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Joseph Brodsky's Poem 'Odysseus To Telemachus'

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Joseph Brodsky's poem, Odysseus to Telemachus, is in the form of a letter that Odysseus is writing.
Odysseus begins his letter addressing it to his dearest son. My question is, that if he can't remember who won the Trojan war than is it important? No, he said it was a waste of his time. Odysseus makes a comparison about the time it took and his journey because of Poseidon's punishing. He said that it seemed as if Poseidon had stretch the land and extended it in order to delay his sweet home coming.

Odysseus laments his hazy memory and his confusion regarding his location.
· How does Odysseus show his confusion regarding where he is?

He said " I don't know where I am or what this place can be." I think this is much related to what he …show more content…

Odysseus doesn't expect to see Telemachus again that is why he is taking the time to lay everything on the table; he was given up at this point. Odysseus has no idea how old Telemachus is but he is now envisioning him as a man. Odysseus says that he want his son to be happy and become a strong man. Odysseus reassured himself that with himself , out of the picture that Telemachus has grown up and become a better person without living with Oedipal passions. Telemachus would always be safe and would be able to live his dreams. He says " and your dreams, my Telemachus, are blameless."

In the end Odysseus has become very hopeless of his arrival home. He was become weary because he has been away at sea for such a long time. Also, what I think Brodsky is trying to say about human nature of war is that: War is not meaningful because if you can't remember why you were at war, or who lost or whom won than it's not important. It was a waste of time in his opinion. I don't think Homer would agree with Brodsky’s assessment of war, because in the Odyssey and Iliad Homer shows us that men that fight in war are the men who are honored. And honor was everything to

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