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Literary criticism of Odyssey
How does the Odyssey reveal ancient Greece's society
Literary criticism of Odyssey
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Although violence is a necessary and appraised part of Homer's The Odyssey, as it characteristic of traditional epic poetry, from a modernist perspective, it is excessive. In the 3000 odd years since it was written, society's values have changed such that what used to be glorified, may now be unrighteous.
At certain points in his journey, Odysseus is faced with adversaries who stand between him and his return to Ithaca, thus, it is imperative that he do battle. For instance, when he arrives at the land of the Cyclopes, he and his crew find themselves entrapped in Polyphemus's cave. He cleverly escapes by offering the Cyclops wine, so that he would topple and be vulnerable to the olive stake stabbed in his eye. Note that Homer's attitude towards this scene seems to imply innocence on the part of Odysseus: "When the fierce glow from the olive stake warned me that it was about to catch alight in the flames, green as it was, I withdrew it from the fire and my men gathered round. A god now inspired them with tremendous courage" (Homer 135). After all, the blinding of Polyphemus was promoted by none other than the gods themselves! Homer shows that Odysseus, who displays such traits of
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As Telemachus plans their execution, Homer uses an epithet with a positive connotation to describe him: "Then the thoughtful Telemachus spoke." (Homer 342). The use of "thoughtful" implies that Telemachus is being obedient to his father's requests and that he shows meticulousness and diligence. This passage shows Telemachus' command and heroism, and that he knows right from wrong—knowledge that allows him to rightfully punish the maids for their supposed infidelity: he is putting them into their place. Thus, from an Ancient Greek standpoint, Telemachus and his father are simply doing what needs to be done: reinstating integrity in social order by making
The first bad decision that Odysseus made was poking Polyphemus’ eye out. Even though it was necessary to escape, poking the sea god’s son’s eye out is never a good idea. To make matters worse, Odysseus bragged about his accomplishment later to the cyclops. The only reason why it took Odysseus ten extra years to get home was because Poseidon was angry at him for severely injuring his son. Also, if Odysseus would not have revealed his name to the cyclops, Polyphemus would never have known who poked his eye out. In return, Polyphemus would never had told his father, Poseidon, that Odysseus injured him and that he should give him a hard time on his journey home. So, if Odysse...
Emphasizing on Odysseus's time on Polyphemus's island, many of his actions are cowardly and put his men in more danger than he. For one, Odysseus watches and cheers as his men stab Polyphemus in the eye. This shows Odysseus believes his men are tools helping him to reach home, rather than companions. Also, during the men's escape from the cave, Odysseus escapes under the largest sheep of the flock....
Odysseus’ recklessness and resourcefulness are predominant traits apparent in the Cyclops episode. When trapped in the Cyclops’ cave and after four men have already been devoured, Odysseus comes up with a cunning plan to escape. They cannot simply kill Polyphemus while he is sleeping and run away, due to the ‘huge boulder rolled across the mouth of the cave. Instead, he uses the resources available to him by getting Polyphemus drunk before sharpening the Cyclops’ staff, heating it in the fire, and stabbing it in his eye, blinding him. This is an extremely reckless undertaking, as it further enrages Polyphemus.
Homer’s work, adopted epic conventions and captivates the audience by presenting majestic characters. All points considered an epic cannot solely be labeled as a poem. The omission of epic conventions does not allow for a plot such as The Odyssey’s to develop. Therefore, the existence of distinguishing elements is classified as indispensable. An epic calls for the reader to focus and appreciate the manner in which it is presented. The style is ideally formatted to expose heroism to the audience, whether it’s teenagers today or the ancient Greeks. The Odyssey defines heroism through Odysseus and the concept although modified is relevant and valuable to our society. Ultimately, the events of the series of cantos strengthen the regard in which we hold heroic
Violence in literature may take any form, whether it be natural disaster like and earthquake or a human based disaster like war (Campbell). In Homer’s The Odyssey both types are found… whether it’s Odysseus’s hardships like making it home or dealing with the wrath of the god Poseidon. Every violent scene has its own reasons, some are more reasonable than others. For instance, the gods were angered by the disobedience of the mortals. This is more reasonable than the killing of the Cyclops. While we always relate violence to men and the gods, women also had their moments of rage, but their violence wasn’t necessarily due to anger. Moreover, violence in The Odyssey is based on jealousy, territorial rights, and last getting revenge. Overall, violence is what makes The Odyssey so intriguing.
In contrast with Beowulf’s concrete depictions of good versus evil, The Odyssey focuses more on the gray areas of punishment and revenge. A main theme throughout the poe...
Throughout the Odyssey there are many themes that Homer uses to portray different people and events. To name a few, there are the themes of Betrayal and Revenge,Greed and Glutony, Hospitality, Role of the Gods and Wealth (the amount of money one had determined the status he held in the greek society, and this explains Odysseus's love for plunder).
Temptations of Odysseus Odysseus: a hero in every way. He is a real man, skilled in the sports, handy with a sword and spear, and a master of war strategy. Most of the challenges and adventures in his return voyage from Troy show us this even if we had no idea of his great heroic stature and accomplishments in the Trojan war. I found in my reading of the Odyssey that most of the trials the gods place upon him are readily faced with heroic means. These challenges are not necessarily welcomed by Odysseus but accepted as part of his role.
