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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The other classic epic by Homer. It follows Odysseus' voyage home after the Trojan War, battling sirens, cyclopes, and other challenges; leading to his vengeance against the suitors trying to claim his wife for their own.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Better than the Iliad by far
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Murder
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
L'ho sempre studiato e non l'ho mai letto interamente e in ordine...se po' fa? NO. Voglio rimediare.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I reread The Odyssey last month, pacing it out at a book per day. I first read Homer's epic in the E.V. Riu translation when I was in grade school, and I've continued to reread it in each decade of my life. It has been more than fifteen years since I last read the poem, in Robert Fagles' translation that time. This rereading helped me appreciate the emphasis Homer makes on the fundamental humanity of Odysseus. He is far more an agent of his fate rather than the victim to his fate as human characters in the Iliad are.
In the intervening years, I had forgotten how the early books almost exclusively focus on Telemachus and how much other writers and artists have emphasized moments from the Odyssey: Polyphemus' cave, Calypso's island, Scylla & Charybdis, even Penelope's weaving, that are often only briefly sketched. The episode with Polyphemus does reinforce that Odysseus' intelligence takes him through this journey as much as the help of Athena or Zeus. The characterization of Odysseus as a rapacious man who takes what he wants along the journey was also a different lens for this reading. The fate of his crew after consuming Helios' cattle and the contrast between how Odysseus is a guest vs. the suitors' violation of hospitality underlines some of these cultural touchstones.
One of my friends noted that different elements of the poem suggest post-traumatic stress from the Trojan War and subsequent journey, and I found that a new way to look at this text. The crowning violence of Odysseus against the suitors is Homer's finest action sequence, and I found Lombardo's translation to be incredibly readable.
In the intervening years, I had forgotten how the early books almost exclusively focus on Telemachus and how much other writers and artists have emphasized moments from the Odyssey: Polyphemus' cave, Calypso's island, Scylla & Charybdis, even Penelope's weaving, that are often only briefly sketched. The episode with Polyphemus does reinforce that Odysseus' intelligence takes him through this journey as much as the help of Athena or Zeus. The characterization of Odysseus as a rapacious man who takes what he wants along the journey was also a different lens for this reading. The fate of his crew after consuming Helios' cattle and the contrast between how Odysseus is a guest vs. the suitors' violation of hospitality underlines some of these cultural touchstones.
One of my friends noted that different elements of the poem suggest post-traumatic stress from the Trojan War and subsequent journey, and I found that a new way to look at this text. The crowning violence of Odysseus against the suitors is Homer's finest action sequence, and I found Lombardo's translation to be incredibly readable.