2 0 1 5
E N G 1 A
C O U R S E
Lesson Five
THE ODYSSEY STUDY GUIDE (NOT GRADED)
Vocabulary
Plunder 863
Valor 863
Guile 865
Teeming 866
Ponderous 871
An Invocation
1. What are two reasons the invocation is said?
The invocation calls upon the Muse (goddess) of epic poetry (specifically, this
would be Calliope) for inspiration; and, it captures the audience's attention.
2. Whose cattle do the shipmates eat?
The men eat the cattle of Lord Helios, the Sun (which is another name for
Apollo) (line 13).
3. Where does Calypso keep the hero?
Calypso keeps him in her caves.
New Coasts and Poseidon’s Son (Book 9 of the Odyssey)
4. What happens to Odysseus before he ends up as Calypso’s prisoner?
He encounters a series of disasters on his way home from the war in Troy.
5. How long does Calypso keep Odysseus?
She keeps Odysseus for 7 years.
6. Why does Calypso finally let Odysseus go?
She receives a “strongly worded order” from the gods on Mount Olympus.
Odysseus prepares to tell his story
7. What does the monologue from lines 33-38 tell us about Odysseus’s character?
These lines show that Odysseus is willing to trust his hosts by revealing his true
name and identity before beginning his tale.
In lines 34-35, Odysseus says, “What shall I say first? What shall I keep to the
end?” This line is a good example of how oral storytelling can sometimes become
non-linear. This is the kind of question any poet in Homer’s time might ask
himself as he composed an epic poem and tried to decide how to present a story
to an audience.
8. What is Odysseus’s goal? What does he seek at the end of his journey?
Odysseus wants to return to his wife and son.
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Odysseus’s First Two Adventures
9. What is the very first adventure that Odysseus tells the Phaeacians?
Odysseus tells how he and his men plundered the settlement of Cicones. His men
get drunk after the battle and are unprepared when the Cicones’s army launches
a surprise attack that drives them out. This is the very first thing that happens
to Odysseus and his men after they leave Troy to sail home to Ithaca. This part
of the tale is summarized in italics on page 865.
10. What happens when the men eat the Lotus fruit?
The men become “forgetful of their homeland.”
11. What heroic characteristic does Odysseus show in lines 80-84?
Odysseus shows leadership by taking the three men who have eaten the Lotus
and tying them down under their rowing benches so they will not stay on the
island.
Odysseus’s Next Adventure
12. What is the next land Odysseus finds?
In line 88-89, Odysseus finds the land of the Cyclopes.
13. Before Odysseus makes it to the land of Cyclopes, he gives the listener (or
reader) a preview of events to come in lines 95-99, concerning how the Cyclopes
live. Why do you think this technique is used?
It gives the reader important information to make sense of the story that will
follow. Epic poems were told aloud, so this was one way that the poet helped
the audience understand and follow along with the plot of the story.
14. Whom does Odysseus see in lines 107-112?
Odysseus sees a huge man who slept alone in his cave and looked like a shaggy
mountain; in other words, a Cyclops.
15. Why do you think Odysseus lets us know that he took his twelve best fighters
with him?
Odysseus is foreshadowing to let the reader know that there will be fighting.
16. What type of drink does Odysseus bring in his bag?
He brings brandy given to him by Maron, a priest of Apollo.
17. What does Odysseus foreshadow in lines 133-135?
Odysseus knows that the Cyclops will soon find him and his men.
18. Why do you think Odysseus refuses to do as his men suggest in lines 146-149?
Odysseus refuses to let his men take the lambs because he “wished to see the
caveman, what he had to offer.”
19. Epics include a mixture of the everyday and the supernatural. How does the
Cyclops reflect both of these qualities in lines 161-175?
In these lines, we learn the Cyclops has supernatural strength because he slides a
slab of rock over the front of the cave, and yet he does everyday chores such as
milking his ewes.
20. In lines 211-218, the poet uses two similes to describe the Cyclops’s dinner.
What are the similes he uses?
"Caught two in his hands like squirming puppies," "gasping and crunching like a
mountain lion."
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21. Why does Odysseus hesitate to kill the Cyclops in lines 227-229?
Odysseus knows if he kills the Cyclops, he and his men will be trapped in the
cave—they would not be able to move the heavy stone covering the cave.
22. What does Odysseus and his men make out of the fallen olive tree?
Odysseus makes a stake with a pointed end (line 254).
23. How many bowls of liquor does Odysseus bring the Cyclops?
Odysseus gives the Cyclops three bowls to drink (line 289).
