Category: Homer

Introduction

Homer refers to both Odysseus and Penelope as wise. They both showed great wisdom in their own ways. Throughout the novel, both Odysseus and his wife Penelope proved their wisdom. But in order to find which one of them both was wiser than the other, I will discuss both the characters individually.

Odysseus

Odysseus is a man of great stature. He is an incredibly large and strong individual. Penelope gives all the suitors the test of using Odysseus’ hunting bow to shoot an arrow “through iron ax-helve sockets, twelve inline” (937). They all fail and none of them “can even bend [the hunting bow] enough to string it” (937). When Odysseus is given the test he “in one motion [strings] the bow. Then [slides] his right hand down the cord and [plucks] it, so the taut gut vibrating hummed and sang a swallow’s note” (939). His strength is not even comparable to any of the suitors. After the test of the arrows, Odysseus shouts out to the suitors, “Your last hour has come. You die in blood” (942).

He then brutally kills every last one of them, with only the help of his son Telemachus, and the swineherd and cowherd. All of this is a great representation of Odysseus’ strength and power. Odysseus’ size is also apparent when he

Many of Odysseus’ traits are honored and respected by the people and society in which he lives. First of all, he’s very clever and resourceful. When trapped by hard situations, he finds a way around them by using his wits. For example, when the Cyclops asks his name he replies, “My name is Nobody: mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me ‘Nohbdy’” (904). He does this in order to trick the Cyclops, so when the Cyclops calls for help, his friends think nobody is harming him and don’t come to his aide. Secondly, Odysseus is an excellent leader. He finds ways to help his men as best he can. Even when he returns to his home in Ithaca twenty years later, many of his men still remember him and respect him. (Brann, 179) When his soldiers discover Odysseus has returned home, they “[throw] their arms around the old soldier, weeping, kissing his head and shoulders” (938).

Finally, Odysseus is recognized as a very intelligent man by many people. The gods realize it enough to be willing to help him on his journey. It’s apparent this because Athena is the goddess of wisdom. To summarize, many of Odysseus’ abilities are very useful and well respected by those around him. (Lamberton, 95)

During his journey, Odysseus uses what he has learned from his mistakes to return home and kill the suitors. On the island of the Cyclones, and with his encounter with Polyp emus, Odysseus learns that bragging can bring damaging circumstances. On Ithaca Odysseus never brags to the suitors and is able to enter his house without the suitors knowing his real identity. He takes the punishment of Antinous and the other suitors without saying a word and is able to observe those who have invaded his house. Odysseus is able to see who is loyal and who is not and take his revenge with the suitors never knowing who he was until the final moment. (Gaunt, 119)

Odysseus also learns to pay close attention to the instructions of the gods, or he might have to face a terrible price. When Odysseus and his crew landed at the island of Areoles, they were given a parting gift that would have helped them greatly if they had paid heed to the warnings of Areoles. He gave Odysseus a bag full of the bad winds that would keep them from their home of Ithaca. Odysseus and his crew were in sight of the homeland they had waited so long to see when a band of rebel crewmen opened the bag creating a great gale that blew them back to Areoles. When Areoles saw this he believed that Odysseus was cursed and banished him from the island.

This is not the only time Odysseus was betrayed by his men and suffered a great price. When they landed on the island of Hyperons, bad winds prevented them from leaving. Food soon became low; and when Odysseus fell asleep, the crew killed the cows of Hyperons against numerous warnings. Hyperons was infuriated to see this and had all of Odysseus’ men killed in a great storm. Odysseus learns that the gods must be respected in order for any man to succeed. (Lamberton, 91)

Odysseus also learns to respect the Gods. When he landed on Aeaea, the island of Circe, he follows the instructions given to him by Hermes so that he can overcome Circe and free his men. Odysseus follows the instructions Circe had given him very closely; entering and leaving Hades without misfortune and using wax in the ears of his crew to pass the Sirens.

Penelope is very loyal to Odysseus right to the where the end of the odyssey as she has lots of suitors and does not pick any or give in to the temptation that is around with the increasing advances of the suitors, they are continually throwing themselves at her in an attempt to make her their bride. However, she does not stray from Odysseus even though he had been gone for 20 years.

The promise that she made to Odysseus that when Telemachus has grown a beard and has become a man, then she will remarry, true to her word she does intend to remarry as she sets out the challenge of the great bow to stall time, also she makes a cloth to morn Odysseus to stall time as well. So Penelope’s relationship with Odysseus is one of love and compaction were, although she still believes him to be alive she is willing to honor the promise she made to him at Telemachus’s birth and remarry when he is a man.

Penelope is always described as being wise or intelligent ‘wise Penelope’ and ‘the great Penelope’ ‘ the cautious Penelope’ this shows that she is like her husband and is cunning and wise, which becomes apparent when she tests Odysseus, to see if it is really him, by asking the nurse to move the great bed in her bedroom. She knows that if this really was Odysseus then he would know that he built it around a tree and it cannot be moved. This shows the cunning and resourcefulness that Odysseus is also known for. Penelope deceives the suitors as she gives them the task of stringing the Great Bow knowing full well that they would not be able to do it. Also, she weaved a tribute to Odysseus and unpicked it at night so that it would take loads of time to complete and would stall time for her to marry one of the suitors.

Conclusion

I have concluded that Odysseus is wiser than Penelope, but Penelope is wise in her own right. She is much wiser than any other woman in other Greek tragedies. Penelope is wise in that she doesn’t give up hope that Odysseus will return. She wisely fights off the suitors and puts them to do a series of tests that she knows only Odysseus can accomplish. Odysseus becomes a better man through his journeys and is able to return to his homeland to restore his name.

Throughout his wanderings for home, Odysseus becomes a humbler and more respectful man. The once boastful man learns that his bragging can bring people against him, and is quieter than before he left for Troy. Odysseus is the model of the worldly, well-traveled, persevering man who overcomes obstacles. He has courage, stamina, and power, but his real strength lies in his brain, which is shrewd, quick-witted, diplomatic, and resourceful.

He is also eloquent and persuasive. He needs all of these qualities to survive and make his way home. His mettle is tested at every turn, either by dangers or temptations to remain in a place. Calypso even offers him immortality, but he is steadfast in his desire to return home. Athena may intercede for him with Zeus and aid and advise him, yet the will to return and the valor in doing so are those of Odysseus alone. The one thing Odysseus found truly unbearable in his travels was stasis, being stranded for seven years, even though he had an amorous nymph for company.

