Homers epic poem the odyssey tells the story of odysseus, greek hero of the trojan war, and his adventures at sea during his travel home. The odyssey books 2124 summary and analysis gradesaver. Odysseus has shown restraint and good judgment in biding his time before killing the suitors. The poem is, in part, a sequel to the iliad, and concerns the events that befall the greek hero odysseus in his long journey back to his native land ithaca after the fall. It is the gods who decide the fate of the humans, the gods who can declare war, and the gods who can make peace. The free the odyssey notes include comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Penelope gets odysseuss bow out of the storeroom and announces that she will marry the suitor who can string it and then shoot an arrow. You dogs, you never thought i would any more come back from the land of troy, and because of that you despoiled my household, and forcibly took my serving women to sleep beside you, and sought to win my wife while i was still alive, fearing neither the immortal gods who hold the wide heaven, nor any resentment. On mount olympus, athena meets with the other godsall except poseidonto make another appeal on behalf of odysseus.
Book i athena inspires the prince sing to me of the man, muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of troy. The poem is commonly dated to between 800 and 600 bc. All of the other men were angered by antinooss death, and looked around for. Briefly, the odyssey consists of two distinct poems. In the spring semester, 2011, mendelsohns 81yearold father jay, a retired research scientist and mathematics professor asked to audit his undergraduate semester on the odyssey. Summary and analysis book 22 slaughter in the hall summary tearing off his beggar rags, odysseus boldly catapults himself onto the halls threshold, utters a brief prayer to apollo, and fires an arrow straight through a new target. The book ends on a riveting cliffhanger that marks fine storytelling. Agamemnon and achilles argue over who had the better death. For one thing, it maintains the comic and domestic flavor that many critics find characteristic of the odyssey.
Book twentytwo antinous, ringleader of the suitors, is just lifting a drinking cup when odysseus puts an arrow through his throat. See a complete list of the characters in the odyssey and indepth analyses of odysseus, telemachus, penelope, athena, calypso, and circe. Odysseus shoots antinous through the throat just as the suitor is about to take a sip of wine. Now that the battle has ended and the house has been cleaned, good nurse eurycleia scurries up to penelopes quarters to tell her all that has happened. Death in the great hall character traits selflessness run then, while i hold them off with arrows as long as the arrows last. If i could suggest anything to add to the lesson plan above, i would suggest adding in the reading schedule by day also. Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 book 10 book 11 book 12 book book 14 book 15 book 16 book 17 book 18 book 19 book 20 book 21 book 22 book 23 book 24 themes all themes fate, the gods, and free will piety, customs, and justice cunning, disguise, and selfrestraint memory and grief glory and honor. Other difficulties will also disappear as soon as the development of the poem in the writers mind is understood.
In order to access these resources, you will need to sign in or register for the website takes literally 1 minute. Zeus finally dispatches hermes to inform calypso that she must release odysseus from her island. Before the suitors realize what is happening, odysseus shoots a second arrow through the throat of antinous. He proceeds to tell the phaeacians stories of his long and arduous journey since the fall of troy. Eurymachos begs for odysseus to have mercy on the rest of the suitors, now that hes killed the worst of them that would be antinoos. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. Odysseus leaps out of his rags and begins to shoot arrows at the suitors.
Odysseus him with an arrow to the throat while hes drinking wine. They see the suitors coming in and ask how so many noble young men met their end. The telegony aside, the last 548 lines of the odyssey, corresponding to book 24, are believed by many scholars to have been added by a slightly later poet. Among these i would especially call attention to one on xxii. For example, even if you say, read excerpt from book 1 in lit book andor read excerpt from book 9 in lit book. Pylos when ithaca character analysis telemachus he helps his father in battling the suitors and obeys his orders, expressing the similarities between the father and son. Homer author, robert fagles translator, bernard knox introduction 4.
