Summary
Today in class we finished our discussion of The Odyssey by highlighting the five prime examples of metis in books XX-XIV: first, Odysseus’ plans to lock the suitors in and keep the women out of the way; second, Penelope’s announcement of the archery contest to the suitors; third, Odysseus’ command to the bard to sing a happy song to disguise the massacre inside his house; fourth, Penelope’s request to move her bed; and fifth, Telemachus’ apparent weakness while attempting to string Odysseus’ bow.
Following the discussion about metis, we discussed the ending of the poem, and if ended in the right place. Some critics believe the poem should have ended following the scene of Odysseus and Penelope reuniting and returning to their bed (p. 549 ln. 338). With this ending, the reintegration of the family would have created a typical happy closure. Instead, Homer decides to continue with the poem with Book XXIV. The last book is necessary because it ties loose ends left in the previous book such as the fate of the suitors' families and the fate of Ithaca. By having the last book civilization as a whole, and not just the family, is reintegrated.
We also discussed the Tennyson poem Ulysses, which takes place three years after the Odyssey. In Ulysses, Odysseus, the once strong and noble king, is now aged and restless. We paired into groups to argue whether Odysseus ("Ulysses") was a hero or a jerk. Odysseus was considered a hero since he wanted to keep fighting until the end of his life but he was also considered a jerk because he only mentions his "aged" wife once, while referring to his crewmen throughout. He also yearns to leave Ithaca for adventure after only being there for three years, following his twenty-year hiatus.
Word Count: 298
Passages
"Come, Eurycleia,
move the sturdy bedstead out of our bridal chamber-
that room the master built with his own hands.
take it out now, sturdy bed that it is,
and spread it deep with fleece,
blankets and lustrous throws to keep him warm." - Book XXIII, Page 546 Lines 198 - 202
In this passage we see that Penelope is testing the man whom is supposedly her husband. Penelope knows that only Odysseus and herself know that the bed cannot be moved. We see metis on both Penelope and Odysseus' part in this passage in that Penelope was testing Odysseus to make sure he was her real husband and that the craftsmanship that Odysseus put into the bed has enabled it to last for many years and is immovable.
Terms
- deus ex machina - god out of the machine; a technique used to easily smooth over an ending using the finite will of a god.
- metis- a word with an extensive semantic range including: intelligence, plan, counsel, art, skill, craft in work, cunning of hand, thought, judgement, trick
- enjambment- lines overlap from one stanza to the next without a syntactical break
- setting- when and where something occurs
- dramatic monologue- similar to a soliloquy (an argument to oneself) but there is an implied audience. The audience learns information about the character via dramatic monologue but often more than the character intends (dramatic irony).
Comments (3)
jedge said
at 9:33 pm on Sep 9, 2009
I agree, but isn't metis the underlying theme of the entire epic?
Brian Croxall said
at 2:28 pm on Sep 12, 2009
Your notes for Tuesday's class are some of the best that I've seen this semester. The summary covers the three main portions of class (metis, the poem's ending, and Tennyson). You have more terms than even I had remembered (all of them worth throwing up here, although the definition of "enjambment" is too sparse). And your discussion of the passage that you've chosen is exactly the level of discussion that I'm looking for in these.
The suggestions that I have for what you've produced are related. First, in the summary you provide five examples of metis, but you don't really talk about why they are examples of it. You are of course limited in how much you are allowed to write, but more explanation is desirable. Second, you only choose one passage. While you are only required to pick one passage, you are allowed to do up to three. Passages are important as that's where we spend a lot of time in class and (a hint here) they will matter for exams. It's worth your time most of the time to look for three important passages from our class discussion. You should think about passages as a way to broaden what you say in the summary. You can say more about a particular topic through the effective use of a passage than you have room for in the summary. And if you lack the space to address a topic in the summary, then you can cover that in the passage. Since our class on Tuesday had three main points, I wouldn't have been surprised to see one passage about each of them. Alternatively, you might have had two passages from Tennyson since you didn't have as much space to discuss the poem in the summary.
Overall, however, this is a good start to this assignment.
Brian Croxall said
at 1:17 pm on Sep 19, 2009
I just looked at your revised notes. I appreciate Aaron's fleshing out the definition for enjambment. It's more clear now. But that's the only change in the whole of the notes.
You don't have permission to comment on this page.