ipl-logo

Similes In The Odyssey Essay

1933 Words8 Pages

The Odyssey: Developing the Plot of an Epic and Creating Love Through the Use of Similes
The odyssey is an epic poem reflecting on the journey of its main character, Odysseus’s journey home from the Trojan war. Odysseus is a prestigious figure in ancient Greece after using his intelligence and wit to defeat the Trojans in the Trojan war. He is a well-spoken, quick thinking, determined, and respectful person all around, and uses his charm and knowledge to make his way home to Ithaca where his wife and son are. Although Odysseus is smart and reasonable, Athena, the goddess of knowledge, many of the other immortal gods, nymphs, and at some point, even the dead help Odysseus along his journey by providing him with information that would help him overcome things that he would have not if he had not gotten the …show more content…

Unfortunately, many of these obstacles proved to be too difficult for Odysseus’s men, and had taken the lives of them all and would have killed Odysseus if it had not been for the help of others. If the gods and others had not given these specific instructions and details for the obstacles along Odysseus’s journey, he might have never made it home, or even may have died along the way. Finally, Odysseus makes it home, but his troubles do not end here, because he has to fight the suitors whom have occupied his home since he’d been away at war. Throughout the odyssey, homer creates many scenes that depict the idea of “love,” defined by the coming together of two things to create life. Homer creates the idea of “love”, mainly through his use of Homeric similes and metaphors. A simile, which is the comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as, becomes known as a Homeric simile when homer, whom is known for his elaborate, effective, and vivid similes, uses them. In the Odyssey, the use of Homeric similes and metaphors demonstrate the idea of “love”, the

Show More
Related
189 Words | 1 Pages

In book 21 Penelope announces that she will marry the suiter who can string the bow, and then successfully shoot a line of twelve axes. Telemachus, Eurymachus, and many more try to string the bow and fail. Odysseus then asks to try, and this is where the epic simile is. The simile compared Odysseus’s stringing to a musician with an instrument. Thus reveling that Odysseus was in fact was very graceful, and skillful.

Read More
396 Words | 2 Pages

In the Odyssey, by Homer, a Greek poet, wrote the Odyssey which is a epic poem. Odysseus, the main character, was trying to get home after winning the Trojan War, but because of his arrogance, the gods gave him a town time. Figurative language allows people to express abstract thoughts. Figurative language is very vivid and descriptive. Throughout the Odyssey, Homer uses various literary devices to show that it's important to be a good a leader and put other people's desires before your own.

Read More
704 Words | 3 Pages

Homer’s The Odyssey is one of the oldest works of Western literature, second only to Homer’s Iliad. It’s influence on Western culture ranges from the characters and story, to his innovative writing style, characterized by his use of literary devices. Though Homer uses many literary devices in his telling of The Odyssey, epic similes are one of the most vital part of the storytelling. They allow the reader to envision the scene in a different way, comparing it to descriptions that can be vividly imagined in the head.

Read More
1277 Words | 6 Pages

“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” -Erich Fromm ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer, follows the story of Odysseus, a great Greek hero. It tells of his venture to Troy, to lead his army in the Trojan War, and his separation from loved ones and his kingdom for twenty years. However, the novel mainly focuses on the story of his homecoming and all he, and many others, had to endure while he was returning from abroad.

Read More
232 Words | 1 Pages

The ‘Odyssey’ is a well known book based around Greek myths and Odysseus’ journey back home as he attains help from the Gods. In ‘The Odyssey’, Homer is able to use figurative language to express a recurring theme of vengeance. In Homer's ‘Odyssey’, he manages to express a theme of vengeance by how Odysseus is struggling with the consequences of revenge and how he deals with that. In book twenty-two Odysseus confronts the suitors about trying to seduce his wife while he was gone, when he reveals himself as Odysseus some of the suitors immediately try to compensate for the wrongs they’ve done.

Read More
1107 Words | 5 Pages

The Odyssey by Homer is an exemplary story that teaches life lessons to those going on a journey for themselves. It illustrates how the challenges and obstacles one may face can help someone become a better leader. The Odyssey highlights one man, Odysseus, a man filled with excessive pride, experiencing the wrath of the god Poseidon. He expects to arrive at his home, Ithaca, safely to reunite with his wife, Penelope, but unfortunately faces many temptations and setbacks. Due to the challenges he faces, it prevents him from arriving home as early as he thought he would.

Read More
620 Words | 3 Pages

The Odyssey, Homer, takes the reader on a man's journey back home after being faced with many struggles for 15 years. Throughout the epic poem, The Odyssey, several examples of epic concepts are shown, such as; epithets, epic similes, and archetypes. Epithets are most commonly seen throughout this epic poem. This is evident because there are many examples of epithets in each book of The Odyssey. For example when the gods and goddesses were discussing Odysseus' fate they used a epithet.