To start, within the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus displays hubris through many of his actions. The most prominent instance in which Odysseus shows hubris is while he and his men are trying to escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus. They drug the monster until it passes out, and then stab him with a timber in his single eye. Polyphemus, now blinded, removes the gigantic boulder blocking Odysseus’ escape, and waits for the men to move, so he can kill them. The men escape from the cave to their boat by tying themselves under flocks of rams, so they can easily slip by. Odysseus, now proud after beating the giant, starts to yell at Polyphemus, instead of making a silent escape. Odysseus’ men ask him to stop before Polyphemus would “get the range and lob a boulder” (436). But Odysseus shows hubris by saying that if they were to meet again, Odysseus would “take your life” and “hurl you down to hell!” (462; 463). Polyphemus, now extremely angry with Odysseus, prays to his father, Poseidon, to make Odysseus “never see his home” again, and after which, throws a mountain towards the sound of Odysseus’ voice. (470). Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes Odysseus 20 years to return home, at the cost of the lives of all his men.
“Now when I cupped my hands, I heard the crew in low voices protesting... ‘Why bait the beast again? Let him alone! That tidal wave he made on the first throw all but beached us.’ I would not heed them in my glorying spirit, but let my anger flare and yelled: ‘Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire...Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye.’” (Homer 9. 406-410, 414-418) When Odysseus and his men are trapped in Polyphemus’ cave, Odysseus successfully makes a heroic deed when helping his men escape. He conceals his men within the sheep and flee to the ship where they board and begin to sail away. Consequently, Odysseus revokes his honorable accomplishment with his arrogance. When he taunts Polyphemus from afar, forgetting his duty as a hero and leader, his men beg him to stop. His first taunt nearly destroyed the ship, and the act of taunting presents Odysseus’ natural flaw of selfishness and arrogance which put his men in danger. A hero, even if he is flawed, should not overpower the hero’s purpose. In this case, the goal of the journey is to go home, but when Odysseus taunts Polyphemus, he dangers his men and derives from the purpose, favoring the relish of triumph. Odysseus refused to “heed” (Homer 9. 414) his men’s cautions in his “glorying spirit” (Homer 9. 414) gained from his heroic act of helping his men escape. In this instance, Odysseus loses his rational thinking, and instead of being cautions, he forgets his role and puts his men in jeopardy. Despite his men’s well-meant admonition, Odysseus rebuffs the advice, and his men do not have the power to stop him. Even if unintentional, he abuses his power of being a leader. Although heroes may have flaws, their flaws do not danger the people around them as well as the goal of the task. Most of all, it is not
One cannot disagree that rage is a word with many possible meanings. However, one meaning that is almost always presence is the guarantee that violence will be shown. In Homer’s (800 B.C.- 700 B.C.) The Iliad violence is a major part of the story. The story starts out in the middle of a nine-year war. This war was started because of a girl. When Achilles gets his own girl stolen, the readers get their first glimpse of rage. Achilles then continues to pout for almost the entire book while the rest of the Achaeans put their lives on the line. Violence becomes the biggest player in the war as Achilles’ rage increases. There are three types of violence expressed in Homer’s The Iliad.
In conclusion, the “Odyssey” is one of the greatest literary works ever known and this literary analysis should help the reader to understand the important components of the novel such as theme, characters, relationships, symbols, motifs, literary devices, and tone.
To begin, one feature that makes Odysseus and epic hero is his intelligence. In order for him to have survived through his journey, he has to have a massive amount of intellect. To have survived a Cyclops is an accomplishment of its own. His ability to think on his feet and to plan situations and ability to make a right decision in horrid environments has helped him survive throughout his disastrous journey. When he is trapped by the Cyclops, Polyphemus, he has to carve, smooth, and sharpen a gigantic spear-shaped-pole out of a large tree that he and his strongest men would then use it on the Cyclops to blind it. In order to follow through with his plan, Odysseus has to sedate him. He gives Polyphemus an extremely strong wine, in which Polyphemus asks him his name. Odysseus replies: “My name is Nohbdy; mother, father, friends, everyone call me Nohbdy”(9.274-9.275) When the Cyclops passes out, Odysseus and four of his strongest men stab Polyphemus in his eye with the sharpened pole that he and his men ...
The challenges that Homer give the protagonist is all a test of character. Odysseus continues to pass the obstacles with flying colors, but his arrogance is the one flaw that is in dire need of correction. Some of the many challenges Odysseus overcomes on his voyage home is defeating the Cicones, surviving the Island of the Lotus Eaters, outsmarting the Giant Cyclops, saving his men from Circe, Traveling to Hades, passing between Scylla and Charybdis, escaping Calypsos’ Island and many more. Odysseus survives these obstacles and uses his smarts to escape near disaster. Often times he was the only one to survive these things and his crew often lost their lives due to their own stupidity. “‘We left the island and resumed our journey in a state of gloom; and the heart was taken out of my men by the wearisome rowing. But was our own stupidity that had deprived us of the wind.’”(P127 L75-79) Odysseus shows how he is an extraordinary man by being much smarter than his crew and the men that follow him. As a part of this stripping of Odysseus, Homer shows that Odysseus is a collective symbol of Everyman. On the one hand Odysseus is a great warrior, who is extremely intelligent, noble, and a great man. Although he has many god- like qualities he is still human. He shows that he is human and like every man, because of the fact that he still has major flaws. The
...sniveling coward who would faint at the sight of blood, or worse yet, a traitor who would warn the suitors of Odysseus' plans. Apparently, Odysseus believes that since Telemachus was his son that was a good enough reason to trust him. (jackhdavid)” This quote shows how that even though Telemachus didn’t know his father, right when he found out who he was, he loved him automatically like if he knew him for years and stood by his side to do anything he needed to make Ithaca better for his family and his people. This father-son relationship is different than any other, they actually spend more time apart than they do together, and it is through distance that they develop respect and love for one another.