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Ms. Geller’s
Fabulous Freshman Lit Class
Fall 2013
Homer’s Odyssey: A Brief Introduction
Rhapsode: Traveling poet/storyteller; ancient Greek entertainment
Probably lived sometime before the 8th century B.C.E.
Believed to be blind (Greek homerus=blind)
Oral tradition: Greek alphabet was still developing. Most people were illiterate and accustomed to hearing rather than reading stories
Adventure tales of heroes and gods; audiences believed they were true
Who Was Homer?
Iliad: Story of the Trojan War
Odyssey: Story of the hero Odysseus’s ten-year journey home from war
Some controversy exists among historians as to whether both epics were written by the same person
Homer’s Compositions
• Long narrative poem, often about the adventures of a legendary hero
• Steady rhythmic pattern (meter) made the poems easier for the rhapsode to remember
• Action includes extraordinary or superhuman deeds, gods and monsters, and elements of the supernatural
• Purpose is not only to entertain, but to teach and inspire
• Convey the values of a culture
Epic Poetry
• Narrator begins by “invoking the Muse,” asking for divine guidance and inspiration
• Tale begins in medias res (“in the middle of things”)
• Formal tone and style
• Figurative language and vivid, often graphic descriptions bring the narrative to life
Epic Narration
• Larger-than-life figure from history or mythology
• Often aided by the gods, but does not have “superpowers”
• Has a flaw that can lead to catastrophe; in Odysseus’s case, hubris (arrogance)
The Epic Hero
• Odysseus: King of the Greek city-state of Ithaca
• Legendary general who came up with the idea for the Trojan Horse, winning the Trojan War for the Achaeans
• “Formidable for guile;” known as much for his cleverness as for his strength in battle
• Son of Laertes (patronym) and Anticlea; husband of Penelope; father of Telemachus
The Epic Hero
Around the 1200’s B.C.E.
At sea and on various islands in the Mediterranean
Setting
• When the epic begins, Odysseus is at the palace of King Alcinous, about to embark on the last leg of his journey home.
• He tells the story of his adventure over dinner at the king’s banquet table.
• Point of view shifts from third person to first and back again.
In Medias Res…
Choose one of the following topics and respond in a well-developed paragraph of at least eight sentences on the back of your note sheet.•A modern-day hero…•A seemingly impossible challenge and how I overcame it…•The aspect of my personality that most often gets me in trouble…
Your Task