The sirens, scylla and charybdis, the cattle of the sun after we were clear of the river oceanus, and had got out into the open sea, we went on till we reached the aeaean island. The poet invokes the muse to help him tell the story of odysseus. Realizing that their weapons are gone, the suitors scatter. The suitors look around for arms but cannot find any weapons. A father, a son, and an epic is an immensely satisfying and deeply moving memoir of a sons search for his father.
For instance, when he addressed the assembly telemachus held a staff, which indicated that it was his turn to speak. Odysseus finally reveals himself, and the suitors become terrified. In the twentysecond book of homers odyssey, odysseus begins his battle with the suitors. As we begin book 22 of the odyssey, odysseus holds his bow and arrow, rips off his beggar rags, and stands in front of the suitors, who are. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major themes and. Homers epic poem the odyssey tells the story of odysseus, greek hero of the trojan war. Summary tearing off his beggar rags, odysseus boldly catapults himself onto the halls threshold, utters a brief prayer to apollo, and fires an arrow straight t. The basic form of narrative in the odyssey is very strongly oriented towards imagery. This reflects his training and experience as a military leader, as he was able to assess, strategize, and follow through. The odyssey penguin classics deluxe edition reprint edition, kindle.
He praises telemachus for stepping into his fathers shoes, noting that this occasion marks the first time that the assembly has been called since odysseus left. When all are gone and im alone they can dislodge me. When the nurse told penelope that her husband had finally returned home, penelope didnt believe her. The odyssey by homer book 22 summary and analysis youtube. We learn that poseidon, god of the sea, holds a grudge though we dont know exactly why against odysseus and is making the guys voyage home a pretty difficult one. New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars. The odyssey books 1617 summary the odyssey by homer books 1617 summary and analysis.
When the assembly meets the next day, aegyptius, a wise ithacan elder, speaks first. Be sure you recall the details of the battle to vanquish the usurpers and more by taking this quiz over book 22 of the odyssey from enotes. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the odyssey, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The fighting of book 22 is the only pitched battle in the odyssey, and while it cannot help but recall the iliad, which abounds in bloodshed, the description remains thoroughly odyssean. The lasting image of father and son, armed and bent on exacting their revenge, compels the readerand the. The suitors are confused and believe this shooting to be an accident. As much as penelope would like to believe that her husband has returned and vanquished the suitors, she is cautious and goes to the great. The odyssey book 23 notes the nurse went upstairs to tell penelope that odysseus had finally returned home. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The closest the greeks came to the gods, one could argue, was through their writers for they, too, had complete control over their characters, and none had it. These free notes consist of about 95 pages 28,479 words and contain.
Hermes leads the souls of the suitors, crying like bats, into hades. I have repeated several of the illustrations used in. Brought almost to tears by his own indignation, he throws this to the ground after he has chastised the people for not coming to the aid of their kings family. The odyssey books 2122 summary the odyssey by homer books 2122 summary and analysis. Theres nothing better than when deep joy holds sway throughout the realm and banqueters up and down the palace sit in ranks, enthralled to hear the bard, and before them all, the tables heaped with bread and meats, and drawing wine.
The odyssey by homer book 24 summary and analysis youtube. Before anyone could realise what is happening, odysseus shoots a second arrow through the throat of antinous. The odyssey is one of the two major ancient greek epic poems the other being the iliad, attributed to the poet homer. I am going to work from a lit book next year and i think it has excerpts too. They have no way out, since philoetius has locked the front door and eumaeus has. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. As we begin book 22 of the odyssey, odysseus holds his bow and arrow, rips off his beggar rags, and stands in front of the suitors, who are taken completely by surprise. Consider a representative example, from when odysseus praises alcinous bard. Book 22 concludes the greek epic cycle, though fragments remain of the alternative ending of sorts known as the telegony. The author, daniel mendelsohn, is a classics professor at bard college in new york. The odyssey paperback deckle edge, november 1, 1997. Eurymachos begs for odysseus to have mercy on the rest of the suitors. The odyssey book 22 notes odysseus took aim at antinoos, who was drinking from a goblet and not thinking of bloodshed.