Read More
704 Words | 3 Pages

TS1 (Thesis): In The Odyssey, Homer depicts Odysseus’ real foe as the theme of temptation with displays of hubris and lustrous goddesses, which portrays the importance of being vigilant to not submit to temptation. ST1: Homer depicts that Odysseus is determined to get home, but Odysseus succumbs to temptation when he leads his crew into the cyclops lair, eats the cyclops’ food, and demands for a gift, resulting in a protracted journey home. 1: Homer displays Odysseus as recklessly brave when he requests, “we’re at your knees, in hopes of… a guest-gift”(9.300) from the cyclops. 2: It is apparent that Odysseus has given into the temptation to be arrogant when he declares for the cyclops to give them, “a guest-gift,” after Odysseus and his men have broken into the cyclops lair, showing even further Odysseus’ isn’t vigilant to

Read More
500 Words | 2 Pages

In the epic story the Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus is returning from the Trojan war, and on his way home he finds many obstacles ahead of him. Odysseus is the ruler of Ithaca and he is trying to return home to his land. Many creatures try and stop him from achieving his goal of returning home, but he and his crew have to push through and get home. Odysseus portrays bravery and courage leading his crew through these tough challenges. Odysseus heroically leads his crew and himself through dangerous obstacles, but also foolishly endangers them during the journey home.

Read More
688 Words | 3 Pages

The Odyssey by Homer revolves around the character, Odysseus, and his ten-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. As the epic’s idol, he displays the combination of a clever, handsome, and courageous man popular among the mortals as well as the gods. Essentially, he embodies the ideals of the ancient Greek culture, being adorned with many favored characteristics of the era. However, an intriguing aspect of Odysseus lies in his personality. As the protagonist, he does not manifest the entirety of a stereotypical hero because Odysseus has a fatal flaw—his arrogance.

Read More
1029 Words | 5 Pages

In epic Greek poems, gods have a major influence in the overall storyline and the Odyssey is no exception. The gods and goddesses constantly are appearing sometimes in a disguised form, but all nonetheless crafting the scenes to their accord so that they may offer gratitude for the mortal’s loyalty or to gain revenge for their disloyalty. Not only do they alter events, but people also alter their actions while keeping the appeasement of gods in mind. By paying respect to the gods, the characters express much more than a simple gesture of reverence; instead, it is also a way of showing compassion for something other than themselves. Odysseus strategically exploits his devotion to the gods in various scenes in a way to improve his own character

Read More
1124 Words | 5 Pages

This simile increases the way the Cyclops is seen as powerful figure. The example of figurative language here makes the audience imagine the scene in their minds therefore enriching the description of the scene. These descriptions help the text as a whole feel more immediate to the reader. This has enabled The Odyssey to transcend the test of

Read More
1056 Words | 5 Pages

The Odyssey is an epic poem written by the blind, illiterate poet Homer. It takes place in ancient Greece and tells of a man’s journey home from war. The topic, intervention of the gods, is seen throughout the book numerous times as the gods who are in favor of Odysseus lend a helping hand. It is well-known that the gods are very important to the Greeks. In this epic poem, The Odyssey, Homer demonstrates the importance of the positive and encouraging intervention of the gods in Greek culture; the brave actions, encouraging words, and cunning strategies of Athena as she assists and guides Odysseus on his journey back home.

Read More
1499 Words | 6 Pages

It has been said the chief interest of The Iliad is that we can find in it answers to fundamentally important questions, characteristics of European or Western culture, a sense of the tragic, domestic comedy, scepticism of the role the divine in human life, admiration for the strength of the individual human will, pleasure in the kind of heroic conflict that elicits a moral pride and a fascination with the interaction between moral choice and political life in the community. The Homeric poems are the repository for us of the concepts like these which remain significant or even fundamental to the western culture today. in the narrower sense of culture as the inherited intellectual and chiefly literary tradition the Homeric poems have an even

Read More
1524 Words | 7 Pages

As the great American author Mario Puzo one said, “The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other. ”This is saying that loyalty gives people the ability to work together and succeed in anything they set out to do. In The Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Robert Fagles, they really learn the power on relying on one another and seeing why loyalty is so really important in life and so nothing can get in the way to succeed in life. And as the story is going through the journeys of Odysseus he learns different way to get all the tasks and challenges done and still try to find a way home to get back to his wife and his only child. Even though he does put his crew in some unpromising situations,

Read More

More about Similes In The Odyssey Essay

Related Topics

Open Document