The Odyssey Intro Book I The Odyssey genre

The Odyssey – Intro & Book I

The Odyssey – genre and author w The Odyssey was written by a guy named Homer. He was a blind poet. w Many think that his epics are actually the combined work of several poets. w The Odyssey is an epic poem. w An epic poem is a long narrative poem about a hero’s adventures. w Narrative = tells a story.

When and where? w The Odyssey was composed in Greece, around 800 B. C. E. w How long ago was it?

The Iliad w Homer’s other famous epic poem is The Illiad. w The Illiad presents an episode from a Trojan War. w The war began after Paris, a prince of Troy, kidnapped Helen from her husband, the king of Sparta. w Her husband Menelaus wanted his wife back. w Odysseus was one of his soldiers, and he went to Troy to besiege the walled city. w He came up with a master plan – Trojan horse. w Troy was conquered!

The Odyssey w Main character: Odysseus. w The Odyssey deals with Odysseus’ adventures as he makes his way home from Troy. w The story is full of fantastic elements – interference of gods and goddesses.

The events in The Odyssey… w … occurred long before Homer’s lifetime. w The values and beliefs, however, were still important in Homer’s world.

Storytellers w Epics were not written down and read. w They were told by a master storyteller and passed on to other people verbally. w What problems do you see in this method?

Master storyteller w He was a poet with a golden voice who sang his or her great tale in verse (in poetic form). w Many of the story’s details were created as he or she sang the story. This is also called improvisation. w

Lit. terms you need to know w Epic poem. w Epic hero. w Epic simile. w Epithet. w w w Onomatopoeia. Hyperbole. Personification. Alliteration. Imagery. Oxymoron.

Epic hero w Epic hero is a largerthan-life figure, usually male. w Epic heroes take part in long, dangerous adventures and accomplish great things. w They show a lot of courage and superhuman strength. w Since they are human, they also show some human flaws.

Epic simile w A simile is a comparison between two things using “like” or “as. ” w Epic simile is an elaborate, very detailed version of a simile. w Homer often used several lines for his epic similes to describe things in great detail. w Epic similes described a character’s thoughts and feelings.

Epithet w Brief, descriptive phrases that helped to characterize a person or thing. w Adjective + noun. w Examples: “master mariner, ” “old contender, ” “wine-dark sea. ” w Epithets helped the storytellers remember the words.

Onomatopoeia w Definition: – Words that imitate sounds. w Examples: – boom, meow, crash, sizzle, crunch and buzz.

Alliteration w Definition: w When two or more words in a poem begin with the same sound. w Examples: “It sounds so sweet…”

Personification w Definition: – Giving human qualities to an object or animal.

Oxymoron w Definition: – Oxymoron is putting two contradictory words together. w Examples: – hot ice, cold fire, wise fool, sad joy, military intelligence, eloquent silence. w Oxymoron poem link. w Funny oxymorons: http: //www. freemaninstitute. co m/oxymorons. htm

Hyperbole w Definition: w Hyperbole is an extreme (“over the top”) exaggeration. w Link to examples.

Epic hero’s qualities w Think of a superhero that you know. w With a partner, brainstorm the qualities of a hero – both strengths and weaknesses! w Create a word web.