Introduction to The Odyssey

1
Introduction to The Odyssey

• Mrs. Fox
• English I and English I-Honors

2
Epic Poem

• A long narrative poem about a hero and his
  journey
• Story follows beliefs and culture of the society
• Begins in medias res (in the middle of things)
• Common elements
• Adventures
• Supernatural deeds
• Divine intervention
• Elaborate use of language and literary devices

3
Epic Hero

• Common characteristics
• Faces trials and enemies along his journey
• Encounters women as temptresses who threaten
  the completion of the journey
• Must complete the final task alone
• Carries a talisman
• Overcomes hubris (vain pride)

4
Homer

• Lived c. 800 B.C.
• Often thought to be blind
• Credited with writing the Iliad and the Odyssey

5
The Illiad and the Trojan War

• The Illiad tells the story of the Trojan War
• Helen marries Menelaus
• Suitors promise to fight for her
• Paris promised the most beautiful woman in the
  world (Helen) kidnaps her
• Menelaus calls an army of suitors
• War lasts for 10 years

6
The Odyssey - Context

• Written around 750 650 B.C.
• Epic poem composed from a long tradition of
  unwritten, oral poetry
• Set in 12th Century Greece (the Bronze Age)

7
The Odyssey

• Tells the story of Odysseuss journey home from
  the Trojan War
• Odysseus is the hero of the story
• Homer begins with an invocation of the Muses,
  then starts in medias res

8
Literary Devices

• Epic simile long, detailed version of a regular
  simile
• Just that way
• Just so
• Just as
• Even as

9
Literary Devices contd

• Example of Epic Simile
• Sometimes in farmyards when the cows return well
  fed from pasture to the barn, one sees the pen
  give way before the calves in tumult, breaking
  through to cluster about their mothers, bumping
  together, bawling. Just that way my crew poured
  round me when they saw me come (118-123).

10
More Literary Devices

• Metaphor a direct comparison of two unlike
  things
• Personification giving human characteristics to
  non-human objects
• Flashback When a story is told by a character
  looking back on it flashing back to the event(s)

11
Remember!

• Hubris excessive pride
• Rules of Hospitality
• Host must be kind to visitors (offer food, drink,
  and lodging for free)
• Visitors must be gracious and kind to the host
  (should not steal, wait for offering, and be
  grateful)
• Ne quid nemis.
• (Nothing in excess. Everything in moderation.)