Book 4, lines 173-197

Today's passage encompasses the extended description of Fama.  There is certainly plenty to be said about the passage; one thing that struck me is that Vergil seems to continually build the sense of personification throughout the description.  If the first line, Extemplo Libyae magnas it Fama per urbes, stood alone, one could certainly argue for fama instead of Fama; the next line probably requires the capital letter and personification, but the description remains vague.  With lines 175-178 we begin to see an actual form emerge (or perhaps more appropriately, 'flourish and acquire strength'), but all we hear is that it stretches from the ground into the clouds.  The next two lines gives us our first connection to the human world, as Fama's family is described; then in 180 we find the first physical description - pedibus celerem et pernicibus alis.  From there, we dive into a deliciously, monstrously detailed description of the many eyes, tongues, mouths, and ears.  A few lines later, she actually speaks (although it is in indirect statement).  The overall effect is of continuously increasing tension and involvement of the reader (or at least this reader) in the scene.

One more small note: I think the way Vergil describes the actions of Fama towards people is quite clever and appropriate.  In 189, 'she fills the people with manifold speech/gossip,' and in 195 she 'spreads these things into the mouths of men;' in both cases there is a sense of putting her words into men so that they will spread them.  In 189, there seems to be a sense of being filled with gossip so that that gossip can be spread; in 195, the words are put into the mouths, not the ears, of men specifically so that they can be passed on.

As I said, a great deal can be drawn from these passages; these are the thoughts that initially struck me, but (as always) I welcome new thoughts on the lines as well as comments on these thoughts.