Odysseus’ abilities, skills, importance, and wits make him an epic hero. He makes use of all his skills in order to overcome the hardships he must face. The great action in Odysseus’ adventures makes the story The Odyssey one of the most famous stories or even pieces of literature of all time. To this extent, it’s obvious why The Odyssey has been passed down through so many years and told in so many different forms.

Works Cited

Brann, Eva. Homeric Moments: Clues to Delight in Reading the “Odyssey” and the “Iliad.” Philadelphia: Paul Dry, 2002: 165-180.

Gaunt, D. M., trans. Surge and Thunder: Critical Reading in Homer’s “Odyssey.” London: Oxford University Press, 1971: 112-124.

Lamberton, Robert. Homer the Theologian: Neoplatonist Allegorical Reading and the Growth of the Epic Tradition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986: 87-96.

The journey to the Land of the Dead has had a gradually changing role for each of the poets that have used it. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus ventures to Hades, in Virgil’s The Aeneid, Aeneas goes to Orcus and in Dante’s Inferno, Dante ventures into the realm of Christian Hell. While Dante’s journey into hell serves the almost explicit purpose of painting a picture of the afterlife, Homer and Virgil’s depictions are shorter and reveal a different objective that is reflective of the time period in which they are written. However, each depiction of Hades, Orcus and Hell builds on the previous depiction and shows the poet’s perceptions of divine judgment.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus must travel to Hades in order to seek out information from the Thebian prophet Tiresias. After an already long journey back to Ithaca and many setbacks following the Trojan War, Odysseus is trying to find his way back. Following instructions of a witch-goddess named Circe, on whose island he had previously been living, Odysseus called spirits from Hades in order to get advice. Tiresias foretells Odysseus’ future path back to Ithaca and offers a couple of warnings in order to expedite his travels. Along with Tiresias, his mother, Anticleia, who tells him of her death from grief while awaiting his return, visits Odysseus. Elpenor, a crewman who had died from falling off Circe’s roof, also visits him and begs for a proper burial.

Odysseus also witnesses some of the punishments for the wicked souls in Hades. First is Sisyphus who was the first King of Corinth but was exceedingly deceitful and took pleasure in killing travelers and guests. His punishment in Hades is to repeatedly push a large boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down and have to complete the task again. The second is Tantalus who suffer from a hunger and thirst that can never be satisfied. Tantalus was initially welcomed at Zeus’ table on Mount Olympus, but was banished after stealing from the gods, revealing their secrets to his people and trying to offer his son as a sacrifice in a dinner.

Because of the nature of Homer’s work—its early date and its composition orally—it is often hard to decipher Homer’s words from that of mythological tradition. While the visit from Tiresias furthers the plot, the other visions do not necessarily do the same. For instance, when Odysseus meets Achilles they debate the merits of a short life of glory versus a long life of general anonymity. Odysseus argues of Achilles that “there’s not a man in the world more blest than you— / there never has been, never will be one. / Time was, when you were alive, we Argives / honored you as a god, and now down here, I see, / you lord it over the dead in all your power” (Homer, 11, 547). Wherein Achilles replies that he would “rather slave on earth for another man— / some dirt-poor tenant farmer who scrapes to keep alive— / than rule down here over all the breathless dead” (Homer, 11, 553).

Thus Homer provides a conception of justice in the afterlife that reflects the values of the ancient Greek culture. While those kings and tyrants who were immoral in life and committed atrocities are punished for the rest of eternity, the idea that conquerors are necessarily immoral is rejected. And while Achilles is still hesitant to accept his trade of life for eternal glory, he is a ruler of the underworld and still content to hear that his son has also become a great warrior.

In The Aeneid, Vigil tells of Aeneas who has been chosen by the gods to found a new city that will later become Rome. Aeneas’ trip to Orcus comes in the middle of the epic and is at a turning point in the poem. After reaching Italy Aeneas ventures to Orcus with the guidance of Sibyl of Cumae, a priestess who he meets at the Temple of Apollo. He is able to gain entrance after he finds a golden branch that is a symbol for the gods complicity in his attempt to reach Dis.

The beginning of The Inferno is loosely formatted in the same way as Aeneas’ visit to the underworld. First, he must be ferried across the river Acheron by Charon, the ferryman. In both Aeneas’ and Dante’s case, Charon challenges the visitor because they are still living and therefore would not be allowed to enter hell absent divine command, which both Aeneas and Dante possess. Aeneas observes souls on the bank of the river that are not allowed across on account of an improper burial. Similarly Dante witnesses souls on the banks, however there are slightly more theological reasons for their inability to cross. While the most obvious difference between Virgil’s Orcus and Dante’s Inferno is the Christian aspect (Virgil writing before the time of Christ) the system of justice that is prescribed within Virgil’s version provides some foundation for Dante’s own visions of the Christian Hell.

Moreover, Vigil’s conception of hell represents a bridge between Homer’s version and Dante’s version. While for Dante Christ was the intermediary sent by God to walk the Earth and save mankind, for Homer gods were a much more fluid convention, intervening regularly in human affairs, even to marry or have relations, and interaction between mortal and immortal was more ‘common.’ Warring between gods was commonplace and it was easy to be in the favor of one, while out of favor with another. Virgil’s explanation of Orcus thus presents a view of justice that is more universal, as mortal’s lives are judged based on their conduct while they were on Earth.

As Aeneas ventures into Orcus, he passes the Fields of Mourning and the fields of war heroes, a tribute to the celebrity status of warriors from Homer’s vision. Aeneas also passes Rhadamanthus who listens to the lives of souls who come forward and prescribes the punishments that they will be dealt for the remainder of eternity. This idea advances more than just the system of organization for the underworld; it is the foundation for the system of divine justice that fairly doles out levels of torture based on actions in life. Further into Orcus, Aeneas finds the Blessed Groves where his father is. This is Virgil’s equivalent of the Christian heaven and is where the good go to enjoy contentment after death. Aeneas’ father, Anchises, explains the significance of his journey and foreshadows the founding of the city of Rome that will one day rule the world. Thus, while still only a part of the epic that eventually advances the plot, the adventure to the underworld also provides a commentary on the afterlife by Virgil.

