Respond to TWO of the following passages. First, give the narrative context along with the speaker of the lines. Next, discuss in SPECIFIC and ANALYTIC terms the interpretive possibilities and theme(s) of the passage. You have approximately one hour to complete your responses.
`Ah, bitterly you need Odysseus, then!
.....................................
They'd know their fortune quickly: a cold bed!
If I were you,
I should take steps to make these men disperse.
Listen, now, and attend to what I say.'
home, how Aigisthos waited to destroy him
but paid a bitter price for it in in the end.
That is a good thing, now, for a man to leave
a son behind him, like the son who punished
Aigisthos for the murder of his great father.
You, too, are tall and well set-up, I see;
be brave, you too, so men in times to come
will speak well of you.'
on Troy's wide seaboard, serving the Atreidia!
Would God I, too, had died there--met my end
that time the Trojans made so many casts at me
when I astood by Akhilleus after death.
I should have had a soldier's burial!
and praise from the Akhaians--not this choking
waiting for me at sea, unmarked and lonely.'
contrivers, both. Of all men now alive
you are the best in plots and story telling.
My own fame is for wisdom among the gods--
deceptions, too.'
`You've come to that man's island, right enough,
but dangerous men and fools hold power now.
You gave your gifts in vain. If you could find him
here in Ithaka alive, he'd make
return of gifts and hospitality,
as custom is, when someone has been generous.'
Odyssey Review Guide
The Ancient and Classical World
World Lit I Spring Semester Syllabus | Summer Semester Syllabus | Fall Semester Syllabus
