Critical analysis of a passage from homers the odyssey essay

Coming after nine chapters in which nothing much happens, the killing of the suitors and their henchmen and maids is stunning in its exulting, deliberate violence.

He vows to never again obey orders from Agamemnon. In Book I, the Greek troubles begin with King Agamemnon's dishonorable, unkingly behavior—first, by threatening the priest Chryses 1.

It is destined that he shall be the survivor, that the generation of Dardanos shall not die That's the most effective tactic, the way men wiped out city strongholds long ago — their chests full of that style and spirit.

If the subject of Iliad is the wrath of Achilles during the Trojan War, the subject of Odyssey is the homecoming of Odysseus ten years after the Trojan War ends.

Othryades, the remaining Spartan, goes back to stand in his formation with mortal wounds while the remaining two Argives go back to Argos to report their victory. In particular, the effect of epic literature can be broken down into three categories: Thetis comforts her mourning son, who tells her: The warrior's consequent rancor against the dishonorable king ruins the Greek military cause.

He needs all of these qualities to survive and make his way home. Athena may intercede for him with Zeus and aid and advise him, yet the will to return and the valor in doing so are those of Odysseus alone.

The Catalogue of Ships in particular has the striking feature that its geography does not portray Greece in the Iron Agethe time of Homer, but as it was before the Dorian invasion.

Fate implies the primeval, tripartite division of the world that Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades effected in deposing their father, Cronusfor its dominion. And don't lag behind. The connection, in this case, between guileful tactics of the Greeks in the Iliad and those of the later Greeks is not a difficult one to find.

In this battle of champions, only two men are left standing for the Argives and one for the Spartans. This is evidenced by the fact that in the late fifth century BC, "it was the sign of a man of standing to be able to recite the Iliad and Odyssey by heart.

The victor often strips the body of its armor and military accoutrements. His investigation of the oral Homeric style—"stock epithets" and "reiteration" words, phrases, stanzas —established that these formulae were artifacts of oral tradition easily applied to an hexametric line.

And put away in your heart this other thing that I tell you. From epic start to epic finish, pride drives the plot. Due to this slight, Achilles refuses to fight and asks his mother, Thetis, to make sure that Zeus causes the Greeks to suffer on the battlefield until Agamemnon comes to realize the harm he has done to Achilles.

In order to discern these effects, it is necessary to take a look at a few examples from each of these categories. Thus, nostos is impossible without sacking Troy—King Agamemnon's motive for winning, at any cost. The masculine one-on-one fighting of epic is manifested in phalanx fighting on the emphasis of holding one's position in formation.

In The Singer of TalesLord presents likenesses between the tragedies of the Greek Patroclus, in the Iliad, and of the Sumerian Enkiduin the Epic of Gilgameshand claims to refute, with "careful analysis of the repetition of thematic patterns", that the Patroclus storyline upsets Homer's established compositional formulae of "wrath, bride-stealing, and rescue"; thus, stock-phrase reiteration does not restrict his originality in fitting story to rhyme.

Ajax would then conceal him with his shining shield. Yet great as you are I would not strike you by stealth, watching for my chance, but openly, so, if perhaps I might hit you. I know how to storm my way into the struggle of flying horses; I know how to tread the measures on the grim floor of the war god.

Majesty, son of Kronos, what sort of thing have you spoken. Moreover, in that meeting, Achilles accuses Agamemnon of being "greediest for gain of all men". Literature was central to the educational-cultural function of the itinerant rhapsodewho composed consistent epic poems from memory and improvisation, and disseminated them, via song and chant, in his travels and at the Panathenaic Festival of athletics, music, poetics, and sacrifice, celebrating Athena 's birthday.

Literary Analysis of the Odyssey Essay Words | 4 Pages. Brains over brawn, who will win this battle?Homer's tale of Odysseus' adventures in “The Odyssey” show that being intelligent and cunning can be far better than having physical strength.

Being physically strong certainly has its advantages, but not in all circumstances. Odyssey is undoubtedly the most popular epic of Western culture. Its chief character, Odysseus, or Ulysses, inspired more literary works than any other legendary hero.

The Iliad (/ ˈ ɪ l i ə d /; Ancient Greek: Ἰλιάς Iliás, pronounced in Classical Attic; sometimes referred to as the Song of Ilion or Song of Ilium) is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to hazemagmaroc.com during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the.

The Odyssey essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Odyssey by Homer.

The Odyssey Literary Analysis Content This essay about Homer's The Odyssey. It further explores Odysseus' character, and whether or not he is a good leader. Throughout the essay, points are proven to show how Odysseus is not a good leader throughout the story. What Do You Feel is Good in this Writing?

I think this was one of my better essays overall this year. Archives and past articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and hazemagmaroc.com

Critical analysis of a passage from homers the odyssey essay