For Dante, the Virgil conception of the afterlife may not have been incompatible with his own Christian conception. When visiting the first ring of hell, known as limbo, Dante observes that the souls there are the ones that were not believers in life. However, prior to Christ’s death, this was also the place where Moses, Noah and other God-ordained Old Testament characters were sent. Then, upon Christ’s resurrection, he gathered those souls to be taken into heaven.

Dante’s epic is fundamentally different from The Aeneid and The Odyssey because the focus is on providing a framework for how souls are judged after death. Thus, while the conceptions of the underworld are tangential in the previous epics, Dante is focused on the transformation of his own views during the journey. Dante highlights his own compassion for the mortal soul that morphs as he establishes a universal conception of justice, with the help of his guide Virgil. In The Inferno, Dante is taken by Virgil on a journey through the underworld where he witnesses nine concentric rings of hell where the punishments and torture get progressively worse as the sins committed by the inhabitants get progressively worse: from the Upper Hell of self-indulgent sins, to violent sins, and finally to rings eight and nine of malicious sins.

Dante’s rings of hell provide a system of punishment that is proportional to the sins committed, rather than each sin being equal and receiving the same punishment. This vision offers an idea of a detached God that evaluates the mortal life based on a system of rules. Thus, as Dante’s understanding of the degree of the violation to God’s will each ring presumes, and with the guidance of Virgil, the character becomes less and less sympathetic to the suffering of the souls in hell.

As Dante ventures into hell Ulysses, Odysseus in the Greek, makes an appearance in the eighth circle. The eighth circle is reserved for malicious sins and Odysseus is relegated here because of the fraud perpetrated on the Trojans. In order to defeat Troy the Achaeans left a horse as a gift for the Trojans and then feigned sailing away. Once the horse was brought into the city, Achaean soldiers, hidden in the horse, broke out in the middle of the night and ransacked the city.

While scholars attribute several reasons for Dante to put Odysseus so deep within hell such as his reverence to Rome, the most consistent reason is Dante’s strict adherence to Christian morality. As witnessed in The Aeneid there has been a slow discounting of the absolute glory of warfare. Homer highlights the celebrity status of warriors in The Illiad that is then mildly contested in The Odyssey with the conversation between Achilles and Odysseus. In The Aeneid Virgil writes “Roman, remember by your strength to rule / Earth’s peoples—for your arts are to be these: / To pacify, to impose the rule of law, / To spare the conquered, battle down the proud,” (Virgil, VI, 1151) as a taming of the warrior ethic. In The Inferno this is tempered even more by placing the great Greek hero Odysseus in a high ring of hell as a result of his immoral means of warfare.

The journey to the Land of the Dead has played varying roles throughout the history of the epic, but through its use one can see the evolving idea of the underworld. From Homer to Virgil to Dante conceptions of divine justice become more solidified and the celebration of war heroes becomes more limited. Each depiction of Hades, Orcus or Hell builds on the previous version that culminates in the Christian Hell in The Inferno, solidifying the underlying themes and moral structures in each of the previous works.

Works Cited

Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Print

Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Viking Penguin, 2006. Print.

The term “epic” has been infused so strongly into modern culture that it has become a nearly pointless concept. However, in the literary tradition, epic still remains in its due place. When seeking examples of epic, one must consider Homer’s “Iliad” as the most accurate one since it meets the definition precisely. Namely, since epic suggests a confrontation between people and gods, the conflict lying at the core of the “Iliad” can be considered a marker of an epic. Indeed, upon considering the poem, one will realize that not only people but also gods participate in the Trojan war (Homer, Iliad, Book III, Line 190; Whissell, 2019).

Specifically, gods such as Zeus and goddesses such as Hera and Athena actively participated in the initiation and fate of the Trojan war (Homer, Iliad, Line 200). For instance, Hera attempts to deceive Zeus into turning against the Trojans (Homer, Iliad, Book XIV, Line 190). Remarkably, the main antagonist of the poem is represented by a mortal, namely, Paris Alexandros (Homer, Iliad, Book III, Line 19; Whissell, 2019). The overall scale of the conflict and the involvement of gods are the key characteristics making the “Iliad” an epic in its traditional sense.

However, it would be wrong to believe that the concept of epic as a literary genre no longer exists in the modern world. Arguably, traditional heroes and the epic telling about their adventures have been replaced with the superhero narrative, such as in the movie “Wonder Woman.” Indeed, the similarities are quite striking since it also centers around a hero who is expected to astound the audience with his deeds (Sanchez, 2020).

Granted that the Ancient Greek understanding of a hero did not necessarily include a moral dimension, which has been regarded as essential for the present-day hero narrative, the movie in question also features the juxtaposition of gods and mortals while being set in the context of a global conflict, namely, WWI. Therefore, having been elevated to the status of stories that adults can enjoy watching, comic book epic narratives have replaced the traditional literary concept of an epic.

References

Homer. (n.d.). Iliad. (W. Cowper, Trans.). Project Gutenberg.

Sanchez, M. P. (2020). Monstrous heroes, epic monsters: A contemporary graphic adaptation of Beowulf. Journal of Comparative Literature and Aesthetics, 43(4), 79-89.

Whissell, C. (2019). According to their emotional plots, the Iliad is most likely tragic while the Odyssey is not. Athens Journal of Philology, 6(1), 53-64.

The lliad, a masterpiece written by Homers, tells the story of a ten-year war in the plains surrounding Troy (llium). The war, which was fought by an alliance of Greek kings and the people of troy, began with an attack on troy to avenge the insults done to the king of Sparta when his wife ran off with the then prince of troy.

On the other hand, The Aeneid, written by Virgil, is a Latin epic poem, which tells of the story of Aeneas, the ancestor of the Romans. This article compares and contrasts two characters, Hera and Juno, of The IIiad and The Aeneid respectively in an attempt to demonstrate the change of Mediterranean culture.

Hera was the Goddess of fertility and women and sister to Zeus, the Greek king of the Gods. She is described as being jealous of Zeus’ lovers. In most places, she is described as being vengeful (Fagles, 2006, p.45).

She is also described as a hater of Trojans who always sides with the Greeks expressing uttermost hate and resentment for Paris. Her hate for Paris originates from his decision to name Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddesses in Greece leaving her out. He later married Helen who is described as the most beautiful woman in the world at his time (Fagles, 2006, p.47).

