Give an example of dramatic irony in The Beggar and the

1
List the six characteristics of an epic.

• A physically impressive hero of national or
  historical importance
• A vast setting
• A quest or journey undertaken in search of
  something of value
• The involvement of supernatural forces
• A basis in a specific culture or society
• Characters struggling against fate

2
How and by whom was an epic like The Odyssey
told?

• Orally, by singers called rhapsodes

3
What is a Homeric simile? Give an example

• A Homeric simile compares heroic or epic events
  to simple and easily understandable everyday
  events.

4
How did Odysseuss men disobey him following the
raid on the Cicones? What were the consequences
of their disobedience?

• They didnt leave when Odysseus told them to.
  They stayed, drinking and feasting, until the
  main army of the Cicones arrived and engaged them
  in a fierce battle where many men were lost.

5
Why did Calypso pretend that it was her idea to
let Odysseus go when really she was ordered to do
so by Zeus?

• She wanted Odysseus to think well of her, and it
  made her seem like a better person.

6
What happened to the sailors who ate the lotus?

• They lost all thoughts of home and only wanted to
  stay on the island and live a life of leisure.

7
How does Circes advice help Odysseus and his men
avoid a fatal encounter with the Sirens?

• Odysseus wants to hear the song of the Sirens, so
  she tells him to have his men tie him to the mast
  so that he cant get free. He puts beeswax in his
  mens ears so they wont hear the song.

8
When Odysseus has to choose between Scylla and
Charybdis, which one does he choose and why?

• He chooses Scylla, because he will only lose six
  men to Scylla, one for each of her heads. He
  would have lost the entire ship and crew to
  Charybdis, a giant whirlpool.

9
Odysseuss men disobey him several times, the
last of which had fatal consequences. What did
they do on the island of the sun god Helios?

• They kill and eat the cattle of the Sun God,
  Helios. Helios asks Zeus to punish them, so Zeus
  destroys the ship with a thunderbolt.

10
Why does Odysseus return to Ithaca disguised as a
beggar? Who has been loyal to him?

• He can check out the situation and see who his
  enemies are who might want to kill him and see
  who has been loyal to him.

11
Why is it important that Odysseus slay all the
suitors who have taken over his palace in his
absence?

• It was part of the prophecy that Teiresias gave
  him in the Land of the Dead. He also has to
  reassert his position of authority as the ruler
  of Ithaca.

12
What was the Greek code of hospitality? Give an
example of how it is practiced (or not practiced)
in The Odyssey.

• The relationship between guest and host was very
  important. Strangers were offered food and drink
  and treated with courtesy. One reason was because
  any stranger might be a god or goddess in
  disguise.

13
Give an example of dramatic irony in The Beggar
and the Faithful Dog.

• As they walk to the palace, Eumaeus is talking
  about his master Odysseus, not realizing that he
  is talking to Odysseus

14
Two uncommon elements of The Odyssey show Homers
originality as a poet. What were they?

• Both servants and women are given strong roles in
  the epic.

15
At what point in the story does Homer employ the
literary device of a flashback?

• After Odysseus leaves Calypsos island, which is
  near the end of his ten years of wandering, he is
  washed ashore in the kingdom of Alcinous. There
  he tells his story to the court of King Alcinous,
  going all the way back to the beginning when he
  and his men left Troy.

16
How does Odysseus carry out the plan to slay all
of the suitors? Who helps him and in what ways?

• Telemachus removes all of the suitors weapons
  from the hall, Eumaeus tells the women to lock
  their own doors tight for safety, and Philoetus
  locks the outer gate. All help in the fight.