30th Annual Student Research Conference
From Half-Lines to Full Lines in Vergil’s Aeneid
Zara D. Callahan
Dr. Clifton Kreps and Dr. Bridget Thomas, Faculty Mentors
Vergil’s Aeneid is a Roman epic poem, which happens to be incomplete. The incompleteness shows in two ways: the ending, which many scholars debate the author’s intention; and that there are 60 incomplete lines regarding the dactylic hexameter, which I focus on more in this essay. Some scholars say that these half-lines could be considered a literary innovation. However, this seems unlikely when considering Vergil’s other major works. Since I determined that these lines are incomplete, I strove to finish as many as I could. Also, I discuss my attempt to finish these lines, my creative process, and how it relates to Vergil’s original style. Moreover, I claim how incomplete the epic actually is and why it remains important to understand that it truly is unfinished. Furthermore, I discuss the problems around Vergil’s want for the work to be destroyed and potentially why Augustus published it anyway.
Keywords: Vergil, Aeneid, Epic, half-lines, unfinished
Topic(s):Classics
Latin
Art
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 107-4
Location: VH 1212
Time: 8:45