Monday, October 29, 2007

The paper

Be sure to bring in the metaphor you plan to write about to Wednesday's class.
We will be reading "The Death of Hektor" and "Achilles and Priam" in class on Wed and Fri.
Your outline will be due on Monday.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

The Outline

I will be posting a sample of outline for the paper Monday evening.
The assignment will begin thus: Choose a homeric metaphor that you understand. Then read my outline with your choice in mind.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Paper Coming Up!

Be forewarned! First I will demand an Outline, then a first draft. The paper will be short- only 2 pages- but it must be clear and stuffed with ideas.

It will be quite similar to the test.

We are presently considering Book Sixteen- please be sure to read it carefully.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Your Test for Friday...

Identify and describe the use of the following:

Book Eleven: Agamemnon's Day of Glory

l. 97-117


Homeric Metaphor
The irony of this metaphor
Realistic, naturalistic portrayal of death
The formal, non-realistic portrayal of death
The bitter irony that begins the passage
Metaphor as a reflection of everyday life in the 8th century B.C.E.

l. 188-227

Role of the Gods
How gods appear to men

l. 166-188

The metaphor presenting Agamemnon as an inhuman force
Trojans presented as domestic or domesticated

Book Five: Diomedes Fights the Gods

l. 321-346

Naturalism
"Tee-may"
The Age of Heroes

l. 985-1015

Athena and Ares as different aspects of war
The character of the gods: Can gods be courageous?
Gods as unable to alter fate

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Exam Will Be on Friday

Friday's exam will be in the following format:

You will be given four passages from either "Diomedes Fights the Gods" or "Agamemnon's Day of Glory". You will be given a list of the formal elements that Homer uses throughout the Iliad.

Break down each passage into these formal elements and describe how they function.

For instance: Describe the epithets, metaphors, and aristeia in the scene where Agamemnon girds himself for battle. Show how the Trojans are portrayed. How does the metaphor relate to Homer's audience?

You will have to have your own copy of the text.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Review of class Monday Sept 24

We read Book 5 and discussed the following:

The many contrasts within the text: How family ties are emphasized in describing the Trojans, more so than with the Greeks, how perhaps the audience in the 8th century B.C.E. was more like the Trojans (as portrayed in Iliad) than the Greeks. How this, along with the use of Homeric Metaphor, creates a second level in the narrative, a humble, non-heroic, everyday level.

Here is the plan for the next couple of weeks:

Hector (books 6-7), W 9/26

The Tide of Battle Turns (book 8), F 9/28

The Embassy to Achilles (book 9), M 10/1

Agamemnon (book 11), W 10/3

Fierce fighting, back and forth (books 12, 13), F 10/5

Hera and Zeus (book 14), M 10/8

The Aristeia of Patroclus and Menelaus (books 16,17) W 10/10

(books 10 and 15 will be summarized in class and discussed only in part)

EXAM: FRIDAY OCTOBER 12