Book 9 Similes - Rich Brooks

Simile 1 (58-64)
Just like the midnight wolf in his personal siege of a dense packed
Sheep-pen, snarling at gaps in the fencing, wind-whipped and
     rain-lashed.
Ruthless and rough in his rage, long starving and tortured by
     pent-up
Cravings for hunger, by parched jaws thirsty for blood, he is madly
Howling at lambs lying just beyond reach. They are tucked beneath
     mothers,
Safe and secure, their incessant bleating's their only reaction.
Tenor - Turnus and the Trojans behind their walls
Vehicle - wolf, lambs, and sheep pen
Theme/Event - This simile shows Turnus' eagerness for war with the Trojans. It also shows the Trojans' vulnerability without Aeneas in their ranks. This is also a typical Homeric simile, using nature, and specifically animals, to portray an idea.

Simile 2 (432-438)
Doubling Euryalus over in death. Blood covers his beauteous
Limbs; his neck droops languidly down to recline on his shoulders,
Just as a brightly crimsoned flower shorn down by a
     ploughshare
Droops as it dies, or as field poppies lower their heads when their
     slender
Stems grow tired, weighed down by an unpredictable rainstorm.
Tenor - Euryalus' corpse
Vehicle - flower/poppy
Theme/Event - This simile describes Euryalus' limp body, specifically his neck, in his death. This is very similar to Homeric similes in the Iliad comparing death to trees and flowers falling down. It exemplifies Euryalus' potential as the bright flower and describes how tragically and unexpectedly his life was cut short.

Simile 3 (789-796)
Gradually Turnus starts backing away from the fight, and the river
Now is his goal and the section of wall that is moated by water.
Teucrians pressure him all the more keenly and raise a loud war-cry,
Ring him around like a big mob of hunters who've circled a savage
Lion, with murderous javelins poised. Terrified, but ferocious,
Savagery flaring his eyes, he retreats. Yet his anger and courage
Won't let him show them his back, though the counter-attack he so
     dearly
Wishes to launch cannot be. There are too many weapons and people.
Tenor - Turnus
Vehicle - Proud lion retreating
Theme/Event - This simile describes Turnus' retreat from the Trojan camp. It is a very typical simile to find in an epic. Again we have characters being described as animals. This was an especially typical simile because they are often used in "the hunter becomes the hunted" scenarios. Also, just as Achilles was compared to a lion frequently in the Iliad. The "Achilles" the Trojans must face in Italy, Turnus, is also compared to a lion.