In Virgil’s The Aeneid, the relationship between Dido and Aeneas is a fantastic example of the end of a romantic relationship. The story is actually very tragic and morose; the gods had created and tore apart this loving couple, and leaving behind anger in the end. However, as I read, I also felt as though I was reading a sad break-up story from a modern television show. Everything in this break-up story seemed very dramatized, just as a Hollywood production. For example, the idea of gathering up all of Aeneas’ belongings or anything that reminded Dido of Aeneas, compiling them in a giant pyre and burning it all in a magnificent stance against his betrayal is quite the way to deal with the end of their relationship. This kind of over-exaggeration reminded me of a modern dramatized break up: Taylor Swift’s “We are never ever getting back together”. Of course, the tales are not similar in that Dido is under the influence of a god causing her to be completely taken over by her love for Aeneas, and her situation is portrayed as a very sad way. Taylor Swift’s story seems to be far less tragic and much more foreseeable. Her lyrics constantly refer to a different time in the past when she and her lover broke up and got back together. This relationship doesn’t seem to be as sturdy as the one between Aeneas and Dido. Additionally, Swift has no desire to be together again, whereas Dido is a character that seems to not be able to live without Aeneas. The main thing that reminded me of the more sassy and overdramatized verses in Taylor Swift’s song was the building a gigantic pyre out of spite and committing suicide at the end of the relationship. It gave me the idea of someone going to a lot of trouble because of something that should not merit so much anger. Taylor Swift not only wrote an entire song specifically about the break-up, but the lyrics are famous for being so absurdly clear in what they mean. Simply put, both reactions just seem “extra” to me. Swift’s song is very clearly directed at her ex and it is very clear that she wants nothing to do with him anymore. Dido harness’s the same idea, but ramps it up to 1000, burning all of her ex-lover’s belongings in a huge fire that you can see from far offshore and committing suicide.
The Aeneid Book IV:
lines 683-689– “Build up a pyre in the inner court / Under the open sky, and place upon it / The arms that faithless man left in my chamber, / All his clothing, and the marriage bed / On which I came to grief–solace for me / To annihilate all vestige of the man / Vile as he is: my priestess shows me this.”