I am most flattered that some of my students have asked me to review their Summer esssays about Homer's epic, The Odyssey! If you like me as a human being, please do not send me any more essays that you expect to be reviewed before this paper's due date! I am happy to read and enjoy your Summer's labor, but a deadline cannot be imposed.
Lydia - The above restriction applies not to you. I would love to read your paper, too.
Sayanora,
Comrade Matluck
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Francesca, You Have Just Been Out-Pottered!
[Editor's Note: I am re-blogging a post from three years ago, when I was basically Harry Potter ignorant, to demonstrate that The Odyssey is relevant to literature, the literature you read today. The Odyssey is about the human experience. Odysseus's experience just so happens to have occurred three thousand years ago, if you believe Homer and his scholars! This student's impassioned response is re-posted below this one. Wish you all could have been there.]
Well, maybe just when it comes to The Odyssey. Thanks to the Harry Potter movies and the Internet, I remembered and then confirmed that Harry has a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Guess who else has a scar that is important to his story? That's right - Odysseus!
Book XIX, Lines 449-451
" . . The boar, too quick, attacked;
he charged aslant, his tusk tore one long gash
above the knee, but left the bone intact."
This scar is how Eurycleia, Odysseus' nurse during his youth, recognizes him when he returns to Ithaca. The tale of receiving the scar is presented in more detail, but its importance is unmistakable.
Also, are there not omens or signs of prophecies and fate that occur in the Harry Potter series? Anyone use a disguise in the series, as Odysseus and Athena do? Ha!
I discovered this because I was flipping through The Odyssey again, looking at all of the passages I had underlined and the comments scribbled by me in the margins. This is an excellent practice to adopt for all books you read (assuming that the book is yours). As proof, I offer this post. Thank you, thank you!
Well, maybe just when it comes to The Odyssey. Thanks to the Harry Potter movies and the Internet, I remembered and then confirmed that Harry has a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Guess who else has a scar that is important to his story? That's right - Odysseus!
Book XIX, Lines 449-451
" . . The boar, too quick, attacked;
he charged aslant, his tusk tore one long gash
above the knee, but left the bone intact."
This scar is how Eurycleia, Odysseus' nurse during his youth, recognizes him when he returns to Ithaca. The tale of receiving the scar is presented in more detail, but its importance is unmistakable.
Also, are there not omens or signs of prophecies and fate that occur in the Harry Potter series? Anyone use a disguise in the series, as Odysseus and Athena do? Ha!
I discovered this because I was flipping through The Odyssey again, looking at all of the passages I had underlined and the comments scribbled by me in the margins. This is an excellent practice to adopt for all books you read (assuming that the book is yours). As proof, I offer this post. Thank you, thank you!
Francesca Puts Mr. Matluck In His Place
[Editor's Note: This post from three years ago has been used once again to demonstrate how we can connect The Odyssey to our world. See the post above for more information.]
(See previous Harry Potter post and its comments)
Okay. Here comes my retaliation. You may have found the main similarities, but mine will delve deep into the inner-workings of the Potter world. This will truly show that I am unbeatable. I trust this will not be pretty.....
In both books, you will find....
1. final confrontations between the hero and his foe(s). (Odysseus vs. Suitors, Harry vs. Lord Voldemort)
2. faithful dogs who love their masters above anything else. (Fang with Hagrid, Argos with Odysseus)
3. the unnecessary deaths of characters who risked their lives for their leader. (see everyone who died in Deathly Hallows, and Odysseus' men)
4. a woman who is the caretaker of the hero, sticking with him until the end and fulfilling any need he has. (Mrs. Weasley for Harry, Eurycleia for Odysseus)
And, finally...
5. Love. Love for his parents, friends, school, Dumbledore, and Ginny is what keeps Harry going throughout the entire series. It is even what thwarts his enemies in the end. The same goes for Odysseus: His LOVE for Penelope, Telemachus, and Ithaca is what stays in his mind and eventually what keeps him sane and alive.
Take that, Mr. Matluck. Take that.
~Francesca J.
(See previous Harry Potter post and its comments)
Okay. Here comes my retaliation. You may have found the main similarities, but mine will delve deep into the inner-workings of the Potter world. This will truly show that I am unbeatable. I trust this will not be pretty.....
