In lines 2.730-2.742 of Virgil's Aeneid Aeneas describes the terror he felt when he finally realized that Troy was falling to the Greeks. In these ten verses Virgil uses careful diction to create the image of a solitary Aeneas pausing for a brief moment to observe the end of his city. By elaborately detailing each of Aeneas' thoughts, Virgil achieves a time-slowing effect: to the reader, it seems as if the frenetic action of a city coming to its knees is slowed down as a man collects his thoughts. On another level, Aeneas describes his terror to Queen Dido and her court, and is attempting to arouse a strong sense of pity in his listeners, the Carthaginians, whom he will soon need to help him build boats. In this passage, Virgil's words, images, and subtle parallel meanings help him create a passage that can be appreciated for the enormous mental image it elicits and the numerous interpretations that can be found within it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Virgil's precise choice of words fits perfectly with the metaphorical meanings of the passage. In the first line Aeneas says that for the "first time that night" he began to realize the terrible situation that Troy had fallen into. The words "first time" indicate that Aeneas found himself in a sort of dream state in the events that occurred previously. As Aeneas tells this story to a crowd by claiming that it is the "first time" he has felt fear or "inhuman thrills," he appears to be boasting of his courage; in other words, neither the disturbing signs of the snake from the previous day, nor Hector's nightmare, nor waking up with the city in flames, nor the dangerous skirmishes with the Greeks were enough to frighten the courageous Aeneas. Indeed, if "night" is interpreted to mean the misfortune of the war that has befallen Troy for the past ten years, Aeneas is telling the crowd that he was never afraid during the entire war with the Greeks! In any case, Aeneas was not frightened or even realized the hopelessness of his situation until he saw King Priam killed. Only then did the "inhuman thrill" hit him "from head to toe". Virgil's description of Aeneas's trembling as "inhuman" is interesting because it leads the reader to ask What is inhuman? This adjective lends itself to a couple of different interpretations. If "inhuman" is read as "non-human" - divine - then the reader can assume that the gods filled Aeneas with fear for some reason, perhaps to make him flee and save his life. If “inhuman” is read as “not human,” then it is possible that Virgil is pointing out that the Greeks behave inhumanly and thus create an atmosphere in which Aeneas trembles with “inhuman shudder.” Finally, it should be noted that Aeneas did not shiver willingly. In a brilliant use of a verb, Virgil has Aeneas say that "an inhuman shudder seized me" suggesting that Aeneas played a passive role in the experience of fear: Aeneas was not afraid, fear seized Aeneas. Virgil's careful choice of words manifests itself again when Aeneas describes himself standing "unmanned" – a word that has several connotations. On the one hand, "unmanned" can be interpreted to mean that Aeneas is standing alone, with no one to help him as he watches the blazing fire of Troy. From another level "unmanned" can mean that Aeneas himself has been "unmanned", i.e. he is helpless and no amount of manly courage will get him out of this disaster. In the following lines, Aeneas gives a dissertation on his loved ones. He imagines his father dying the same way the king just died.