English Comparative Essay
Promises and Promise Breaking Add Another Dimension to Written Pieces
Alexander Crisp
Brianna Wells
March 13, 2013
English 121 People can give out empty promises in order to get what they want, sometimes it works and the results are catastrophic, but there are situations where the empty promise is seen right through. Christopher Marlowe’s works both “Dido, Queen of Carthage” and “The Passionate Shepard to His Love” along with Walter Ralegh’s poem “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepard” display such extremes as previously mentioned. Making promises and then possibly breaking them, only adds to the effect that the piece has on the reader by making the piece more relatable to the reader. Promise-making plays a big role in Marlowe’s “Dido, Queen of Carthage” because through making promises, and a little help from Cupid, Aeneas is able to transform himself from a weary traveller from Troy, to being offered Carthage itself. However, before Aeneas could be offered to be the “King of Libya” by Dido, a few strings had to be pulled by Venus and Juno (Marlowe, “Dido” 3.4.63). Before Venus and Juno had even met, Venus substituted Cupid in for Ascanius to ensure her grandson’s safety from “any seek to do him hurt” (Marlowe, “Dido” 2.1.321). Venus also did that so that Dido would be attracted to Aeneas so he could get his ships fixed, or, even worst-case scenario, Aeneas could be the new King of Carthage. The promise between Juno and Venus was that Aeneas could stay in Carthage and be the new king there, benefiting Juno because it helped the state she looked after, and Venus ensured her son’s safety. Dido and Aeneas’s promises to each other are interconnected and while both promises carry heavy outcomes, Aeneas’s is more binding. The promise that Aeneas gave to Dido was that he would stay in Carthage, and while it is not explicitly stated in the text, he married her in the cave that Juno enabled Aeneas and Dido to enter. The logic behind this reasoning is that if Aeneas did
Alexander Crisp
Brianna Wells
March 13, 2013
English 121 People can give out empty promises in order to get what they want, sometimes it works and the results are catastrophic, but there are situations where the empty promise is seen right through. Christopher Marlowe’s works both “Dido, Queen of Carthage” and “The Passionate Shepard to His Love” along with Walter Ralegh’s poem “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepard” display such extremes as previously mentioned. Making promises and then possibly breaking them, only adds to the effect that the piece has on the reader by making the piece more relatable to the reader. Promise-making plays a big role in Marlowe’s “Dido, Queen of Carthage” because through making promises, and a little help from Cupid, Aeneas is able to transform himself from a weary traveller from Troy, to being offered Carthage itself. However, before Aeneas could be offered to be the “King of Libya” by Dido, a few strings had to be pulled by Venus and Juno (Marlowe, “Dido” 3.4.63). Before Venus and Juno had even met, Venus substituted Cupid in for Ascanius to ensure her grandson’s safety from “any seek to do him hurt” (Marlowe, “Dido” 2.1.321). Venus also did that so that Dido would be attracted to Aeneas so he could get his ships fixed, or, even worst-case scenario, Aeneas could be the new King of Carthage. The promise between Juno and Venus was that Aeneas could stay in Carthage and be the new king there, benefiting Juno because it helped the state she looked after, and Venus ensured her son’s safety. Dido and Aeneas’s promises to each other are interconnected and while both promises carry heavy outcomes, Aeneas’s is more binding. The promise that Aeneas gave to Dido was that he would stay in Carthage, and while it is not explicitly stated in the text, he married her in the cave that Juno enabled Aeneas and Dido to enter. The logic behind this reasoning is that if Aeneas did
Cited: Gadomski, Kenneth. "Williams ' 'Raleigh Was Right '." Explicator 3 (1985): 31-34. Web. Marlowe, Christopher. "Dido, Queen of Carthage." Christopher Marlowe The Complete Plays. 1. Frank Romany, Robert Lindsey. Penguin Classics, 2003. 1-67 Marlowe, Christopher. "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9. Julia Reidhead. Norton, 2012. 1126. Print Ralegh, Walte. "The Nymph 's Relpy to the Shepherd." The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9. Julia Reidhead. Norton, 2012. 1024. Print Turner, Craig. "Love and the Queen of Carthage: A Look at Marlowe 's Dido." Essays in Literature 11.1 (1984): 3-9. Web.