In Virgil’s epic, The Aeneid, Juno, the goddess, resented the Trojan people. She is described as being “wrathful because she was not chosen to judge Paris and because the descendants of Aeolus would presumably destroy her favorite city of Carthage” (Fagles, & Knox, 1990, p.31).

Her hatred for the Trojans was also increased by the fact that a Trojan known as Ganymede had replaced her daughter Hebe as the cupbearer of her husband Jupiter (Fagles, & Knox, 1990, p.31). She tries to bribe one of the Gods to prevent the Trojan fleet headed to Italy from reaching. She achieves this in a storm.

The two women represent two ages of the Mediterranean culture with distinct differences and similarities. For the case of Hera, her husband Zeus supports the Trojans because his mortal son is a hero in Trojan while Hera hates the Trojans (Fagles, 2006, p.24). These gods find themselves therefore in two opposing sides in the Trojan War. They follow it faithfully at times interfering in the battlefield to support their sides.

The war threatens to cause domestic wars in the family with Zeus cautious not to support the Trojans against the Greeks. Hera, on the other side, is secretly supporting the Greeks, and puts an idea in Achillleus’s mind to assemble the army in the war (Fagles, 2006, p.36). Athene however stops him from killing Agamemnon by holding his hair and advising him to abuse him verbally.

The two goddesses demonstrate a common Mediterranean culture in the two eras in which they existed. The role of families, unions, honor, and duty are distinctly portrayed with family bonds being put to the test. The women take a stand in weighty matters that opposes that of their husbands due to different reasons.

This demonstrates that the Mediterranean culture remained the same in these eras with only a change in the characters and situations involved. For Hera, she displays a jealous character that is consistent with most goddesses at the time, and she goes a step farther to protect her interests and family from even her husband (Fagles, 2006, p.24).

Both of them are cautious in dealing with matters sensitive to the family. They prefer using secretive means to achieve their desires while at the same time maintaining their family bonds. None of them is described to challenge their husband directly with the most effective method of challenge being the use of other Gods and mortal men.

Juno was against the Romans. She did all she could to prevent Aeneas’s victory, which she did not achieve (Fagles, & Knox, 1990, p.38). She is however successful in one front by delaying the Aeneas in their journey, but accidentally kills people she supported in the war. She also interferes with Aena’s life to achieve her personal political interests. This is characteristic of her, as she is described as making Dido a victim of her schemes and uses Allecto, an underworld power, to vanquish her enemies (Fagles, & Knox, 1990, p.67).

She does this with the help of her colleague Juturna. Juno is described as being stubborn and always plotting evil plans against the Trojans. She however tells her husband to take her three favorite cities to crush them without her defense. She does this to convince her husband that there is no enmity between them to serve as an example for other gods. In this claim, she invokes her father Saturn and claims that it is an honor to be among the gods.

This demonstrates the Greeks love and value for family at the time and the importance of family roots. It also demonstrates the position of women in the society at the time with her description being that of a strong willed dedicated ruler though at the same time a merciless god with the desire to see her intentions through.

Hera, on the other hand, is a loving mother with deep respect for her husband besides her overprotection for her family. She is jealous at the children that her husband Zeus has with other women. She advises her children not to interact with them. She also claims that these children have no right over her own to inherit their father’s estates and powers. This demonstrates a change in the Mediterranean culture over the family relationships and value for children, the value of monogamy, and close family ties.

In the Greek era, Hera is described as being the queen of all the other gods and one who is responsible for the unity of the Olympians. She is also the god of marriage, family, and childbirth with most people praying to her for unity and fertility.

On the other hand, Juno, the Roman equivalent of Hera, is the queen of all the other gods at the time. She is the leader and patron of the army who commands all the soldiers in the land (Fagles, & Knox, 1990, p.31). She is more vigilant and violent compared to Hera with a more active role in virtually all the wars taking place in the land.

Women in the Roman times are portrayed as being patriotic to their country. They played a central role in decision making indicating a change from Greeks’ culture where women influenced only those in their families and close relatives. The Mediterranean region is therefore under transition in the two periods with the gods playing a vital role in this case.

In the two challenging eras in the history of the Mediterranean era, honor is challenged with both instances showing differing levels of loyalty. For the Greek era, Hera is described as showing honor for her children though she denies the same to her husband by supporting his rivals. In the Roman times, Juno does the same. She openly criticizes her husband besides working against his interests.

In their reign as gods, Hera and Juno have similar actions even though their lives are 800 years apart. It is therefore difficult to demonstrate any significant difference between the Greeks and the Romans. In Hera’s time, the Greeks had built up cities and segregated themselves with many of them having kings ruling over them. These brought about conflicts amongst themselves and frequently required the intervention of their gods.

However, they are described to unite against a common enemy as they did against the kingdom of troy. The gods here took sides and even risked breaking family ties with most of them doing it against their husbands and relatives’ wills. In the Roman time, there is unity with only one ruler over them. Similar to the Greeks, the Roman gods also had split opinions and ideas on the wars being fought. This demonstrates the similarities between the two times.

In conclusion, the Mediterranean culture at two different times is explored through two characters, Hera and Juno, who lived at different times with a space of about 800 years between them. In both eras, there is a similarity in the characters of the two goddesses existing in the city-state based Greeks’ period and the Roman Empire, which had united centuries later.

Both periods in the Mediterranean are turbulent with family ties being challenged by the differing loyalties. There is little change in attitudes towards honor, duty, and family based on the different characters of Hera and Juno used to demonstrate this inference.

Reference List

Fagles, R., & Knox, B. (1990). The Iliad. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Viking.

Fagles, R. (2006). The Aeneid. New York: Viking.

“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading”, as quoted by James Boswell, is a very true statement indeed. It is often said that the best way to express oneself is through writing. A writer expresses himself or herself in the form of written text, which may be his or her own output or, in some cases an influence from other sources. A writer automatically shares a typical trait of being a voracious reader. The maximum number of thoughts that a writer gets come from reading various books and other writings.

The more a writer reads, the more novel thoughts he acquires from them. Sometimes it is immense fun to read other’s writings. “The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write, a man will turn over half a library to make one book” (Samuel Johnson, 82). The amount of material a writer desires to have so as to create a text comes largely from the various materials the writer reads. Many writers borrow foreign ides and words and turn it into a new and revised text, which they publish under their name. Without reading other texts, its nearly difficult and, if one may say so, impossible to write a brand new, genuine piece of writing. It’s only with the aid of sample writings and others that one can collect the required amount of matter for his/her work.

