AskEssays.com - Discover essay samples

An Examination Of Similes In The Iliad - And How Homer's Use Of Them Affected The Story

4.9 of 5.0 (124 reviews)

Contains
930 words
Category
Poetry & Poets

An Examination Of Similes In The Iliad - And How Homer's Use Of Them Affected The Story Page 1
An Examination Of Similes In The Iliad - And How Homer's Use Of Them Affected The Story Page 2
An Examination Of Similes In The Iliad - And How Homer's Use Of Them Affected The Story Page 3
An Examination Of Similes In The Iliad - And How Homer's Use Of Them Affected The Story Page 4
An Examination Of Similes In The Iliad - And How Homer's Use Of Them Affected The Story Page 5
The above thumbnails are of reduced quality. To view the work in full quality, click download.

An Examination of Similes in the Iliad - and how Homer's Use of Them Affected the
In the Iliad, Homer finds a great tool in the simile. Just by opening
the book in a random place the reader is undoubtedly faced with one, or within a
few pages. Homer seems to use everyday activities, at least for the audience,
his fellow Greeks, in these similes nearly exclusively. When one is confronted
with a situation that is familiar, one is more likely to put aside contemplating
the topic and simply inject those known feelings. This would definitely be an
effective tactic when used upon the people of Homer's day. From the heroic
efforts in the Iliad itself it is clear that the populace of his time were
highly emotional creatures, and higher brain activity seems to be in short, and
in Odysseus' case, valuable, order.
It is also wise to remember that history is written by the winners. In the
Iliad, there seems to be relatively little storyline from the Trojan's side. We
are regaled with story upon story of the Greeks, their heroes, and their
exploits, while the Trojan's are conspicuously quiet, sans Hector of course. It
could almost be assumed that throughout time most of the knowledge of the battle
from the Trojan side had been lost.
Considering the ability to affect feelings with similes, and the one-sided
view of history, Homer could be using similes to guide the reader in the
direction of his personal views, as happens with modern day political "spin".
These views that Homer might be trying to get across might be trying to favor
Troy. It could easily be imagined that throughout time, only great things were
heard about the Greeks mettle in war, and that Homer is attempting to balance
the scales a bit by romanticizing the Trojan peoples, especially Hector, and
bringing to light the lesser-heard tales of Greek stupidity.
Shortly into Book Two, Agamemnon gives the speech to his assembly about his
plan to rally the troops with reverse psychology. Agamemnon shall announce he
is giving up on taking Troy, whereupon the individual army captains will then
"prevent their doing so." When the announcement is made, King Agamemnon is
startled to see the ranks, not surprisingly, take advantage of the chance to
leave and make for the ships with vigor. Homer describes the scene as "bees that
sally from some hollow cave and flit in countless throng among the spring
flowers, bunched in knots and clusters..." This simile is tainted with dark
words like "from a hollow cave" and "bunched in knots", giving the "bees" an
ominous tone. The Greek ranks are painted as a throng of weak-kneed wimps with
their constitution sapped, obviously not the case as they go on to win the war,
but it suffices to cast the Lycians in a negative light.
A short, but emotionally appealing, simile is found after the Greek
warriors have changed their mind about leaving and return to the Scamander:
"They stood as thick upon the flower-bespangled field as leaves that bloom in
summer." This scene assumes quite a juxtaposition. A flower-bespangled
battlefield? This is perhaps an attempt to show the absurdity of the Greek army,
changing positions from fleeing to brazenness as flowers are to the field of
death.
Near the beginning of Book Three a group of elders of Troy, not fighting
material, but skilled orators, are found resting on the tower "like cicadas that
chirrup delicately from the boughs of some high tree in a wood." The cicadas
song and the "tree in a wood" cast memories of repose and relaxation, rest and
peace, which are then injected into the "delicate" elders. Another attempt of
Homer to cast the Trojans in a favorable light.
Later in the same book Ptolemaeus is Homer's vehicle for putting down the
Greeks again. Upon seeing shirkers of the front line of battle he likens them
to "frightened fawns who, when they can no longer scud over the plain huddle
together." Undoubtedly, the men of Homer's time hunted to survive, and relished
the sight of the frightened fawns grouped together. But does not one also feel
pity for them? This is a wonderful simile that brings home the nervous
twitchiness that would denote a person scared to death in such a situation.
Later in Book Five there is a great dichotomy of similes. First, Hera
comes down "flying like turtledoves in eagerness to help the Argives." followed
by a scene surrounding Diomedes where his men are "fighting like lions or wild
boars." Both of these have their own respective importance. There is probably
no more revered avian for peace and beauty than the turtledove, and applying
this to Hera shows where her intentions lie. While lions and boars are
notoriously vicious creatures, sure to raise a hackle or two on a Greek reader,
and when exercised on Diomedes it brings their ferocity home. The interesting
thing here is the contrast between the two. This is another example of how the
Greeks are made to look like animals.
In Book Ten Nestor comments on a set of horses that Odysseus is ushering,
won by Diomedes through killing ...

