Book XI is an interlude between the battle described in the preceding book, which brings the Trojans close to victory, and Aeneas's defeat of Turnus in direct combat, which concludes the war and the epic poem. Structurally, the present book falls roughly into three parts: the first section describes the truce and the return of Pallas's body to Evander in Pallanteum; the second section deals with the Latins's council of war, held to determine what course of action to take against their enemy; and the final part is devoted to the brave but hopeless battle waged against the Trojans and their Etruscan allies by the forces of the warrior maiden Camilla, who is believed to be entirely Virgil's creation, although she and her female compatriots recall the Amazons, mythical women warriors. Book XI is stylistically unified by the sun's rising in the first line and its setting in the last few lines as the armies prepare to battle.
Aeneas's model behavior as a brave warrior tempered with compassion continues to be a major theme. The Trojan prince prepares the proper funeral rites for the dead and discharges his "ritual vows / As victor to the gods." He is in marked contrast to Turnus, whom we never observe making ritualistic offerings for his fallen comrades.
