English 9
The Odyssey
Background and Intro NOTES
1. EPIC: (definition)___________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
2. Ancient Greeks- 2 epics: The Iliad and The Odyssey
3. The Odyssey – named for its hero, Odysseus
4. Both poems are attributed to _______________
a. He was supposedly blind
b. 7 different cities claim to be his birthplace
5. The Iliad – composed b/t 900 and 700 B.C., before The Odyssey
6. Both epics surround the Trojan War (occurred earlier in about 1200 B.C.)
a. TROJAN WAR - probably economic war, but legend tells a different story:
____________, the most beautiful woman in the world, and wife of King
Menelaus of Sparta, was kidnapped by Paris, a young Trojan prince
b. Menelaus assembled an army over several years
c. Greek kings and soldiers sailed to Troy to bring back Helen
d. It took ____________, but the Trojans were eventually defeated
7. Homer based his poems on this story
8. Kept original plot and realistic characters, but added dialogue and details
9. Added Olympian gods and goddesses and fabulous monsters
10. Respectful of the gods, but treats them lightly sometimes
11. Were not written down at first, but passed down ___________
12. Recited in public in Athens at the festival of Athena
PLOT of The Odyssey
1. Begins with the last days of the Trojan War
2. Focuses on Odysseus, the great hero of the Trojan War, and his journey home
3. Very long poem
a. divided into ______________ (like chapters)
b. 3 major plots
i.
ii.
iii.
Ithaca (home) and his wife and son
Odysseus’ wanderings during the 10 years after the Trojan War
Odysseus’ return home
CHARACTERISICS OF EPIC POETRY
• SET IN MANY ________________, REAL OR IMAGINARY, AND ACROSS A WIDE AREA
• HERO IS AN IMPORTANT HISTORICAL OR LEGENDARY CHARACTER OF HIGH SOCIAL
POSITION—A KING OR A PRINCE
• HERO FACES OVERWHELMING ODDS AND MUST BE ______________!!
• SUPERNATURAL EVENTS AND BEINGS PLAY A LARGE ROLE IN PLOT
• LANGUAGE IS ______________ or ______________.
• AT THE BEGINNING, THE ___________ (GODDESSES OF ART, MUSIC, AND LITERATURE)
ARE CALLED UPON TO INSPIRE THE POET AS HE WRITES (RECITES) HIS POEM.
EPIC HERO:
• MAN WHO SEEMS TO CONQUER MOST _____________ HE ENCOUNTERS, THOUGH HE
POSSESSES NO _____________ _____________
• FAITHFUL TO FAMILY, COUNTRY, AND GOD
• BRAVE, BUT FEELS FEAR; INTELLIGENT
• OVERCOMES FEARS BECAUSE HE KNOWS HE HAS ____________________
• MUST RELY ON HIS _____________TO GET THROUGH TRIALS
• HIGHER FORCES WILL HELP AND GUIDE THIS HERO
EPIC SIMILE: A DETAILED, OFTEN COMPLEX, COMPARISON IN THE FORM OF A SIMILE
THAT IS MANY LINES IN LENGTH