You are currently seeing 50% of this paper.

You're seeing 930 words of 1860.

Similar essays


Criticism Of "The Sick Rose"

By analyzing more information from different authors, I was able to draw a greater amount contrast from the authors. I had a better feel for what they were trying to convey when they wrote their critical essays in their books. Whatever the case, it was easier to judge "The Sick Rose" by having more sources to reflect upon. Michael Riffat...

25 reviews
Download
Like Kids Like Leaves

they start as a baby, they start as baby leaves. the baby grows into adolescence, the baby leaves grow into adolescence too. the child turns into a mature and stronger adult, the leaves mature into greener and stronger leaves. the adult turns old and grey, the leaves turn old and brown. both the leaves and the adults die as the slowly fall to t...

58 reviews
Download
E.E. Cummings

E. E. Cummings, who was born in 1894 and died in 1962, wrote many poems with unconventional punctuation and capitalization, and unusual line, word, and even letter placements. Cummings' most difficult form of prose is probably the ideogram; it is extremely short and it combines both visual and aural elements. There may be sounds or characters on t...

192 reviews
Download
Love Sonnet

Our love is not just strong feelings we share: It is also happiness and sadness, Which is brought by the loneliness I can't bear. It sometimes brings anger ( I must confess). I just feel there is nothing to do to help. When I am so far away, who will be There to ease your pain? I will be your help Whenever I can. You are there for me To sho...

63 reviews
Download
Understanding "Porphyria's Lover"

Trials and hearings take place frequently in our society today. In a trial, it is the job of two lawyers to persuade a jury to see a situation a certain way, regardless if it is the right way, the truthful way, or if it is even the way they themselves see it. It is then the jury's obligation, after listening to both sides of the story, to make a...

27 reviews
Download
Mending Wall and New Year Comparison

Introduction The poems `Mending Wall' and `New year' written by Robert Frost and Edward Thomas are both similar in the idea that they both revolve around encounters. Both poems have many similarities in their presentation and ideas but are also very contrasting. Both have encounters, presented in different ways, some of the key ideas however remai...

40 reviews
Download
American Me

A) Read '' by Maria Miranda-Maloney. B) The character in '' is a Hispanic male that crossed the border into the United States. Miranda-Maloney uses many factors to develop her character. We know the character in her poem is Hispanic, as she uses racial aspects within her poem when her character refers to himself as a 'watermelon-eating Mexican...

16 reviews
Download
Beowulf And Hrothgar: Anglo-Saxon Ideal Code Of Conduct

The epic poem of 'Beowulf' presents the characteristics of two heroes, Beowulf and Hrothgar. During this Anglo-Saxon time period, Hrothgar rules as the king of his Danish lands. However, this king faces many problems due to the disturbances of a monster known as Grendel. As an Anglo-Saxon warrior of the time, Beowulf hears of this creature and j...

25 reviews
Download
Poetry: Always And Forever

When nothing makes sense and every thought is blurred, Love finds it's way and somehow I understand. I know why it is and what must be, No matter what arises or what happens, Love will always find its way, And lead us to our place, Our fairytale. When you look into my eyes you view my soul, And see the love...

49 reviews
Download
Elegy Essay - Seamus Heaney

Casualty' by famous Irish poet Seamus Heaney is a fiercely political, touchingly personal, and deeply religious elegy. It is part of his later work, published as part of his 5th collection ' 'Field Work'. The poem was written about and anonymous party originally, but a time after releasing 'Casualty' Heaney revealed, in an interview, that he had...

66 reviews
Download
Living In Sin

This poem isn't just about "foregoing the chores." This poem is a reality check. First, there's no mention of the two being a married couple, and I don't believe they are. However, they are living together--a woman with an artist--and how the realty of living with an artist is completely the opposite of the woman's romantic fantasy. The house i...

127 reviews
Download
Poems

Nicole Mannion April 27, 2015 Assignment 2 Creative Poetry A Not So Simple Journey Life as we know it, Is nothing but a fleeting moment. We are here on our journey to a greater place, A place above all thing with great enjoyment. Each of us...

158 reviews
Download
Essay Interpreting "One Art" By Elizabeth Bishop

In "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop, the speaker's attitude in the last stanza relates to the other stanzas in verse form and language. The speaker uses these devices to convey her attitude about losing objects. The verse form in "One Art" is villanelle. The poem has tercet stanzas until the last, which is four lines. In the first three stanzas, the p...

56 reviews
Download
My Father As a Guitar: by Martin Espada

Asunci?n Richardson Prof. Beckham ENG102-C06 February 11,2020 My Father As a Guitar : by Martin Espada Martin Espada is a famous poet who has written My Father as a Guitar. Looking at this poem we see this father who want to get better but he still has life going on and it want just stop because he gets sick. This poem is about life hitting you a...

201 reviews
Download
Atsisiųsti šį darbą