“Perseus” vs “From the Old Age of Perseus” OER
SAMPLE
(To be used as a guide- make sure to choose different quotes and analysis for your own OER!)
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References to tone should be in each part of your essay (highlighted in blue).
Make sure to identify literary devices/connotation (highlighted in red).
Also tie each to THEME in analysis portion of each point (highlighted in green).
Use Transitions when writing (underlined)
Sample Thesis:
The ancient myth of "Perseus" retold by Donna Rosenberg and Sorelle Baker and the modern poem
"From the Old Age of Perseus" written by Geoffrey O'Brien, both reflect the very different societies
which created them. Whereas Rosenburg and Baker's myth illustrates a tone of loathing towards the
villain, O'Brien's modern poem displays a tone of compassion towards all of the people and
creatures taking part in the myth.
Transition/Overview of Point #1: From the first appearance of the story of Perseus, the ancient
Greeks stressed Medusa’s villainy using disgusted tones when referring to her.
Quote with MLA (Make sure to properly introduce your quote with the TONE, speaker and
context):
When Perseus' first encounters the gorgons, even the brave hero is aghast of, “Their long
scaly dragons [which] continuously slithered upon their heads, exhaling flames and smoke,
and their bear-like tusks [which] threatened immediate peril” (Rosenburg and Baker 204).
Analysis of Quote (Pull out key words and analyze their CONNOTATION to prove tone – if
present, make sure to discuss the literary devices appearing in each. Don’t forget to use
transitions to show how your ideas are connected).
Using sensory details to describe the "long scaly dragons" which "slithered" on the gorgons,
the narrator establishes a disgusted tone when referring to these unfortunate creatures. The
additional use of imagery in referring to their "bear-like tusks" completes the picture of these
women as more hideous animal than thinking feeling beings. Since Medusa is reduced to this
state because she offends Athena, this description contributes to the myth's theme: beware of
the omnipresent and dangerous power of the gods.
Transition/ Overview of Point #2: In contrast to the vilification of Medusa in the myth, the poem
portrays a much more sympathetic version of the famous gorgon.
Quote with MLA (Make sure to properly introduce your quote with the TONE, speaker and
context):
After killing Medusa, Perseus compassionately reflects on her life stating, “"And what
thoughts does she have/a creature with nobody to talk to/who lives among shell and bone?
...She is ancient and condemned to be ever more ancient" (O'Brien lines 49-51, 69).
Analysis of Quote:
Pointing out that Medusa is surrounded by nothing but “shell and bone,” Perseus uses the
harsh connotation of these words with their connection to dead, cold, stark lifelessness to
demonstrate he sympathizes with her plight, which happens to be much like his own. After
creating this sense of the desolation in which she lives, he uses repetition to stress that she is
“ancient” and “condemned” to be “ever more ancient.” His use of the word condemn with its
association with life sentences and harsh judgement help to reveal that her immortality is a
curse. The more “ancient” she becomes, the more solitary and joyless her “life” becomes.
Indeed, the fact that Athena is the goddess who sentenced Medusa to this joyless existence
paints the diety as one lacking compassion: helping to establish the poem’s theme that
sympathy and compassion are necessary characteristics in all people, especially
deities.
Transition/ Concluding Thoughts (Tie your tones & themes together, using them to explain
what we can learn about ancient and modern society. Have things improved these 1000s of
years?):
Thus, the differing tones of the ancient Greek myth and the modern poem accurately reflect the
societies in which they were created. In the myth, the dismissive, disgusted tone adopted when
referring to the unfortunate Medusa reflects that ancient society's love of power, bloodlust and
vengeance - a love that is even reflected in their goddess of "wisdom." In contrast, modern society's
desire for mercy and sympathy are reflected in Perseus' compassionate tone when referring to
Medusa and his need for an altruistic Athena which does not appear. These pieces of writing
reflect western civilization's transformation from an ancient belligerent society in which might
is right, to a more enlightened society valuing understanding and compassion.