Comprehensive Study Guide for The Odyssey and Epic Literature

Required Readings and Vocabulary

  • Required Books to Master:

    • Full Books: Book 1, Book 4, Book 5, Book 6, Book 9, Book 10, Book 11, Book 12, Book 16, Book 19, Book 21, Book 22, and Book 23.

    • Summaries: Comprehensive knowledge of all non-assigned books in the narrative.

    • Names and Places: Thorough mastery of character identities and geographic locations from the unit handout.

  • Essential Study Terms:

    • Plunder: To steal goods from a place or person, typically using force and in a time of war or civil disorder.

    • Prodigious: Remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree.

    • Bildungsroman: A literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood.

    • Formidable: Inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable.

    • Kleos: Renown or glory earned through great deeds.

    • Rancor: Bitterness or resentfulness, especially when long-standing.

    • Superfluous: Unnecessary, especially through being more than enough.

    • Rhetoric: The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing.

    • Incredulous: Unwilling or unable to believe something.

    • Futile: Incapable of producing any useful result; pointless.

    • Word Stems: Mastery of assigned prefix, suffix, and root stems.

Elements of the Epic

Elements of the Epic Chart

  • Definition of an Epic:

    • An epic is a long narrative poem.

    • It recounts the adventures of an epic hero, a larger-than-life figure who undertakes great journeys and performs deeds requiring remarkable bravery and cunning.

  • Characteristics of the Epic Hero:

    • Possesses superhuman strength, craftiness, and confidence.

    • Is helped or harmed by gods or fate.

    • Embodies qualities valued by the culture.

    • Overcomes perilous situations.

  • Archetypes:

    • Archetypes are characters and situations recognizable across times and cultures.

    • Examples include:

    • Brave hero

    • Evil temptress

    • Sea monster

    • Loyal servant

    • Suitors' contest

    • Buried treasure

  • Epic Plot:

    • Depicts a long, strange journey filled with complications such as:

    • Strange creatures

    • Divine intervention

    • Treacherous weather

    • Large-scale events

  • Epic Themes:

    • Reflect universal concerns, such as:

    • Courage

    • The fate of a nation

    • Loyalty

    • Life and death

    • Beauty

    • A homecoming

  • Epic Setting:

    • Includes fantastic or exotic lands.

    • Involves more than one nation or culture.

Literary Devices and Narrative Techniques

  • Epic Simile:

    • A detailed comparison developed at great length over several lines of verse.

  • Epithet:

    • Renames a person or thing with a descriptive phrase.

    • Poetic Function: Used by poets to maintain the meter of the poem or complete a line of verse by picking a phrase with the required syllable count.

    • Examples: Homer frequently refers to Odysseus as "son of Laertes" and "raider of cities".

  • Parallel Plots:

    • Occur when two separate narrative storylines take place simultaneously.

  • Flashbacks:

    • Interruptions that writers use to insert past events in order to provide background or context to the current events of a narrative.

  • Foreshadowing:

    • A literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story.

    • Often appears at the beginning of a story or chapter to help the reader develop expectations about coming events.

  • Invocation:

    • An opening prayer at the beginning of an epic narrative.

    • Used by the rhapsode (storyteller) to ask the Muses for assistance in recounting the story.

    • Functioned as a direct signal to inform the audience which specific tale was about to be performed.

  • Setting:

    • The time and place in which a story takes place.

    • Broad Definition: Includes social statuses, weather, historical period, and immediate physical surroundings.

    • Can be real, fictional, or a combination of both real and fictional elements.

  • Foil:

    • A character who serves to highlight one or more attributes of another character (often the protagonist) by providing a sharp contrast.

    • Example: In the Harry Potter series, Draco Malfoy acts as a foil to Harry Potter.

  • Conflict:

    • A struggle between opposing forces driving the narrative.

    • Internal Conflict: A psychological struggle within the mind of a literary or dramatic character, the resolution of which creates plot suspense.

    • External Conflict: A struggle between a character and an outside force, such as nature or another character, driving the dramatic action of the plot.

  • Symbolism:

    • The use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that differ from their literal sense.

    • Involves an object representing another idea to impart a much deeper and more significant meaning.

  • Translation Perspective:

    • The Odyssey was written in Ancient Greek, requiring modern readers to study translated text.