24. Why does Odysseus tell the Cyclops that his name is Nohbdy?
Odysseus is being clever. He chooses a name that will come in handy later.
25. What do the men do with the pike of olive?
They shove it into the Cyclops’s eye.
26. Why do you think the poet has Odysseus specifically choose to use the simile in
lines 312-315?
The poet has Odysseus use a simile relating to ships because it relates both to
the characters in the story (as sailors on a ship) and to those listening to his
poem (who were also probably very familiar with how ships and shipbuilding).
27. Why don’t the other Cyclopes help Polyphemus when he cries out, "Nohbdy,
Nohbdy's tricked me, Nohbdy's ruined me!"?
The other Cyclopes do not help because "Nohbdy’s tricked me" sounds like
“nobody’s tricked me.” The other Cyclopes assume nothing is wrong and leave.
28. How does Odysseus manage to escape the cave?
For each man, he ties three sheep together; then, the men each cling to a
sheep's underside. As the sheep walk out, the Cyclops touches only the backs of
the sheep and is unable to detect the men underneath.
29. What specific emotions are portrayed in lines 400-403?
Odysseus's men are happy to see him, but then they grieve when they count the
remaining men and see how many were lost.
30. Why do you think Odysseus states these words: "Zeus and the gods have paid
you!"?
Cyclops does not pay tribute to Zeus and violates the laws of Zeus—“Zeus
punishes anyone who mistreats a harmless guest”—so Odysseus is pointing out
that the Cyclops is being punished for his actions.
31. What happens when the Cyclops breaks off a hilltop and throws it at the ship?
The tidal wave from the rock drives the ship back to island with the other eleven
ships of Odysseus’s (line 419)
32. What characteristics do lines 436-449 reveal about Odysseus?
Odysseus shows anger and recklessness in these lines by revealing his true name.
33. Why does the Cyclops pray to Poseidon in lines 463-479?
Cyclops prays a curse on Odysseus that he will never see his home.
34. Why do you think Zeus does not accept the offering Odysseus made?
It’s likely that Zeus does not accept the offering because of the curse the
Cyclops made, in Poseidon’s name, in line 463-479.
35. What image does the personification in lines 498-499 portray?
“the young Dawn with fingertips of rose touched the world”
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36. What happens after Odysseus leaves Calypso’s island? Look at the italicized text
on page 864 for help.
Athena intervenes to keep Odysseus safe from Poseidon’s storm. She helps him
reach the Phaeacians, and he tells them of his adventures. You can find these
details in the italicized text on page 864.
37. Why do you think Homer starts the story just before Odysseus arrives in Ithaca?
What effect might this have for the audience?
It’s okay if you didn’t have a detailed answer for this question, since you’ve only
read a potion of the story, but it’s important to think about why Homer would
start the story in the middle. By starting the tale at a point just before Odysseus
will finally arrive home, Homer helps build a sense of anticipation that will keep
the audience engaged throughout the long tale of Odysseus’s journeys. Homer
puts the audience in Odysseus’s shoes, so close to home and weary from his
travels. This helps heighten his emotional homecoming in Ithaca, where he
reunites with his son to fight unworthy suitors for his wife. It also sets the scene
for the audience, preparing them for what will come next. It gives them a sense
of why this story is important.
The story of the Cyclops that you read is also the first major story that Odysseus
tells the Phaeacians. Remember that Cyclops prays to Poseidon to curse
Odysseus, asking that he never see his home. This key moment foreshadows the
rest of Odysseus’s long journey, leaving the audience to wonder if Odysseus will
ever make it home. The foreshadowing helps the audience anticipate what is
happening in the story, even though the plot is unfolding in a nonlinear fashion.
DON QUIXOTE STUDY GUIDE (NOT GRADED)
Vocabulary
Rabble
Spoil(s)
Lance
Buckler
Chapter 8
1. What type of creature does Don Quixote believe the windmills to be?
He believes the windmills are giants.
2. What does Don Quixote believe the sails of the windmill to be?
He believes the sails are the arms of the giants.
3. What happens to Don Quixote's lance?
It breaks into pieces when he drives it into the sail of the windmill.
4. Who does Don Quixote believe has turned the giants into windmills?
He believes the sage Friston has turned the giants into windmills.
5. What does Don Quixote intend to use to replace his broken lance?
He says that he will take a branch from the first large oak he sees and use that
as his lance.
6. What overstatement does Don Quixote use when he says that a knight is not
permitted to complain?
Don Quixote states "knights-errant are not permitted to complain of any wound,
even though their bowels be coming out through it" (Cervantes).
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