Roy Lichtenstein's Laocoon

This piece, entitled simply Laocoon, was created by Roy Lichtenstein, who was born in 1927 and died in 1997. After serving in the military from 1943 until 1946, Lichtenstein attended Ohio State University as an undergraduate, from where he ultimately earned a master’s degree and where he was later invited to teach. He also taught at the State University of New York, Oswego from 1957-1960 and Rutgers University from 1960-1963. His work, which largely became prominent around 1961, was heavily influenced by advertisements and comic books - this style was referred to as “pop art,” and Lichtenstein, along with artists such as Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns, was credited as one of the leading creators of the movement. Laocoon seems to differ from

The snakes are described as “incumbunt pelago,” or, roughly, “pressing on over the sea” - therefore, Lichtenstein’s setting is fairly accurate to the original. (2.205) However, in terms of the actual situation, his depiction differs from Vergil’s. The snakes are described as “bis medium amplexi, bis collo squamea circum terga dati,” or “embracing his waist twice, twice winding their scaly folds around his neck.” (2.218-219) However, instead of following this description, Lichtenstein places the snakes loosely around Laocoon’s legs. His neck, torso, and arms are free, but he does not appear to have hands - his arms appear to simply end at the wrists. In addition to this, Lichtenstein includes Laocoon’s two sons in the piece - they are also entangled by the snakes, rather than “miseros morsu depascitur artus” - simply devoured by the snakes, as Vergil states, before Laocoon is ensnared by them. (2.215) In the Aeneid, it is possible that he is motivated by anger and grief at his sons’ implied deaths; in Laocoon, he is trapped along with his sons, unable to save them although they are still alive. Essentially, Laocoon’s physical restriction in this piece is less intense than it is in the Aeneid, but at the same time, Lichtenstein includes details such as these that make his situation seem even