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Transcript

The Odyssey, Book 11

Thematic Strand

The thematic strand in book 11 is the wandering hero because when a person died, no matter who they were, their spirit went down to the underworld to wander for the rest of eternity. When Odysseus spoke with his mother, she asked him if he was still wandering and had not come home.

Discussion Questions

Discussion questions:

Agamemnon warns Odysseus not to trust a woman because his wife had betrayed him and shamed all women to come. Should all women be blamed for the actions of one woman? Would Agamemnon have reacted the way he did if his son had betrayed him?

Was there an importance to Odysseus meeting all of the spirits in the underworld that he met? Or was it simply his own mortal curiosity?

Epithets

The Theban prophet - Tieresias

Son of Laertes, master of wiles - Odysseus

The Gods

Persephone helps Odysseus slightly by sending the spirits to him like Tiresias, his mother Anticleia, wives of heroes, Agamemnon, Achilles, and Elpenor sohe can make sure to get the prophecy he needed and to see some of the spirits in the underworld.

Greek Culture

Odysseus tried to use Rhetoric in lines 579 - 590 in order to win over Ajax and make him at peace with Odysseus, because Ajax was mad at Odysseus, since he won the contest to see who would keep Achilles’s armor, and Ajax died because he lost the contest

Literary Devices

1: Simile: ‘You seek a homecoming as sweet as honey. (Bk.11 #97)

2: Simile: Three times I rushed forward to hug her,/ And three times she drifted out of my arms/ Like a shadow or a dream. (11. 206-208)

3: Simile: The fire destroys these/ As soon as the spirit leaves the white bones,/ And the ghost flutters off and is gone like a dream. (11. 222-224)

4: Simile & Irony: All around me my men were killed/ Relentlessly, like white tusked swine/ For a wedding banquet or dinner party/ In the house of a wealthy man. (11. 425-429)

Image/Symbol

A ghost/ spirit is the main image in the book because Odysseus is surrounded by spirits of old while in the underworld and sees many different people who had died and gone to the underworld.

A ghost is significant to book because it can symbolize not only a real spirit, but also the saying; ghost of the past. Odysseus’s past actions influence the future due to god intervention. Examples: After Odysseus blinds the Cyclops, Poseidon becomes angry with him and continues to keep him from returning home. Since Athena was fond of Odysseus because of his constant wit in his trials, she is able to persuade Zeus to make Calypso let him go and let him return home.

Summary

  • Odysseus goes to land of the dead
  • Sees Elpenor, who died on Circe's island
  • Speaks and hears prophecy from Tiresias
  • He meets many people
  • his mother, Achilles, Agamemnon
  • wives of heroes of old
  • Hercules
  • Sees the tortured
  • Tantalus
  • Tityos
  • Sisyphus
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