The Way Homer Conveys his Stories to the Audience
Homer who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey used a number of different techniques to convey his poems and stories to his audience. I will be writing about these in this essay.
Right from the beginning of Book 9 we see Homer’s ability to convey the story well, he starts it with a monologue from Odysseus to King Alcinous on his adventure. It gets right into the action which would’ve held his audiences interest throughout. He finds ways to get around justifying things by ‘pushing’ Odysseus right out of the known world round Cape Malea into the unknown. He is then allowed to create a fictional world, another dimension where he cant be corrected. He creates islands and peoples, whole civilisations of monsters. This I believe is an excellent example of Homers good composition.
He also weaves all these stories together from old folk tales and although there are some slight mistakes he was reciting it by mouth so couldn’t just press the ‘backspace key’ he had to carry on even if he had made a mistake. The Cyclops story and others were probably not told together like they are in the Odyssey, they would’ve been told by different groups and tribes around fires. So this is another example of well Homer composes the whole story into one massive epic poem which is the Odyssey.
Another example of his good composition is how he makes the whole thing into a formula, in formulaic epithet. Not many people could probably do that straight away. He sometimes goes on auto-pilot by using the same phrases. E.g. “As soon as Dawn appeared, fresh and rosy-fingered.” This shows another good example of Homer’s composition excellence.
Homer does make mistakes though, he sometimes when trying to weave the folk tales gets them jumbled up and doesn’t correct them. E.g. “The Cyclops then washed this meal down with unwatered milk” It was not normal then to water milk and isn’t now. We believe Homer made this mistake purposefully, as in the original the Cyclops may have been drinking wine but that would mean the rest of the story wouldn’t work so he quickly replaced wine with milk but didn’t get rid of unwatered.
In The Odyssey, Homer conveys a mixed message about Odysseus’s crew. At times, they seem loyal, whereas other scenes reveal them as disloyal. Homer does this to help center the attention on how Odysseus can fall victim to temptation and stand up to take control of his crew. The critical moments where Odysseus and his crew are in disagreement are significant because they demonstrate how Odysseus is epic, yet still human and flawed.
Homer. The Odyssey. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Vol. 1. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1995.
The Odyssey is one of two ancient Greek poems written by the famous Greek author, Homer. The story details the adventures of Odysseus and his men during their ten-year sail after the Trojan War. They must return home before their civilization falls to ruins. The men face a Cyclops, a group of Sirens, a giant whirlpool and rock monster, and many other creatures and challenges. The Odyssey was written sometime during the eighth century, so it features complex dialect and hidden meanings. Homer uses diction in The Odyssey in order to express a tone of darkness and bravery.
Homer, The Odyssey, The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, ed. Maynard Mack, Expanded Edition, (New York: W. W. Norton, 1995), pp. 219-503.
The Odyssey is no exception to this trick or technique. In the episode Scylla and Charybdis the plot is filled with intense confrontations, a heroic leader, and more. Some of this can be easily identified, for example, when Homer writes. & nbsp; scarcely had that island. faded in the blue air than I saw smoke and white water with waves in tumult- a sound the men heard, and it terrified them. Oars flew from their hands; the blades went.
Homeric similes give us a much better understanding of the psyche of the Odyssey’s characters than what we would have through dialogue and narration alone. All of these similes show Homer’s way of connecting the characters in such an interpersonal level, that their emotions transcend
The Odyssey is a classic example of great literature, read and enjoyed both under the bright lights of the classroom and the cozy warmth of the home—this idea is well-known. Yet, there exists a question as to how Homer's “story of a man never at a loss” has managed to maintain the attention of the world to this day. C.S Lewis hints at the answer in his book, The Horse and His Boy: “For in Calormen, story-telling (whether the stories are true or made up) is a thing you're taught, just as English boys and girls are taught essay-writing. The difference is that people want to hear the stories, whereas I never heard of anyone who wanted to read the essays.” Lewis is pointing out the true beauty and art of story-telling; this art form makes its audience want to endure each word. The Odyssey lives on today as a triumph of story-telling because its author is what all authors strive to be: a story-telling master. Said story-telling mastery is demonstrated in The Odyssey as it adheres to the popular imagination's demand for things such as conflict, good versus evil, romance, and adventure.
