Which scholar describes Aeneas as a 'new kind of epic hero' due to constant awareness of duty and responsibility?

• A. Deryck Williams
• B. Richard Jenkyns
• C. Helga Nehrkorn
• D. Camps

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is how modern scholars interpret Aeneas as embodying a new kind of epic hero, defined by a constant awareness of duty and responsibility rather than mere personal glory.

Richard Jenkyns is the scholar who foregrounds this view. He argues that Virgil recasts heroic excellence around pietas—a deep sense of duty to the gods, to the Trojan remnant, to the mission of founding Rome, and to the divine plan guiding history. This makes Aeneas different from the older epic heroes whose prominence comes from martial prowess or personal cunning. Aeneas endures pain, makes painful choices, and often suppresses personal longing in service of a larger public purpose. The emphasis is on restraint, obligation, and the welfare of the state, which signals a shift toward a more morally and politically oriented hero aligned with Augustan Rome. That framing—Aeneas as a hero defined by duty and responsibility—is the most characteristic description associated with Jenkyns. Other scholars have explored different angles of the epic, but this particular portrayal is what Jenkyns is known for identifying.