In both books, you will find....
1. final confrontations between the hero and his foe(s). (Odysseus vs. Suitors, Harry vs. Lord Voldemort)
2. faithful dogs who love their masters above anything else. (Fang with Hagrid, Argos with Odysseus)
3. the unnecessary deaths of characters who risked their lives for their leader. (see everyone who died in Deathly Hallows, and Odysseus' men)
4. a woman who is the caretaker of the hero, sticking with him until the end and fulfilling any need he has. (Mrs. Weasley for Harry, Eurycleia for Odysseus)
And, finally...
5. Love. Love for his parents, friends, school, Dumbledore, and Ginny is what keeps Harry going throughout the entire series. It is even what thwarts his enemies in the end. The same goes for Odysseus: His LOVE for Penelope, Telemachus, and Ithaca is what stays in his mind and eventually what keeps him sane and alive.
Take that, Mr. Matluck. Take that.
~Francesca J.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Ulysses - By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Ulysses is the Roman version of Odysseus' name. Below, Lord Alfred Tennyson, one of the greatest English poets, from the 19th century, speculates upon what Odysseus, I mean Ulysses, would do after finally returning home. It is an interpretation, and a continuation, of Homer's example of the human spirit and human experience. Tennyson just might be saying that if Ulysses was a college student, he would dare to journey forth to yet another party, because he just has to. Maybe. Your interpretations should be shared in the comment section, although I doubt whether this invitation will result in any student reading this actually participating on this blog. But I should not complain. It is Summer break. Ahhh.
It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Matched with an agèd wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed
Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vexed the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honoured of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!
As though to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this grey spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
This my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle—
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and through soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toiled, and wrought, and thought with me—
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Check out http://www.portablepoetry.com/poems/alfredlord_tennyson/ulysses.html for more information. I look forward to your comments after you study this dramatic monologue that captures the voice and spirit of Odysseus. (Ulysses is the Roman/Latin representation of the Greek name of Odysseues.) Thanks.
Mr. Matluck
It little profits that an idle king,
By this still hearth, among these barren crags,
Matched with an agèd wife, I mete and dole
Unequal laws unto a savage race,
That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed
Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vexed the dim sea: I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honoured of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough
Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!
As though to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this grey spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
This my son, mine own Telemachus,
To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle—
Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil
This labour, by slow prudence to make mild
A rugged people, and through soft degrees
Subdue them to the useful and the good.
Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere
Of common duties, decent not to fail
In offices of tenderness, and pay
Meet adoration to my household gods,
When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail:
There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners,
Souls that have toiled, and wrought, and thought with me—
That ever with a frolic welcome took
The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed
Free hearts, free foreheads—you and I are old;
Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;
Death closes all: but something ere the end,
Some work of noble note, may yet be done,
Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks:
The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep
Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends,
'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew
Though much is taken, much abides; and though
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Check out http://www.portablepoetry.com/poems/alfredlord_tennyson/ulysses.html for more information. I look forward to your comments after you study this dramatic monologue that captures the voice and spirit of Odysseus. (Ulysses is the Roman/Latin representation of the Greek name of Odysseues.) Thanks.
Mr. Matluck
Friday, July 22, 2011
Luke, I Am Your Father
One of the most memorable lines from Star Wars, when Darth Vader reveals his true identity to his son. Anything like that happen in The Odyssey? Yup. Check out Book XVI, Line 191: "I am your father." Odysseus reveals his true identity to his son, Telemachus. Coincidence? I think not. The father-son relationship is very popular in stories from all cultures. Might there be some similarities within The Harry Potter series? Maybe not Harry's dead father, but his father figures? Yes, plural.
Athena
Why does Athena help Odysseus so much? I never really thought about this before. I needed to do some thinking and research. I even went into my garage, rummaged through boxes of old books, and finally found a twenty year old copy of Cliff's Notes for The Odyssey. Between what I read in these "notes" and my contemplation of this question the past few days I learned that Athena is a very important part of this story in many ways.
