...The Appropriation and Contextualisation of The Maids Written by Mary Gizzi for Preliminary Extension English Ever since the beginnings of ancient civilisation, literature has been used to express unique concepts, cultures, and historical events. As the world we live in continues to change, our ideas & values must adjust to our transforming environment, and as a result of this, the meaning of older works of literature may become lost. To overcome this, earlier texts are appropriated. This means that the old stories and texts are transformed into a new context, which leads to new ideas forming and an introduction of differing perspectives. Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ was written almost 3000 years ago, and is considered to be part of canonical literature....
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...lessons, instilling moral values, recording history, bringing meaning to the unknown, or simply entertaining an audience, the oral tradition is a necessity to all societies. Though the written word is a well respected art form in and of itself, there are many ways in which the oral telling of stories can achieve more than a literary work. I do not believe true epics, such as Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey, survive the transition from oral storytelling to literary works. I believe this to be true because a reader will not get the same story as an audience listening to an oral telling. One of the ways that the literary transitions of epics falls short of the oral telling is the lack of control the author has over the reader’s understanding of the intended emotional response. Devices such as emphasis, volume, delivery, intonation, cadence, and facial expressions are all together lost when a work is being read as opposed to heard and seen. An oral storyteller has the ability to change a single sentence from a sorrowful tragedy to a comedic parody using simply their voice and tone. The first lines of Homer’s The Iliad could be argued to be the most important in the book. Within the first stanza, the whole tone and mood of the epic is set; imagine the immense power a story teller possess here: “RAGE: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, Black and murderous, that cost the Greek incalculable pain, pitched countless souls of heroes into Hades’ dark, and left their bodies to rot as feasts...
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...their epics. The contrast between Homer's quintessential invocation in the Iliad and the opening lines of the Aeneid reveal numerous differences between the two epics. There is clear reference to Homer's work in Virgil's first lines and both openings establish the theme of the epic. However, there are multitudes of elements within the Aeneid's opening that establish the epic as a clearly Roman work while maintaining its declaration as heir to the Greek tradition. Virgil's introduction in the Aeneid goes a step further than Homer's by not only establishing the theme,...
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...The Essential Role of Goddess in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey Just as women were viewed as inferior to men during Homer’s era, a first glance at Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey portrays goddesses as inferiors to gods. Despite the era’s bias to men, the goddesses are of equal importance to the plot of his stories as the gods. The goddesses play vital roles as either helpers or nightmares to men by often determining the results of an action. Homer did not establish the goddesses in his epics merely as minor structures to blend in the background. Rather, he established dynamic goddesses who were both powerful and intelligent. In fact, in many ways the goddesses controlled the gods by having an influence in their decisions and actions through manipulation, persuasion and guidance. By influencing the gods, the goddesses also played a large role as shepherds for human fate. The goddess’s constant intervention in the mortals’ lives was driven by favoritism, love or sexual desires, and their pity for the weak. Although the goddesses are often restricted from doing as they wish by the gods, they have proven, in many occasions, to overpower the gods through manipulation. Goddesses were often told what to do by the gods. Tasks such as delivering messages from Zeus were often carried out by Athena. Just as Hector told his wife, “Go home, attend to your own handiwork at loom and spindle, and command the maids to busy themselves, too. As for war, that is for men, all we...
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...the Stoic interpretation of Homer’s and Hesiod’s epic poems is in many (although not in all) aspects an apology, meant as a response to the criticism of Xenophanes and Plato. Their point of view is based on a specific theory of transmission of knowledge and on a new reading of the common philosophical opposition of truth and opinion. The question about the possible allegorical status of these interpretations is heavily debated. On one hand, it was proven by several scholars that Heraclitus, the author of Homeric problems whose defense of Homer was often taken as the best example of a Stoic allegorical reading of epic poems, was not a Stoic philosopher. On the other hand, there is no consensus...
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...“Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts”. Oliver Wendell Holmes perfectly captures the essence of Odysseus’ journey home. In Homer’s The Odyssey, home is described not as a geographical location, but moreover, an emotional state of being. In order for Odysseus to truly get home, he must achieve two particular emotional states. One, where he is in an environment where he is welcomed, loved, and cherished by others, and, two, where he finds joy, peace, and fulfillment in his own heart. As far as a chronological setting is concern, Odysseus is home after killing the suitors, revealing himself to his father, and reconciling with the towns people. One may argue, however, that Odysseus is home simply when he reveals himself to Telêmakhos, prior to killing all the suitors. Additionally, the novel places the genuine joy of returning home above any other earthly pleasure, even the joy of warcraft, as was presented in The Iliad. The first emotional...
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...Biography of Homer (?-? BC) Beyond a few fragments of information, historians and classicists can only speculate about the life of the man who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. The details are few. We do not even know the century in which he lived, and it is difficult to say with absolute certainty that the same poet composed both works. The Greeks attributed both of the epics to the same man, and we have little hard evidence that would make us doubt the ancient authorities, but uncertainty is a constant feature of scholarly work dealing with Homer's era of Greek history. The Greeks hailed him as their greatest poet, as well as their first. Although the Greeks recognized other poets who composed in Greek before Homer, no texts from these earlier poets survived. Perhaps they were lost, or perhaps they were never written down‹Homer himself was probably on the cusp between the tradition of oral poetry and the new invention of written language. Texts of the Iliad and the Odyssey existed from at least the sixth century BC, and probably for a considerable span of time before that. These two great epic poems also had a life in performance: through the centuries, professional artists made their living by reciting Homer, performing the great epics for audiences that often know great parts of the poem by heart. It is impossible to pin down with any certainty when Homer lived. Eratosthenes gives the traditional date of 1184 BC for the end of the Trojan War, the semi-mythical...
