Odysseus, too, has a wife besieged by suitors and a son who, logically, dislikes them. For instance, the story of Agamemnon parallels that of Odysseus. More importantly, Homer kick-starts the narrative engine, and already in Book I we see various plot machinations at work and an emphasis placed on internal stories, which often have a thematic impact on the major story. Remember that the poem was delivered orally, so an audience member could not skip through the opening pages at his leisure. Homer's contemporary audience would have already been familiar with the story of The Iliad, whose events precede The Odyssey, so there is no need to waste time reminding them of it. The story of The Odyssey starts "in medias res" ("in the middle of things"), relating in brief exposition the background before jumping into the present narrative. Two of the suitors ask about the identity of the man Telemachus was speaking to though he knows the visitor was immortal, Telemachus tells them it was a family friend. Telemachus tells the suitors that at daybreak he will call an assembly and banish them from his estate. She returns to her room and weeps for Odysseus. But Telemachus reminds her that many others did not return from the war. The beautiful Penelope joins the suitors and asks the minstrel to stop singing the song of the homecoming of the Achaeans (Greeks) after the Trojan War, as it reminds her of her husband's absence. Inspired, Telemachus thanks her for her advice, and she leaves. After this, he must kill the suitors, as Orestes did. Athena instructs him to call an assembly of the islanders and order the suitors away then he must sail away to find news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. He does not hold out any hope, however, and he and his mother remain helpless against the arrogant suitors. Athena introduces herself as Odysseus' old friend Mentes and predicts that he will be home soon. As the suitors devour Odysseus' oxen, Telemachus says he believes his father - whom he does not know at all - is dead. Odysseus' son, Telemachus, unhappy among the suitors, greets Athena warmly as a stranger and invites her to their feast. In disguise as an old friend of Odysseus', Athena travels to his manor in Ithaca, now overrun with noisy, lustful suitors intent on marrying Odysseus' wife, Penelope. He agrees, and the god Hermes will be sent to Calypso to ask her to free Odysseus. Athena speaks on behalf of Odysseus, pleading with Zeus to free him from Calypso's grasp. He brings up the example of Aigisthos, who killed Agamemnon and stole his wife, though the gods warned him that Agamemnon's son, Orestes, would someday retaliate - which he justly did. In the hall of Zeus on Mount Olympos, all the gods but Poseidon gather and listen as Zeus reflects upon the moral failings of mortal men. We are told that Poseidon, god of the sea, will make Odysseus' journey home to Ithaca even more difficult (he is angry that Odysseus has blinded his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus), and trouble awaits the conquering hero back in Ithaca, too. In trying to return home, Odysseus and his shipmates had numerous adventures, but now Odysseus has been left alone on the island of Ogygia for the last eight years, captive of the beautiful goddess Calypso. We pick up ten years after the fall of Troy in the Trojan War (the subject of The Iliad). The narrator calls upon the Muse to help him tell the story of Odysseus.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |