Editing Dido and Aeneas (section)

===Libretto===
Originally based on Nahum Tate's play ''[[Brutus of Alba (play)|Brutus of Alba, or The Enchanted Lovers]]'' (1678), the opera is likely, at least to some extent, to be [[allegorical]]. The prologue refers to the joy of a marriage between two monarchs, which could refer to the marriage between [[William III of England|William]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary]]. In a poem of about 1686, Tate alluded to [[James II of England|James II]] as Aeneas, who is misled by the evil machinations of the Sorceress and her witches (representing Roman Catholicism, a common metaphor at the time) into abandoning Dido, who symbolises the British people. The same symbolism may apply to the opera.<ref name=Grove /> This explains the addition of the characters of the Sorceress and the witches, which do not appear in the original ''Aeneid''. It would be noble, or at least acceptable, for Aeneas to follow the decree of the gods, but not so acceptable for him to be tricked by ill-meaning spirits.

Although the opera is a tragedy, there are numerous seemingly lighter scenes, such as the First Sailor's song, "Take a boozy short leave of your nymphs on the shore, and silence their mourning with vows of returning, though never intending to visit them more." Musicologist Ellen T. Harris considers the callousness and cynicism of the song to underline the "moral" of the story, that young women should not succumb to the advances and promises of ardent young men.<ref>Harris (1990) p. 17</ref>