Students, please take a few minutes to analyze the following excerpt from “Aeneas at Carthage.” Note the author’s use of personification and descriptive language. Post your comments below.
Aboard the Trojan ships, there was no time for panic. Sails were ripped from their masts; the decks were a riot of rigging, timber, torn wineskins belching their contents, all mingled with sea-water and blood. There was a tearing and slapping of wet fabric, and the scream and crack of wood bent beyond the limit of its length. The low, desperate babble of human confusion was broken now and then by the shriek of some poor creature crushed by a mast, or the shrill neighing of a horse swept overboard into the boiling sea.
Human wits and muscle could do nothing. Aeneas, his legs gripping a rocking ladder, raised his hands to the sky. “Why didn’t we die in Troy?” he cried, but the words of his prayer were lost in the gale; the whole ship seemed to be wailing the same lament.
Aeneas has problems. But not to worry, he'll be okay.
ReplyDeleteMr.Bache, as i said in class, i believe that this scene in Aeneas was very descriptive, particularly the section about the mast bending farther than it could. the writing painted a very descriptive picture in my mind without using many details about how it looked, but insted, it let me imagine it for my self while still telling me exactly what happened.
ReplyDeleteThis is very descriptive and tells a lot about the setting. The thundering waves and madness on the ship is really well done. It has a lot of personification and imagery. I also like that it is sort of vague on the creature was crushed under a mast.
ReplyDeleteI think it really describes how desperate the men were to get out of that wreck. As Noah said in class, that it paints a real picture for the reader. It was very descriptive how they described the wreckage and the suffering in the crash.
ReplyDeleteI love all the literary devices the author of Aeneas used because while giving great explanations for everything, the story is also told in a great way. For example, there was alliteration in line 2 "the Riot of Rigging timber." I also liked how the author explained how the crack of the wood screamed. Lastly, I liked the imagery shown where "the wineskins contents were belching out, mingling with the seaweed and blood."
ReplyDeletei love how the author said, "torn wine skins belching their contents." it gives me a very clear picture of wine just pouring out of the torn wine skin. i also liked the way that he said," the crack of the wood bent beyond its limit." i like it because it would never occur to me that wood would bend.
ReplyDeletein these two paragraphs, the author describes a scene where Aeneas and his crew are at the lost of boats, soldiers, and trust. This section of Aeneas is very descriptive. I loved how the author said, "boiling sea." It really describes how the whole sea, let alone the scene, is in pure terror. For someone who was just skimming this writing over or just reading it and not soaking it in, would not feel the sadness, hear the screams, and see the deaths. Because the writer wrote it this way, i can remember it like a sticking memory.
ReplyDelete-Westy Perkins
I really enjoyed this passage. I especially liked all the great imagery and descriptive language. I agree with Abby and Jamie when they said they liked the description of the contents of the wineskin belching out. Sometimes similes and metaphors can be confusing, but in this bit of writing I enlightened, and I wasn't the least bit confused.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very descriptive passage. I like how it describes how there was no time to panic, how muscle and wits could do nothing. The reader can imagine what is happening in their heads because of the great details and personification. I like how the wineskins were belching their contents just as Jacob, Abby, and Jamie did. I also like the scream and crack of the wood and the desperate babble of human confusion. I love how the passage ends, with Aeneas crying to the sky why the men could not have died in Troy, but his words were lost in the wind.
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ReplyDeleteMelody
ReplyDeleteI like that he said there was no time to panic because they were scared but in such a rush there was no time to be scared. There are quite a few literary devices and I enjoyed when he said Human wits and muscle is nothing. It says alot in just 3 sentances and that is both good and bad. Good because he said so much in so little and still made it seem like we read a whole book, but sometimes if you say so much in so little in a book people wouldn't pay as much attention to it.
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ReplyDeleteI think that this passage is very descriptive and shows, not tells the reader about the scene. The whole scene is particularly frightening. The scream and crack of wood and the wineskins belching out their contents was very unique and a descriptive way of saying, "The wood cracked and the wineskins broke and all the contents fell out." The personification and descriptions made me feel like I was right next Aeneas feeling all the same things and yelling the same things right along with him.
ReplyDeleteI think that this excerpt from Aeneas is extremely descriptive. The first paragraph puts you in the scene of chaos with wineskins spilling their contents and billowing sails flapping in the wind. You can almost hear the creaking and snapping of wood. I like the way Virgil used personification to make the wineskins and the ships come alive. The second paragraph, as Max said, shows Aeneas' desperate state. "Why didn't we die in Troy!" That prayer and phrase alone shows how desperate he and his crew was.
ReplyDeleteJORDAN G.
ReplyDeleteMr. Bache, this is a very descriptive paragraph. The author uses excellent personification like "torn wineskins belching their contents" or "the scream and crack of wood bent beyond its limit." Great words are used such as 'mingled', 'babble', or 'shrill.' Lines that have so much meaning like "the whole ship seamed to be be wailing the same lament" are used often. The paragraph paints a vivid picture in mind. It says a lot without really saying a lot.