Nonetheless, there are several writers who jot down their own words to create a piece of work, unlike those who tend to get influenced. They make an effort to think and visualize and finally create a genuine writing. Apart from these two, there are those, who make use of both the gift and the borrowing and the influence factor. Part of their work piece is real, or we can say their own. And, part of it is maybe plagiarized or borrowed with a few changes here and there. Such writers also make use of the habit of reading as much as they can. The reason being, they don’t want to put an effort into making use of their own brainpower, they don’t want to think and create a new idea or thought.

When it comes time to write, because I’ve read so much, the words come so much easier to me. I think regularly reading good authors spurs your brain to begin naturally recognizing familiar ways of wording things and arranging ideas. (Jesse, The easiest way to become a writer)

The major beauty behind any writing is the degree of genuineness it holds. The more genuine a writing is, the more it will be admired and appreciated by the readers. The best way to produce such a work is to give your mind an exercise, think and write. On the other hand, reading should be done only to learn new things and ideas, but not to borrow them and include them in one’s own work. Desperate writers must beware and try to induce a genuineness factor in their writings. Only then will the real writer in them, come out. “Whenever someone younger asks me for advice in writing, I always say ‘Read!’ because that will teach you what good writing is like, and you will recognize bad writing too.” (George Beahm)

Writing is not everybody’s cup of tea. So, its better to quit than to create a mixture of different writings, which may be admired once, but later, it will be difficult to create another piece. One, who is real and original, will prevail, and one who is not so, may prevail for some time, but will soon perish into oblivion. The best way to serve readers is through original writing. And, the best way to learn from other books is to retain one’s originality, while learning new ideas.

Works Cited Page

Samuel Johnson. The Well Crafted Argument. Houghton Mifflin, 2008.

George Beahm. Muggles and Magic: An Unofficial Guide to J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon, Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2006.

Jesse. The Easiest Way to Become a Writer. 2008. Web.

Historical background

The Iliad by Homer is more of myth art than factual historical happening. It considered as has a great Greece mythology. It is known to have contributed greatly to the western civilization (Kershaw 34). More often, the Iliad is referred to as the Song of Ilion. It is an ancient Greek poem and its setting is on the Trojan War in which the Troy city was blockaded for 10 years. Troy is a union of several Greeks states. The poem seeks to illustrate on the battles between Agamemnon the King and the warriors Achilles.

The famous Iliad poem is one of the oldest literatures in the western nations. Actually, no one can exactly tell the precise time during which the poem was written. Little is known concerning its author. Some books assert that the composition is dated back to around 8 century BC. However, current statistical models grounded on language evolution indicate that the literature was written between 760 and 710 BC.

The literature is made up of about 15693 verse lines and is written in Homeric, which is a Greek language that emerged from a combination of Greek and other dialects. The Iliad poem only covers a brief final week of the Trojan War. Homer’s works have influenced several poets such as Shakespeare, Milton, and Chaucer over centuries. Over 2700 years the Iliad has remained the greatest war story in the West.

The summary of the book

It is notable that Iliad myth has undergone several changes over centuries. The original Homer’s story has been greatly interfered and readers should be careful while reading it. The Iliad story begins at almost the end of the Trojan War during besiege by the Greeks (Fagles & Bernard 3). We encounter a cleric by the name Chryses who gives out some possessions to the Greeks in exchange for her daughter, Cheryseis, who had been imprisoned by Agamemnon. Agamemnon was the Greek leader. Unfortunately, Agamemnon rejects the offer.

Thereafter, Chryseis prays to Apolo who sends plaques to devour the Greek army. Later, Achilles the leader of Myridon calls a meeting to find a solution to the plaques. The pressure of the plaques forces Agamemnon to release Chryseis and takes Achilles Breseis as compensation (Lombardo 57). The Odysseus takes Chryseis via ship to her father. Thereafter, Achilles and his men declare not to fight anymore for Agamemnon and retreats to their homes. Apolo ends the plaque when Chryseis reunites with her father.

Later, Achilles requests his mother, Thetis, to negotiate for the intervention of the Trojans from the hands of Eam Zeus. Zeus agrees and through a dream, he urges Agamemnon to attack the city. Agamemnon accepts the plea; however, he hesitates to test Greek army’s morale.

The plan fails and it takes the intervention of the Odysseus who confronts and beats the ordinary soldiers. This leads to the deployment of companies by the Greeks onto the Trojan plain. King Priam soldiers attend the occasion. On the plains, they meet with the Greeks.

Before the armies approached each other, Paris terminates the war. In turn, he fights a duel with Menelaus as suggested by his brother who was the leader of the Trojan army. Both rivals agree to respect the outcomes of the duel fight. Paris is defeated and later Aphoride rescues him and takes him to bed before being killed by Menelaus. Later, a war broke out forcing the heroes as well as the commanders such as Hector to join the battle. During the battle, many Greeks are killed.

My perspective and understanding

After reading and analyzing this narrative, I can affirm that the author’s story has changed my perspective and understanding of the Iliad poetic works. The informal narrators have passed down some of the stories focused by the book over from generation to generation (Powell 26). Some authors have written books based on these storytellers’ understandings. Notably, these books are not reliable as they depend on here say. Compared to these books, the above narrative provided me with facts.

The author supports his narratives with several historical and archeological evidences. For instance, he asserts that the epics were composed at around 650 to 750 BC in Mycenaean, Greece. Equally, the author asserts that the Greece Bronze Age witnessed several great kingdoms. This account is supported the archeologist by the name Heinrich who discovered the ruins of the Troy city.

Recommendations to students

I recommend this book to other students because it is rich of literature. This implies that students can learn a lot from it. Over the years, the book has inspired several writers and poets. Even the scholars find the story of the Iliad by Homer very outstanding (Carter 45). They believe that the oral poetries contained in the book are useful for all readers.

It builds the student skill of narrating of the poetry. Similarly, the book offers a deeper understanding of literature to students. In addition, the book expands the understanding about poetry enabling them to think broadly when analyzing poems and related arts.

Works Cited

Carter, Maureen. A layman’s guide to the poet Homer. Athens: Efstathiadis Group, 1998. Print.

Fagles, Robert, and Bernard Knox. The Iliad. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Viking, 1990. Print.

Kershaw, Stephen. A brief guide to the Greek myths. London: Robinson, 2007. Print.

