Edna St. Vincent Millay's 'An Ancient Gesture'

429 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Comparison of the Odyssey & Aeneid

Theme of “An Ancient Gesture” In the poem "An Ancient Gesture" by Edna St. Vincent Millay, the reader can relate to the narrator, who describes her sorrow as an allusion to Penelope's sorrow in Homer's "The Odyssey". Millay also explains the irony of Penelope’s situation. Throughout the poem, Millay uses allusions, metaphors, and irony to display the theme, "Legitimate tears go unnoticed, while fake tears are celebrated." Allusions to "The Odyssey" are evident in "An Ancient Gesture". The narrator expresses her sorrow of longing for her husband, and how it is identical to Penelope's longing for Ulysses in "The Odyssey" on lines 1-12, "...And your husband has been gone, and you don't know where, for years. Suddenly you burst into tears; There

Show More
Related

  • Homer’s Odyssey and O Brother, Where Art Thou?

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...journey that is taken by a man. Throughout both tales, the audience is habituated with the sense that both characters are on this journey. The journey, in both cases, is fought for family, which is indeed quite noble. Of course, human nature is a key similarity as well, as both of these men go great lengths in order to finally make it back to where they came from and to find true happiness. And as said before, both “The Odyssey” and “O Brother Where Art Thou?” can be thought of as stories of a man coming home, with all of the characters playing their parts to create a true epic. The small details are not what make these two tales similar. Instead, the creators used broad, yet powerful concepts about friendship, hardship, and love. And in the end, this pays off very well, giving the audience a great opening into a true world where human emotion and nature rule all.

    Read More

  • Free Essays on Homer's Odyssey: Scylla and Charybdis

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Realtionship of a Father and Son in Homer’s Odyssey

    884 Words  | 2 Pages

    With time come change, change in the human experience. That fact applies no differently to literature, specifically reflected through reading ancient prose with a modern lens. A relevant example is the relationship of a father and son in Homer’s Odyssey. Through characterization on the surface, this significant relationship appears quite distinct in contrast to such relationships today. However, these quite humane and sentimental relationships are no different than those experienced today—those of a father and son. Quite frankly, what is true of humans in the ancient world is true to humans today, ability to feel such potent emotion, to experience such a significant relationship yields the human need of affection and connection, as reflected with the relationship of the father and the son.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Callypso And Calypso's Hymn To Demeter

    1292 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Odyssey and Hymn to Demeter, both Penelope and Demeter love and miss their family members. When Demeter hears her daughter Persephone’s cry, “a sharp grief took hold of Demeter in

    Read More

  • Themes of the Odyssey

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    To start with the most common one, the role of the gods, one can see many such allusions thrown all over the odyssey. The epic poem starts in Mt.Olympus where the gods are discussing what will happen to Odysseus , Master mariner and warrior of Ithaka. As it so happens he is on the island of Kalypso, one of the lesser gods. Also, as Odysseus travels, one learns about the role of the gods in not only his travels but other peoples ones too. Agisthos, the man who stole Agamemnon's wife and killed him, was sent a message from Zeus by Hermes, giving him the information of what will happen if he kills him. Also, Menelaus, the red haired king of war, had to wrestle with a sea-god in order to gain acceptance and sail all the way back to his homeland of Sparta, and find news about the rest of his companions. He would not find out about his brothers demise until he got home.

    Read More

  • Gods And Mortals In Homer's Odyssey

    581 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Odyssey by Homer, the interaction between gods and mortals plays an essential role to telling the story and displays the idea of how gods can mandate the lives of mortals. In the Odyssey, a goddess is willing to help a mortal and the interactions between them With the question of whether Odysseus is still living unanswered, it has been difficult for Penelope, his wife, to cope and therefore Athena comes to help the family and play the role of both a mother and father to Telemachus. As Penelope has been depressed, in book four she has a breakdown,“Down she sank on her well-built chamber’s floor, weeping, pitifully, as the young women whimpered around her, all the women, young and old, who served her house. Penelope, sobbing uncontrollably, cried out to them, “ “Hear me, dear ones!

    Read More

  • Essay About Love in Homer's Odyssey

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    Often times in life we search for a companion, someone to share our love and life with.  Odysseus and Penelope's lasting relationship is an obvious representation of love in the Odyssey. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca.  This love helps him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home.  Penelope also exemplifies this same kind of love for Odysseus.  At home in Ithaca, she stays loyal to Odysseus by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors that are courting her.  She always keeps the hope that her love, Odysseus, will return.  Odysseus and Penelope's marriage clearly illustrates the theme of love.

