The Aeneid is an epic poem, heavily influenced by Homer's Odyssey, so it is scarcely surprising that it is like the Odyssey in many ways and at many points. The opening words "Arma virumque cano," ("Arms and the man, I sing") are clearly based on those of the Odyssey in their emphasis upon one extraordinary man, loved by the gods (or some of them), who has to undergo equally extraordinary trials. Both the Aeneid and the Odyssey are stories of dangerous journeys. In both, the poet makes use of a framing device in which the hero himself narrates much of the story to solicitous hosts.

There is practically no comedy in the Aeneid, and certainly no coarse Aristophanic comedy, which would have been entirely out of place in the Roman national epic. One might say that the Aeneid is a comedy in the same sense as Dante's Divine Comedy because it has a happy ending. However, there are certainly tragic moments within the poem. The most obvious of these is the death of Dido, who dramatically climbs on top of her own funeral pyre to die when she sees Aeneas departing. This subject has since formed the basis of tragic plays and operas, such as Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.