In Medias Res

"In medias res, also medias in res, (Latin for "into the middle of things") is a literary and artistic technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of from its beginning. The characters, setting, and conflict are often introduced through a series of flashbacks or through characters relating past events to each other. Probably originating from an oral tradition, the technique was established in the 8th century BC in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, and became a convention of epic poetry." (I copied this from wikipedia)

I find the first five books of The Odyssey kind of boring. The action really picks up when we finally encounter Odysseus. When we do, we are told of Odysseus' many travails on his journey home from Troy. When we finally experience his cunning when dealing with Polyphemus, the evil cyclops, then we know we are in for an adventurous tale. Many other epic poems imitate Homer's use of in media res, and in effect establish this technique as a tradition. Just one of the technical things you should know about an epic poem.

Of course I will add some posts about the first five books.