The Odyssey
description
Transcript of The Odyssey
The OdysseyLiterary Terms
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Ex: “Where shall a man find sweetness to surpass”
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds
Ex: “befORe / Odysseus' dOOR, the threshold to his cOURt”
Caesura
A pause or sudden break in a line of poetry
“Sing, o goddess, the rage || of Achilles, the son of Peleus.”
Catalogs/Genealogies
Narrative often includes inventories of characters or important histories or important people or artifacts to provide relevance and authority
Ex: Character list at beginning of epic poem
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds NOT limited to the beginning of words
Ex: “The sacred flag of truth unfurled”
Elegy/Elegiac Mood
Writing that mourns the loss of something
Ex: “No more seafaring homeward for these, no sweet day of return”
End Rhyme
Rhyming words that appear at the ends of two or more lines of poetry
Ex: “Nor till the ground, though grain…
Ripen in heaven’s rain…”
Enjambment
Running over of a sentence or thought from one line to another
Ex: “ The crew were on their feet briskly, to furl the sail…”
Epic Hero
A person of high social status who embodies the ideals of his/her people
Ex: Odysseus’ goal is to save his nation/people during time of crisis
Epic Simile
Long, elaborate comparison that continues for several lines
Ex: The Cyclops caught two men “like squirming puppies to beat their brains out, spattering the floor. Then he made his meal…crunching like a mountain lion…”
Imagery
The use of vivid language that appeals to the senses
Ex: "The Cyclops' rams were handsome, fat, with heavy fleeces, a dark violet”
Internal Rhyme
Rhyme within a line of poetry
Ex: “Until we drew away…now when I cupped my hands I heard the crew in low voices protesting.”
Invocation
A request by the poet to a higher power for guidance; an introduction to the upcoming action
Ex: Odyssey begins with an invocation
Onomatopoeia
The use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning
Ex: “Bashed by this hand and bashed on this rock wall…”
Other Ex: Clang, buzz, pop
Personification
Figure of speech in which an animal, object, force of nature, or idea is given human characteristics
Ex: ”Death sat there huge; how could we slip away?”
Point of View
Vantage point from which the story is told
Ex: Third person omniscient (mostly) with some first person (Odysseus)
Rhyme
Repetition of identical sounds
Ex: “Nor till the ground, though grain…Ripen in heaven’s rain…”
Rhyming Couplet
2 consecutive lines that rhyme
Ex: (None in Odyssey…Here’s one from R&J!) “For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”
Slant Rhyme
Sounds that are similar but not identical
Ex: “Lift the great song again…Begin when all the rest who left behind them”
Syllable
One of the parts into which a word is divided when pronounced
Ex: O-dys-se-us