    Read More

  • Odysseus’ Search for Purpose in Homer's Odyssey

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    Tracy, Stephen V., The story of the Odyssey. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1990.  PA4167 .T7 1990

    Read More

  • Odyssues' Women

    1169 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, the protagonist Odysseus is traveling home from the war in Troy. Odysseus has been traveling home for twenty years and throughout his journey longs for his son Telemachos and his wife Penelope as well as his estate in Ithaca. Odysseus is a man with a penetrating mind as well as outstanding valor; however, a weakness of Odysseus is his sensualness. Odysseus always encounters women throughout his journey home. These women adore Odysseus because of his attractive looks and brave spirit and wish for Odysseus to remain with them. Although Odysseus is vulnerable to the rich and beautiful women he encounters, he rejects their kind offerings with the determination to be reunited with his wife Penelope.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Love in The Odyssey by

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the story The Odyssey there are many themes that represent major parts of the story. The main theme that stood out to me is love which includes loyalty. “Love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend; or a sexual passion or desire” (dictionary.com). “Loyalty is defined in the Webster's dictionary as faithfulness or devotion to a person, a cause or a duty” (Webster’s dictionary). Through these definitions, it can be expressed that loyalty and love are major themes in Homer's epic, "The Odyssey". Love and loyalty shows relationships that are between two people. The few relationships that represents love and loyalty is between husband and wife Odysseus and Penelope and also between father and son Odysseus and Telemachus. These relationships shows more than just love and loyalty though, their relationships also shows compassion, sympathy and the need to be in each one another’s lives.

    Read More

  • Essay On Women In The Odyssey

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout The Odyssey by Homer, many women, if not servant girls or deities, are assigned to the powerless role of mothers or seductresses. In most instances, the women are in need of support and guidance as they are weak and fragile. Without a steady male hand to guide them, these women appear to be lost and heartbroken. Women serve little function aside from mourning their men and urging them to remain safe. In many ways, the value placed on fathers and sons in The Odyssey is far greater than the bonds with mothers or daughters. Anticleia, Odysseus’ mother, cannot even exist without her son as she dies after waiting for years for him to come home. For Anticleia and other women, the entire purpose for existence is to look after, nurture, and protect their sons and husbands. However, no female character in The Odyssey is quite as complex as the grief-stricken Penelope. Some women are known for the deeds of their sons or husbands, but never for a heroic deed of their own, their personalities, and what they do them...

    Read More

  • Odysseus

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    The epic story “The Odyssey” Is basically a love story. It’s about the loyalty and love between a husband and wife, two lovers, and the cunning and trickery needed to reunite them, after a long absence. It’s a story about a man and women who are separated for 10 years and remain loyal to each other because their love is so strong. It’s also about the loyalty between a father and his son and also between their friends. Throughout the story we see many examples of this loyalty. Odysseus is the husband of Queen Penelope and the father of Prince Telemachus.

    Read More

  • Odysseus Journey Analysis

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Odyssey is an epic poem that explores the journey of the hero Odysseus. The author of the Odyssey is Homer, who is famous for writing both The Odyssey and Iliad.  The title of this poem basically means “The story of Odysseus” and is about his quest to return home ten years after the fall of Troy.  There are many characters within the Odyssey, but the main ones you will hear about are Odysseus, his son Telemachus, his wife Penelope and Athena, the goddess of wisdom and daughter of Zeus.   In Odysseus’s journey, we see that his hubris is the greatest obstacle for his ability to reason and make logical decisions. Odysseus encounters many obstacles on his way home.  He makes many major mistakes that he does not learn from and we see how his big ego affects his future. The Odyssey explores Odysseus’s journey, the mistakes he makes along the way, and how his hubris makes the obstacles he encounters even more difficult to overcome.

    Read More

  • Penelope, Clever Wife of Odysseus

    724 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Odyssey, written by Homer, tells the story of Odysseus after the Trojan War. It not only includes an insight on the adventures and return of Odysseus, but it also includes the stories of Telemakhos and Penelope. Telemakhos is the courageous son of Odysseus who goes on a quest in search for information about his father’s whereabouts. Penelope is an extremely clever woman who could match Odysseus in his wit. Penelope is able manipulate the suitors that have come to pursue her in Odysseus’s absence. Though Penelope often spends many nights weeping over the absence of her husband, it seems as if she never loses faith in her husband, and she truly believes that he will return to her and punish the suitors that have taken over their house. Penelope’s cleverness can be seen in the following examples: she comes up with many clever ideas to delay the suitors’ rage, and she invents two main tests that are proof her ingenuity, the Test of the Bow and the Test of the Bed.

    Read More

  • The Odyssey Literary Analysis

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Edna St. Vincent Millay's 'An Ancient Gesture'

Open Document