betrayed by the fact that Dido did not tell her about her plan, she still says that she would have
killed herself alongside her. She says that she would have remained loyal to her sister. The
constancy of the behavior of Anna is in sharp contrast to the changing behavior of Dido.
The development of the two characters Queen Dido and her sister Anna, is shown in a very
contrasting way with a strong development in Dido and a lack of development in Anna during the
beginning, middle, and end of book IV of the Aeneid. Dido was a much more complex character
in the book and allows for the reader to connect with her on a much deeper level. The way that
Virgil uses his development in the Aeneid creates a more interesting story for the reader. The
technique of writing to have the static character support the dynamic character may have been
adopted from Virgil because of the Aeneid. The character development shown in book IV of the
Aeneid may have inspired future authors to use the development of characters to show the
difference between dynamic characters and static characters.