Use Of Imagery In The Odyssey

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What defines a champion? Homer tells the tales of a champion who is trying to get home to his family and does so using imagery in the story. Homer uses imagery to affect the umbrella concept of mood and characterization in The Odyssey. He does this when Odysseus fights Iros, Telémakhos finds young men drinking, and when Odysseus dodges a cow’s foot that was thrown at him.
Homer uses visual imagery to set the exciting mood when Odysseus is fighting Iros. In the text, Homer states, “Then Odysseus hooked him/ under the ear and shattered his jaw bone,/ so bright red blood came bubbling from his mouth,/ as down he pitched into the dust, bleating,/ kicking against the ground, his teeth stove in" (XVIII, 106-110). Odysseus fights Iros, even though he doesn’t want to, and knocks him down. The imagery of Odysseus punching Iros in the jaw sets an exciting mood because it was the start of the fight between them and Odysseus already landed a heavy blow. …show more content…

In the text, Homer writes, "the young men’s teeth grew fixed in their under lips,/" (XVIII, 454). Telémakhos sends the young men to sleep after he finds them and can clearly see that they have been drinking. The image of the young men biting their bottom lip shows they were angry because they were so upset with Telémakhos that they had to hold their tongue. The use of the word fixed also paints the image that the men were biting down so hard it was like their teeth couldn’t be moved from their