STEPHANIE DREW
ReplyDeleteIt really gives you a picture
in your mind, of what
a tragic time it was!
I love all the metaphores, extremely descriptive!!
what really gripped me about this
passage was the way it capture the image on the ship and the way
that they would be prepared
to take their own lives.
NANITA BALAGOPAL
ReplyDeleteI really liked how the author described the situation. It was very vivid. It almost felt as if I were there!
I enjoy the personification "desperate babble of human confusion" and the alliteration "limit of it's length."
What a gruesome passage! Great imagery!
Well done, class! Your commentaries are excellent! I can't wait to read the rest of your literary analyses. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI think this passage is one of the best as far as literary devices go. It uses great similies portraying the boat as being alive, and personification when the wineskins are "belching their contents out." I also love the part where it says "The low, desperate babble of human confusion was broken now and then by the shriek of some poor creature crushed by a mast..." I think that when this storm strikes, the humans are reduced to animals. They can't do anything but hope they aren't killed, just like animals on farms. When it says that a creature is crushed by a mast, I took that to mean it could be a human, or animal.
ReplyDeleteIsabella Duran
ReplyDeleteI love this passage because it has several literary devices. This passage was very vivid, it almost felt as if I was standing next to Aeneas. For example, in line eight had great imagry and description.
ERIKA WINTER
ReplyDeleteThis passage is so vivid because it uses so much imagery. For example, “The low, desperate babble of human confusion was broken now and then by the shriek of some poor creature crushed by a mast, or the shrill neighing of a horse swept overboard into the boiling sea.” These few sentences are so descriptive and make you feel like you are there experiencing the horror that Aeneas and his men were dealing with. Just as Jamie did, I also really enjoyed where the author said, “The decks were a riot of rigging, timber.” I also enjoyed where the author said, “torn wineskins belching their contents,” just as almost everyone else did. The author is consistently descriptive throughout the book, and I think that that makes you want to keep reading.
ELLA CLINE
ReplyDeleteThis passage said a lot without many words. The author said "the wineskins contents were bleching out" instead of "wine spilled out of the wineskins." This small change helped make the passage very vivid and exciting. The personification and imagery in this passage of Aeneas brings the passage to life.
Like many people have said, this passage said alot. It thorouly explains the suffering of Aeneas and his crew. I loved how the author said, "The wineskin's contents were belching their contents." I could almost picture the blood in the sea as I read it. The extraordinary uses of personification and imagery brings everything into the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think the way the author wrote "the wineskins belching their contents" gave me a the picture as though the wineskins were in front of me and I could clearly see them. The screaming of the wood painted the picture in my head of the wood creaking with the effort to stay in place. This was a very visual passage.
ReplyDeleteI think the passage is very descriptive and well done. "The shrill neighing of a horse swept overboard into a boiling sea" is very dramatic and horrifying. This passage gives me a clear image of their ordeal.
ReplyDeleteMAGGIE FRITZ
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the passage, I took notes, it was like every sentence had something special about it.
• riot of rigging
• wineskins belching their contents
• tearing and slapping of wet fabric
• scream and crack of the wood bent beyond the limit of its length
• low, desperate babble of human confusion
• shriek of some poor animal crushed by a mast
• shrill neighing of a horse swept overboard
• the boiling sea
• wits and muscle could no nothing
• words of his prayer were lost in the gale
• whole ship seemed to be wailing the same lament
TOMMY CHRISTOPOULOS
ReplyDeleteI think the descirption of the two paragraphs is amazing. The author wrote
two great paragraphs( and more paragraphs)that showed instead of telling.
It painted an amazing picture in my mind. My favorite line was when it says
"there was no time for panic" because they didn't even have time to panic
( I would probably panic in that situation),because they were getting attacked.
It paints a picture in my mind that lets me see what the Trojans doing.
MATTHEW VAN CITTERS
ReplyDeleteI think that the author describes the scene violently and well, using a lot of pesronification.
The part where Aeneas cries why he didn't die in Troy paints a picture in my mind very well.
"but the words of his prayer were lost in the gale; the whole ship seemed to be wailing the same lament."
This part is so poetic in my opinion. This entire moment really gives you a sense of what it feels like for Aeneas.
ALAINA KALB
ReplyDeleteI think that the author was very descriptive and he used personifacation very well. My favorite part was the thundering waves, I think that line was very descriptive. I enjoyed reading the paragraph, because it was so descriptive and I love the way the author used a lot of personifacation!
THE POSTINGS ARE NOW CLOSED. Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your comments are wonderful, and I am proud of your analytical sense. Well done! Your participation will be reflected in your trimester grades.
ReplyDelete