Before, to me, Athena was simply one of the gods from Greek mythology. Now, she is a female god (aka a goddess). Not only is she a female god, she is the goddess of wisdom. This is a very important distinction. Homer remains non-judgmental about characters in the narrative, preferring to allow them to speak for themselves. Readers encounter a fair amount of misogyny spoken by male characters in The Odyssey, but Athena's vital role in this epic firmly establishes the important roles played by females in Ancient Greek civilization.
Now, about Athena's affinity for Odysseus. Odysseus is the wisest of men in The Odyssey. Also, he respects and honors the gods properly throughout his life, something that causes these gods to favor such human beings. One way to think about this is to compare the relationship between these gods and the human characters to how we humans think about characters in stories we read or follow on television. We grow to like certain characters and wish good things for them. In The Odyssey, the gods use their powers to make good things happen to those humans whom the gods individually favor. I find this to be a reasonable explanation for Athena's favoring of Odysseus.
Before, to me, Athena was simply one of the gods from Greek mythology. Now, she is a female god (aka a goddess). Not only is she a female god, she is the goddess of wisdom. This is a very important distinction. Homer remains non-judgmental about characters in the narrative, preferring to allow them to speak for themselves. Readers encounter a fair amount of misogyny spoken by male characters in The Odyssey, but Athena's vital role in this epic firmly establishes the important roles played by females in Ancient Greek civilization.
Now, about Athena's affinity for Odysseus. Odysseus is the wisest of men in The Odyssey. Also, he respects and honors the gods properly throughout his life, something that causes these gods to favor such human beings. One way to think about this is to compare the relationship between these gods and the human characters to how we humans think about characters in stories we read or follow on television. We grow to like certain characters and wish good things for them. In The Odyssey, the gods use their powers to make good things happen to those humans whom the gods individually favor. I find this to be a reasonable explanation for Athena's favoring of Odysseus.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Alliteration and One of Its Effects
Let me expand upon the brief overview of alliteration in the previous post. In Book IV, lines 778-782, after the many suitors of Penelope, Odysseus' wife, discover that Telemachus, Odysseus' son, has sailed off to find his father, these evil suitors plot to kill Telemachus when his ship returns to Ithaca. After they devise their evil scheme, Homer writes:
"That said, he chose their finest men - a score.
They rushed to their swift ship along the shore.
They drew their black boat to a deeper spot,
then stepped the mast and set the sail and strapped
the oars in leather thongs. Their sturdy squires . . ."
I highlighted all of the initial "s" sounds (there are "s" sounds contained within some words, along with two similar sounding initial "sh" sounds, too). As we all remember, Alliteration is the repetition of the sound of the initial consonant of two or more words in close proximity to each other.
Just as I asked in my youth: "Yeah, and 'Sally sold seashells by the seashore.' So what?" While the Sally example is a good introduction to alliteration, poets utilize such figures of speech not only to add a musical quality to their poetry, but also to add depth and meaning to what they write. We all agree that these suitors are evil. A universal symbol of evil is the snake. And what sound is a snake known to make? That's right, a hissing sound. The repetition of the "s" sound mimicks the hissing of the symbolically evil snake and, thus, reinforces the notion that these suitors are themselves evil. Imagine, all of that from the repetition of a simple sound!
"That said, he chose their finest men - a score.
They rushed to their swift ship along the shore.
They drew their black boat to a deeper spot,
then stepped the mast and set the sail and strapped
the oars in leather thongs. Their sturdy squires . . ."
I highlighted all of the initial "s" sounds (there are "s" sounds contained within some words, along with two similar sounding initial "sh" sounds, too). As we all remember, Alliteration is the repetition of the sound of the initial consonant of two or more words in close proximity to each other.
Just as I asked in my youth: "Yeah, and 'Sally sold seashells by the seashore.' So what?" While the Sally example is a good introduction to alliteration, poets utilize such figures of speech not only to add a musical quality to their poetry, but also to add depth and meaning to what they write. We all agree that these suitors are evil. A universal symbol of evil is the snake. And what sound is a snake known to make? That's right, a hissing sound. The repetition of the "s" sound mimicks the hissing of the symbolically evil snake and, thus, reinforces the notion that these suitors are themselves evil. Imagine, all of that from the repetition of a simple sound!
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