Lombardo, Stanley. The essential Homer : selections from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2000. Print.

Powell, Barry B.. Homer. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2004. Print.

Introduction

The literature is the reflection of the people’s history, feelings, and thoughts. The Iliad by Homer, the Ancient Greek author, is one of the outstanding works in the world literature. It is devoted to the period of the Greek-Trojan War and narrates about the heroic battles between the Greeks and the Trojans. The aim of this essay is to summarize the plot of The Iliad and to analyze it.

The Historical Background Of The Work

The Iliad is the masterpiece of the Antique literature. Homer, the legendary Greek author write it. According to the legend, Homer was blind. However, he is considered to be the author of the greatest literary works of Ancient Time. The Iliad is the oldest literature masterpiece on Earth.

It is written in the genre of the epic poem and narrates about the period of the Bronze Age. The theme of the Greek-Trojan War is the central one in the poem. According to the legend, the war started around 1200 BC, when Helen, the wife of the Greek king Menelaus, ran away to her lover Paris, a son of the Trojan king (“The Trojan War” n.pag.).

The Summary Of The Book

The Iliad is based on Greek mythology. “Many of the Iliad’s themes center around war, warriors, and their characteristics such as valor and duty, but there are abundant other rich threads including humor, aging, love, and lust” (Jordan n.pag.).

The poem narrates the Greek military campaign to conquer Troy. The unfaithfulness of Helen, the wife of Menelaus, becomes the casus belli and the Greek army led by Agamemnon makes their way to Troy. Achilles is the bravest and the most violent among the Greeks. The Trojan army is led by Hector, a son of the Trojan king Priam. In one of the battles, Patroclus, the best friend of Achilles, dies.

Achilles convenes regiment to avenge on Trojans. He kills Hector in the battle. He ties the body of Hector to his chariot and carries it across the field several times. Priam goes to Achilles to ask him to humble his anger and to give back the body of his son for burial. In the end, Achilles thinks about his father and makes the concessions.

The Critical Analysis

It is the epic poem not only about the Gods, but it is about the heroes, the sons of the ordinary people. Undoubtedly, this fact makes The Iliad stand out among the Ancient Greek legends. It has influenced my perception of Ancient history, essentially.

I will recommend reading the poem to everyone eager to know more about Antique mythology and history. “The Iliad is essential to read and understand for any student of the classics, and the book has many fine qualities: poetic language, brave warriors, interfering immortals, strong and caring friendships, and exciting battle scenes” (“The Iliad” n.pag.).

Conclusion

To sum up, all the above mentioned, it should be said that The Iliad by Homer is the outstanding literary work of the Antique period. It represents the genre of the epic poem and describes the events of the Greek-Trojan war. The poem is also interesting from the standpoint of Greek mythology and culture. It is one of the greatest masterpieces of world literature, which is worthy of reading for everyone.

Works Cited

Jordan, Herbert. “The Major Themes in The Iliad”. Iliadtranslation.com. 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2013.

“The Iliad”. Commonsensemedia.org. 2013. Web. 7 Dec. 2013.

“The Troyan War”. Stanford.edu. n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013.

The Iliad is the oldest surviving monument of ancient Greek literature, an epic poem ascribed to distinguished poet Homer, which describes the events and battles of the ten-year Trojan War. Although the plot mostly narrates several weeks in the last year of the war, The Iliad has various allusions to the many Greek legends about the siege and the astonishing exploits of ancient heroes. Moreover, the poem has a sublime, monumental character inherent to the heroic epic, and has many domestic, fabulous, and fantastic features.

It is written in hexameter (about 15,700 verses) and divided into 24 songs. The poet himself remains objective in all episodes of the story, glorifying the valor and courage of both the Trojans and the Greeks. Besides, he is omniscient because he describes actions related to events both on earth and in heaven, both in the Trojan palace and in the Achaean camp.

Most epics are usually opened by an invocation to some supernatural power. In this regard, The Iliad begins with reference to gods and goddesses when the poet appeal to the aid of a muse to narrate this story successfully. The reason for the Trojan War, according to The Iliad, was related to Aphrodite’s revenge and erotic passion for Paris, the Trojan prince, who rejected her sympathy. Thus, the action takes place in two planes, namely, human and divine.

Furthermore, the poem contains a considerable number of gods and goddesses, including Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Thetis, Deimos, among others, playing an active and chief role in human fates and the course of the war. For example, to decide the fortune of a hero or a duel, sometimes Zeus takes the scales and throws on them the lot of heroes, Hector and Achilles, and two troops, Trojan and Achaean. Finally, the story involves human descendants of gods and goddesses, the most prominent among which is Achilles, the son of the nymph Thetis.

Achilles is a central hero in the poem and possesses superhuman strength, agility, and courage, as well as an almost invulnerable body that can only be hurt in the heel. Achilles’s supernatural abilities reveal when burning with a vengeance for Patroclus’s murder, he rushed into battle and drove the entire Trojan troops to the city walls alone. Achilles even fights against the river god Scamander who has become annoyed that Achilles is dirtying his waters with the killed people.

Introduction

Realism is one of the most important writing styles that entails bringing out characters in literary works as close to human beings as possible in terms of their character as well as behavior in day to day life. This method has been applied by several great writers, such as Homer, among them. Major themes in The Iliad by Homer spun around Achilles who is considered as the greatest fighter and warrior in the Achaean army.

Analysis

The author uses Achilles as a bold character for building all the major themes in the poem; hence he is the most realistic character in The Iliad. From the text, Achilles is presented as a character with a lot of rage and anger, a pattern of behavior common for many people in the real world. As Agamemnon, commander-in-chief of the Achaean Army exchanged harsh words with Achilles, the king declared to take Breseis who was Achilles’ prize away.

The King’s words triggered Achilles’ anger, and the warrior thought, “Should he draw out the sharp sword on his thigh, incite the crowd, kill Atreus’ son, or suppress his rage, control his fury? As he argued in his mind and heart, he slid his huge sword part way from its sheath” (Homer 210). However, due to the intervention of Athena who had to descend from heaven to make Achilles calm down from his rage, the fight did not happen.

The author brings out Achilles’ rage so clearly because he got angry because of Agamemnon’s words to a point where he went for his sword, ready for a fight. Anger is a negative human emotion, and many people when they are angry start fighting to deal shortly with the person who made them angry. As the author describes the anger of Achilles, the character becomes more real for it is common that people engage in fights as a way to express their anger.