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...Pacifistic Poetry: The Odyssey and The Aeneid as Anti-War Stories Ancient Roman and Greek cultures are revered in modern times for their inventive battle tactics. However, a close examination of important texts from this time shows that people of these ancient cultures may have not held their own military prowess into the same regard. Both Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid depict the consequences of war as irreversible, long-lasting, and incredibly violent, creating an underlying anti-war message. The Odyssey takes place after the Trojan War, a battle which has separated the eponymous character from his homeland for ten years. The disappearance of Odysseus during this time has caused incredible sorrow and suffering for those around him....
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...In the film, Odyssey, the directors utilize characterization, setting, and music to enhance the audience’s experience and portray the theme of Homer’s epic tale. Characterization is one of the most significant tools that the directors used. It compelled the audience to feel sympathy towards the characters and stressed the most prominent theme, vengeance. The directors used emotional scenes in which the characters appeared to the audience as relatable. In the film, the directors redid the part of the text where it said, “Then throwing his arms around this marvel of a father Telemachus began to weep. Salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men”. Instead of using narration, the directors used indirect characterization to convey the...
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... Society has proven to be evolving throughout the years, as the problems are being addressed and taken into account. However, many still get distraught when glancing back into the ways of the past, even conveying their opinions in miraculous ways to provide their perspective on how it should be. There are many forms of doing so, and one way is in the form of a poem to express different sides to people or characters. In relation to one of the world-wide conflicts, gender inequality, Homer’s expression of women in the Odyssey, has caused poets, such as Margaret Atwood with Siren Song, to provide depth to their personalities. With the Sirens, Homer uses a more peculiar tone to describe the harpies, a deviant view on the powerful beings; while Margaret provides more human and complicated traits. Margaret purposefully displays the Sirens as more relatable and...
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...In Homer’s The Odyssey, Telemachus shows many emotions, a few of these being helplessness, encouragement, and then he finally shows the abandonment of hope, also, other people commented on the fact that Telemachus has no one to protect him from the world without his father. Telemachus shows helplessness when he first spots the goddess Athena in Odysseus’ halls, “He could almost see his magnificent father, here… in the mind’s eye- if only he might drop from the clouds and drive these suitors all in a rout throughout the halls” (1. 134-136) Telemachus shows helplessness by imagining that he sees his father in the halls, instead of Athena because, he believes that his father could drive away all of his mother, Penelope’s, suitors who wish to marry her since they assume Odysseus is dead....
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...No matter what religion someone believes, who their family is, or what they look like, all people are people, and everyone should be treated equally. This belief can be seen thousands of years back in time, even in some of the earliest writings of literature, such as The Iliad and The Odyssey, two Greek epics written by Homer. In The Iliad, the story takes place during the end of the Trojan War, where the Trojans and Greeks do see themselves not only as superior but do not even treat their enemy as their equal. Greeks believed that Trojans were savages or less than human, and the Trojans felt the same way about their opponent. In Homer’s Iliad, However, he writes in an unbiased way, using symbolization, figurative language and dialogue to...
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...A summary of Civilization: Greek Era What really is education? It is not literacy, nor information. Education is a logical attempt towards human learning. There are two types of leaners, passive learners and purposely engaged learners. Purposeful engagement is said to equal successful learning; so instead of spending time getting interested, find what is interesting. Making connections is what creates learning. Everything we learn may not be interesting, but it is important to make connections to something that is. Find meaning in what is taught and interpret the idea, thinking deeply and meaningful about ideas helps discover new learning and interest. Intellect performance shows what we know what we are trying to portray. During the highest peak of the Greek era the society valued body and mind intellect; creating some of the most famous philosophers known to time. Main Ideas and Values of Ancient Greek Civilization Ancient Greek civilization has contributed too many parts of today's society. The teachings and doings of Ancient Greeks have contributed important lessons that many societies still use to base their own laws and ethics on. The Ancient Greeks realized values of loyalty, glory, intelligence and hospitality were important to incorporate into everyday life. Ancient Greek civilization valued dualism, truth and “good society”. Helping your fellow man was an important aspect of ancient Greek society. They offered food, shelter and protection to travelers without...
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...masterpieces than simply enjoying a good read; one should also recognize the preconceived notions that often come with the subject, as well as have an understanding of why literary masterpieces are important and how they influence modern society. My Experiences and Expectations My experience with literary masterpieces began at age seven when I first read Charlotte’s Web. While that may not be considered a literary masterpiece, it did open my eyes to many amazing elements of literature. Firstly, I was struck by how powerfully I felt for the characters, and how easily I was drawn into their stories to the point in which I laughed when they laughed, worried when they worried, and wept when they wept. This paper thing had drawn emotion from me. A person wrote this story long before I was born, about...
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...The Odyssey is written by the Greek bard / poet, Homer. The epic poem is considered to be written around the 8th – 7th B.C.E. However the elements of the epic suggest it takes place in the twelfth century B.C.E., a time the Greeks believed when the deities seen in the epic roamed the land and there were more heroic demi-god like morals as champions of different lands. This was a time period when Greek civilization was in a peak of its history and perhaps associated this success as a result of divine blessings given to them by the deities they worshipped and sacrificed too. Leading to the fact of why there are so many instances we see the various deities have, whether it be direct or indirect, influence on the various characters in the epic....
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