  • Core Literary Concepts to Master:

    • Archetype: Universal narrative patterns, character types, or symbols.

    • Mood: The emotional environment created for the reader.

    • Dramatic Irony: When the audience or reader knows crucial information that characters do not.

    • Situational Irony: When actions produce an effect opposite from what was intended or expected.

    • Verbal Irony: When a speaker says one thing but explicitly means another.

    • Imagery: Descriptive language appealing to the physical senses.

    • Rhapsode: A professional singer or reciter of epic poems in Ancient Greece.

    • Xenia: The Ancient Greek sacred custom of guest-host hospitality.

    • Hubris: Excessive pride, arrogance, or self-confidence.

    • In Media Res: Beginning a narrative in the middle of the action.

    • Caesura: A deliberate pause or break within a line of poetry.

    • Metis: Cunning intelligence, resourcefulness, and skill in deception.

    • Cunning: Skill in achieving one's ends by deceit, evasion, or cleverness.

    • Theme: The central idea, underlying message, or main subject in a work.

Major Themes and Theoretical Approaches

  • Primary Theme Categories:

    • Journey home (Nostos)

    • Hospitality / Xenia

    • Cunning / Deception

    • Family

    • Give / Take - Reactions

  • Strategic Life Lessons:

    • Every book in The Odyssey serves to instruct readers on how to strategically navigate life's difficult moments.

  • The Odyssey vs. The Iliad:

    • The Iliad: Focuses on what it takes to achieve a "good name" through honor, combative skills using weapons and language, and glory on the battlefield.

    • The Odyssey: Acts as the antithesis of working purely toward noble qualities of honor and glory.

    • Core Realization: After 20 years of struggling to return home, Odysseus realizes success depends on being more clever than the opponent through trickery and deception. An honorable person cannot survive against monstrous threats such as man-eating bird women or one-eyed giants.

Concept of Kleos and Glory in Greek Culture

  • Definition of Kleos:

    • Ancient Greek term translated as "renown" or "glory".

    • Ethymologically linked to the verb meaning "to hear", carrying the implied meaning of "what others hear about you".

  • Earning Kleos:

    • A Greek hero earns kleos by performing great deeds, often resulting in his own death.

    • Heroes were viewed as the core essence of Ancient Greek society, living according to strict codes of honor and glory.

  • Intergenerational Transmission:

    • Kleos is traditionally passed down from father to son, placing responsibility on the son to build upon his father's legacy and glory.

  • Literary Examples of Kleos:

    • The Iliad: Represents literary kleos for Achilles, who died achieving glory in the Trojan War.

    • The Odyssey: Represents literary kleos for Odysseus, who earned renown by surviving severe ordeals and successfully returning home.

  • Status in the Afterlife:

    • Greek heroes were believed to attain elevated status in the afterlife, residing in exalted realms such as the Islands of the Blessed.

Traits of an Epic Hero

What Are The Traits of an Epic Hero? By Caroline Keith

  • Trait One: A Noble Birth:

    • Most epic heroes are kings, princes, or at least wealthy and powerful individuals.

  • Trait Two: Capable of Deeds of Great Strength and Courage:

    • The hero develops unusual talents and skills, or is born with extraordinary abilities.

  • Trait Three: Great Warrior:

    • Skill in literal military combat during war.

    • War can also be interpreted metaphorically as overcoming vast existential challenges.

  • Trait Four: Travels Over a Vast Setting:

    • Epic heroes do not remain in one location; they travel across numerous regions and alter many lives.

  • Trait Five: National Heroism:

    • The hero embodies qualities revered by his or her culture (e.g., an American hero embodying hard work and independence).

  • Trait Six: Humility:

    • Epic heroes do not brag about their accomplishments or work solely for fame.

    • They may actively conceal their identity while performing good deeds.

  • Trait Seven: Faces Supernatural Foes and/or Receives Supernatural Help:

    • Epic heroes receive aid from gods and goddesses.

    • Epic heroes confront monsters and trials far beyond normal human understanding.

  • Trait Eight: Overcomes Remarkable Odds or Great Trials to Experience Success:

    • Epic heroes encounter severe adversity but prevail through incomparable cunning, ultimately sharing what they learn with the people and cultures they care about.