A very important part of humanity is love, which is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. Everyone who loves feels good if he/she is loved in return. Love is a part of survival instinct as a means to bring people together, hence promoting the continuation of human species. Achilles’ realistic nature as a character is evident when the author shows how much he loved the girl, Breseis. King Agamemnon sent his men to Achilles’ hut to bring him Breseis; as well he offered Achilles to give the girl himself (Homer 360).

Achilles chose the send option, he led Breseis out of the hut and gave her to the king’s messengers, but he did so against his will. And after that, he sat by the shore and stared at the sea with his eyes full of tears (Homer 350). The fact that Achilles cried after giving away the girl is a clear sign of love. Achilles loved Breseis, and that’s why the warrior was so emotional, such behavior is so conspicuous in humans. It is common for people who love to express their emotions in such a way, especially after losing the beloved done as this is a part of humanity that cannot be removed or overlooked.

Being able to fall in love and expressing one’s grief reinforce the fact that Achilles is the most realistic character in the poem as he has the same emotions and feelings as real human beings have. Achilles also loved his mother very much. The author reveals to us that after losing the girl, Achilles went to his mother and explained to her everything as he wept (Homer 390). Filial love is the love a child feels towards his/her parents, and this type of love is shown in Achilles because the first person he went to for assistance when troubled was his mother.

Achilles is also depicted in the poem as a religious person despite his anger and rage. This is evident as after releasing Breseis to Agamemnon’s messengers, the pain on his heart was so great that he lifted his hands and cried loud several times as he was praying to his mother, Thetis (Homer 350). Achilles felt alone, and the best answer he had at the moment was to seek assistance from the gods.

Knowing the relationship between his mother and Zeus, the main god, he asked his mother to talk to Zeus so that he may have regained his honor. (Homer 410). Religion includes beliefs and cultural systems that are very much related to humanity. Through religion, humans believe in the existence of supreme beings from whom we seek assistance when in trouble. In the ancient Greek world, as shown in The Iliad, gods and goddesses are present in people’s everyday lives, and people (mortals) honor the gods and expect to get favors in return.

The author presents people’s belief in a supreme being not only as a theme in the poem but also as a part of Achilles’ character. This emulates our real everyday life as humans making Achilles a more realistic character in the poem while reading the poem. Being religious and god-fearing, Achilles obeyed Athena’s words when she stopped him from fighting Agamemnon and returned the sword in its scabbard. (Homer 240).

Conclusion

The characteristics seen in Achilles are more or less evident in a lot of people, and the author uses Achilles to show human nature. Human nature refers to the ways humans naturally think, feel, and act. Human happiness is strongly related to having close friends, family and, most importantly, a partner. The urge to have a partner is very strong in humans. From this paper, the characteristic feature of humans to be able to love is seen in Achilles as he clearly loved Breseis and his mother.

This paper also shows Achilles’ anger as he got angry to a point of fighting Agamemnon despite the fact that Agamemnon was his king. Many people would be equally angry if put in the same position. This adds on to the thought that Achilles is the most realistic character in the poem. As shown earlier in this paper, humans tend to believe in some Supreme Being, and it results in creating some religion. The paper shows how Achilles prayed to Zeus when troubled, meaning he believed in Gods just as other humans do. This paper depicts Achilles having attributes that make him more human hence more realistic than the other characters in the poem

Works Cited

Fisher, Helen. Why We Love: The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2004. Print.

Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Chapman. Hertforshire: Wordsworth Editions. 2003. Print.

Introduction

Great Greek writer Homer was a beginner of all the world literature. The success in the study of his creations was considered to be the forward movement of all philological sciences. That’s why Homer’s poems with their emotional perception had a great influence on the next generation of writers.

In 1667 the English writer John Milton wrote “Paradise Lost”. It was written after the Restoration, but the powerful voice of the poet declared that the spirit of the Revolution was not broken, that it still lived in the hearts of the people. Being a Puritan, Milton wanted to portray God as an almighty embodiment of Justice, and Satan as the villain, but Satan became the hero of this great work.

Description of “Paradise Lost”

“Paradise Lost” was an epic poem. The characters were Satan and his rebel angels. God, three guardian angels – Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael, and the first man and woman – Adam and Eve. The revolutionary spirit was shown in Satan, who revolted against God, drew to his side many rebel-angels, and was driven out of Heaven. Down into the fires of Hell they fell. But Satan was not to overcome. He hated God who ruled the universe autocratically:

“High on a throne of royal state,
Sole reigning holds the tyranny of Heaven” (Readprint)

The very word “tyranny” made God a despot and repulsive to the free mind. Though banished from Heaven, Satan was glad to have gained freedom. He pitied the rebel-angels who had lost life in Heaven for his sake and decided to go on with the war against God.

Milton served the highest model of epic poetry of antique times. The writer was inspired by Homer. Following him in “lost paradise” the author attempted to draw the universal picture of existence: the battles, which solve the fates of peoples, the elevated faces of Gods and the human persons, and also different everyday details. Poet scrupulously reproduced the composition of the antique model – Homer’s “Iliad”. He, like the Greek writer, widely used the methods of hyperbolization characteristics of heroes, constant epithets, expanded comparisons, and metaphors. Milton’s choice of words, grammar, and word order were Latinized. The tone of narration was elevated and solemn without psychological nuances. Both eposes were written in the blank verses.

Milton hid his thoughts behind the fantastic subject. He was not interested in private cases and situations from people’s life. The author was interested only in person on the whole. That’s why he put a religious subject into a philosophical poem. If in the first books a contrast between forces of sky and hell symbolized the fight of good and evil, the central theme of «Paradise Lost» was a reflection of such fight in human’s heart (Stephen Fallon, 1991).

Milton’s work was varied in content and at the same time was extraordinarily difficult and contradictory. The author himself wrote that in his “Paradise Lost” he wanted “to justify the way of God towards a person” (Marritt Hughes, 2003). The work was based on the plot of the Old and New Testaments. The Bible legends made the basis of the plot of “Paradise Lost”, that’s why it was considered to be a poetic arrangement of the Bible. Such an arrangement was in Homer’s “Iliad”. The Greek writer created his poem based on different legends and short poems about great Greek Gods and Heroes. He combined the folklore epics with the technique of improvisation, which helped him to write a masterpiece of such a length (Gilbert Murray, 1997).

