Motyw śmierci Laokoona w Eneidzie i jego rzeźbiarskie odniesienie w Grupie Laokoona

Abstract

In the epic description of Laocoon’s myth Aeneid, Virgil masterly used contrast to build the dynamics. This enabled him to create an unusually vast range of audio-visual effects, which have powerful impact on readers’ emotions. The poet uses contrast both to juxtapose the elements of action with humans’ reactions and their verbal expression. Like in a perfectly staged play, the scenography and dramatis personae complement each other to create an extraordinarily vivid and tragic picture. The Hellenistic sculpture representation of the myth corresponds with its literary description. The seemingly static sculpture of a father and his sons fighting for their lives is a drama in three acts. The first act is the fight of the eldest son, the last one shows the youngest son’s death and the middle act, which prevails, is a dramatic scene of the father, fully aware of the hopelessness of this situation, yet trying to defeat the monster. Regardless of the material, the artists achieved similar dramatic effect illustrating the urge to put up the fight against the inevitable fate, the fight which is doomed to failure.