Homer’s Odyssey is a magnificent mythological tale. This work was presumably created after his encounter with goddess Athena. Although Odysseus’ journey is filled with unrealistic adventures and mythical powers, some principles behind this story can relate to our everyday lives. Odysseus’ adventures in Odyssey relate to the heroism, intellect, and ruthlessness that are in our lives.
The Odyssey is filled with emotion and adventure. Homer’s ability to show and give the reader a visual of each and every scene gives the story its unbelievable significance. To all the people who read his work there is something to be captured within every sentence, each one different in its own, unique way. Through tales of courage and defeat, friendship and love this book tells of all the values within the life of a single, solitary man, and his journey to attain what is true and dear to him. And this journey is known to all of us as The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a test of human devotion and trust through the gods, the mortals, and the obstacles through which they venture. No matter where they go or what they do, humans are tested for certain characteristics everyday of their lives, whether they realize it or not; and The Odyssey is just one of those many miraculous tests.
...lot to be desired. The Roman individual interest and desire to be great takes a little away from the story. In fact it may have been one of the reasons for their down fall. I like the Greeks view a little better. Homer wasn’t writing this for himself or for anyone else. He wanted to do it for the people. He wanted to show people what was valuable about tradition and how in looking at tradition important values were demonstrated. This paper has lead me to believe this and might do so to others. I can see where both ideas have their place, but one makes for a better story , and the other makes for a valuable historical tool.
Homer. ?The Odyssey,? World Masterpieces: Expanded Edition. Maynard Mack ed. Ed. Coptic St.: Prentice, 1995.
Homer and Hesiod were well-known epic poets that gave contribution to their culture by writing poetry on the different aspects and views of the Greek world. Homer’s long narrative poems dealt a lot with heroes at war, gods and goddesses involved with humans while Hesiod’s poetry is shorter, having little to do with heroes, and presents the importance of work and morality. Although the two poets have their own unique writing style, there are many differences and similarities in The Odyssey, Works and Days, and Iliad about beliefs in religion, description of women, and function of war.
Authors have enhanced their stories by creating a sense of sympathy for even their most diabolical characters since the beginning of literature. Like most great authors, Homer conveys this exact same emotional attachment in his epic poem The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a collection of individual stories surrounding the return of hero, Odysseus, on his way home from the Trojan War. The poem is considered to be one of the most influencing pieces of literature of all time. The author, Homer, introduces one of many antagonists in book 9, when Odysseus and his crew become washed up on his island. The antagonist’s name is Polyphemus. Despite his attempts to murder, torture, and eat Odysseus and his crew, readers still sympathize with Polyphemus. Readers
Homer is credited for writing epics that generate source materials for the modern world. The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer are captivating stories with fascinating heroic characters. The Homer stories share with classical mythology typical recurrent motifs. The two Homer epic poems focus on the Trojan War, and its result. The epic poems contain the Greek mythology featuring the Greek gods, goddesses, mythological creatures, and the Greek heroes, and heroines. In addition, the principal motifs typical of classical mythological hero stories are; the dominance of fate, evil fighting against the gods, and death. In both the classic mythology, and he modern fiction hero stories, the heroes always have a helper in their expedition, but ultimately, they have to stand alone, face the darkness, and conquer it in order to become victorious.
Homer is said to have been blind and told his stories orally. Because the facts of Homer’s life when he was born or died, where he lived, who he was- remain unknown and shall most likely never be known. Many scholars have doubted the existence of a “Homer” and point to his texts as the work of a collection of authors over a long period of time.