Image of human history

“Iliad,” told us about the Trojan War. Homer combined verbal ballads into the “Iliad” very skillfully. He chose only one episode of the long war. The episode is about Achilles’s anger. Nevertheless, Homer managed to depict the whole heroic century.

Milton knew ancient and new poetry and decided to revive the classic form of heroic epos. Ancient epos was an expression of the collective consciousness of people. Literary epos, on the contrary, had an important seal of individual awareness of the author. In the poem “Paradise Lost” Milton managed to represent the whole epoch of the endless war between good and evil due to his great poetic power and ability to reproduce all contradictions.

It was the myth about Adam and Eve which served Milton as starting point for the philosophical and poetic meditations about the sense of life, nature of man, his tendency toward knowledge, his place under the sun. The man was depicted in “lost paradise” as essence, which stood in the center of the universe: on “the stairs of nature” it occupied the mid-position between the sensual, animal peace and the peace of angels. It was higher from the terrestrial essences, the deputy of God on the earth; it clamped together lowest and influential circles of existence. The bright way of spiritual elevation opened before Adam and Eve. But the gloomy abyss, which threatened to absorb them, opened wide before them if they betrayed God. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which grew in the heart of Eden, was a symbol of the freedom of choice given to the first people. Its designation was to test the faith of people in their creator.

That episode presented the symbolic image of human history losing their primary freedom. The duality of the author’s thoughts was shown also in his description of Adam and Eve’s sin. On the contrary, to Bible legend, Milton considered the bliss of paradise just like an illusion, which didn’t fit the truth.

The author believed that the corporal and spiritual origins of people should be in harmony. Living in paradise Adam and Eve lived only spiritual life and couldn’t understand all sides of evil and good. Without losing their love and spirituality. We could easily understand that when Adam was ready to share Eve’s fault, they had no sense of quarreling because their destinies were inseparable. And their future lives depend only on themselves.

Adam and Eve were allowed by God to live in Paradise, in the Garden of Eden, as long as they did not eat the apple that grew on the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. Satan, who had been driven from the Garden of Eden by the guardian angels, returned at night in the form of a serpent. The next morning, the serpent persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge and to take another one for Adam. Eve told Adam what she had done.

Adam decided to eat the fruit for the love of Eve. As a punishment, God banished Adam and Eve to the newly created world, where they had to face a life of toil and woe. The angel Michael drove them out of Paradise, waving his fiery sword. From a hill, Michael showed Adam a vision of the tyranny and lawlessness which were to befall mankind. Milton’s sympathies lied with Adam and Eve, and this showed his faith in man. His Adam and Eve were full of energy. They loved each other and were ready to meet whatever the earth had in store for them.

The revolutionary poets of the 19th century said that in “Paradise Lost” Milton refused to accept the conventional Bible story. Adam and Eve were Man and Woman – the finest of all earthly creatures.

One of the most striking artistic receptions of Homeric epos was the image of heroes operating not on their motive but in important moments of their lives following the help and advice of patronizing Gods. In Milton’s “Paradise Lost” a person became the point of reflection of the opposing influences, radiated by powerful space forces. Poet placed his heroes in the very center of the Universe, halfway between empyrean and hell. According to Milton the people themselves were critical for their fate: allotted by reason and free will, in every moment of their life selected between God and Satan, Good and Evil, creation and destruction, spiritual sublimity, and moral baseness.

Signs of war

The “Lost Paradise” began with the description of the war between sky and hell following Homer’s “Iliad” which began with the war between Greeks and Trojans. On the one hand, Milton showed God, his archangels, angels; on the other hand, he showed the fallen angels – the Devil, spirits of evil and demons. Homer, in his turn, described two warring tribes with different Gods helping them. It seemed that everything was quite clear, but it wasn’t true. Creatures fallen from the sky decided to revolt against God. They were outcasted from the sky, that’s why they considered God to be a tyrant and despot.

Milton believed in God as the highest shrine, but he was Puritan and revolutionary, that’s why he couldn’t accept the sole power of God. So he surrounded the Devil with the halo of heroism. Satan was also a Son of God, but the son who chose a wicked way. In his descriptions of Satan John Milton was influenced by Homer’s vivid descriptions of ancient Heroes – sons of Zeus and earthborn women. A lot of epic lines were shown in him – physical power, warlike attitude, and bravery. Suddenly in a threshold Eden, a conscience woke up in him, an internal fight began between angelic and satanic. Lucifer justified the choice on behalf of an «evil».

Final episode

In the last episode of the poet, John Milton reflected his philosophy and inserted it into the archangel’s words. The archangel Michael showed Adam the coming fate of humanity: through pain and suffering, labor and grief man would find a new paradise, created by his own hands and more wonderful than that was lost by him. The picture of heaven’s punishment changed with the ideal picture of peace and happiness. In the future, a lot of diseases and sins would cover people. Having understood the greatness and wisdom of God, Adam decided to be resigned to faith. He wanted to make his life devout, true, and just.

The final part of the poem was full of humility and obedience, but till the last lines of the “Lost Paradise,” we could hear the voice of the poet-fighter against evil and suffering. In contrast to his teacher, Homer, the poet wanted to create the work, unconfined by historically real themes, but which had general human scales. Milton’s concert coincided with the concept of Homer who also dedicated his life to fighting and poetry. Similar to the author of the great “Iliad”, the poet attempted to give his work the nature of universal, suitable for all times symbolic image.

In “Paradise Lost” the features of the so-called “literary” epos and the flashes of the philosophical poem were combined with the elements of drama and lyric poetry. The work was full of lyricism, but the epic beginning in “Paradise Lost” was predominant. It came out in a complex relationship with the dramatic and the lyric. Thus, Milton’s poem is considered to be a complex phenomenon.

Conclusion

The English literature “Paradise Lost” by John Milton carried out the dream of epoch about the highest form of poetry – heroic epos, thus raising national literature to the classical height. Even his ailment prompted the raising analogy with Homer. However, undoubtedly the main thing – in the fact that English history with its cataclysms proved to be beneficial material for the biblical analogy, and contemporaries – by receptive readers of the poetry, which modernized Old Testament means.

References

John Milton Poem. Harper’s Magazine, April 1878, 13 pp.

Gilbert Murray. The Rise of the Greek Epic. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997.

Stephen Fallon. Milton Among the Philosophers. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.

Readprint.