Homeric Superiority

A Story by GenMuffin7

An essay on The Odyssey. Written freshman year of high school.

Homeric Superiority

In Homer’s The Odyssey, from a “Goddesses’ Intervention” to a “Warrior’s Farewell,” readers are taken to a world abundant and diverse in rhythm and sound, vocabulary, and expressions. Homer’s skill in using rhythm and sound throughout the whole novel is wondrous and cannot be matched. The expressions are so vast and meaningful that it takes Homer two words to paint pictures that never cease to amaze. The word use and immense vocabulary is illustrious and play a key role in the success of the epic. The Odyssey is renown around the world and is claimed by many to be the best literary work ever.

Rhythm and sound together create the music of poetry. Rhythm is the regular repeated pattern of movement or sound in a language. Sound is the music of poetry. Many of the things that humans do are rhythmic such as: the beating of human hearts, the breath flow of lungs, steps taken when running, and even how bikes are pedaled. Some rhymes rely entirely on the sound to get the tone of the poem across to the reader. Homer wrote The Odyssey in meter so the accents appear periodically. The discipline in following the rules that is demonstrated in the poem by Homer is astounding as well as his ability to vary from them.

The use of iambic pentameter is easily recognizable to those who are familiar with it. An iamb is a metrical foot normally made up of one accented syllable in addition to one or to other unaccented syllables though there are exceptions to this rule. Each line in each stanza inhere five iambs unless the sentence is an irregular one. An example of iambic pentameter is: “Now this was the reply Odysseus made.” There are five iambs and all the rules have been satisfied. But when Homer wants to give the feeling of excitement, suspense, or sadness, he bends the rules. For example: “Fairness is all I think of. There are hearts.” This line does not have all iambs but a trochee as well. A trochee is a metrical foot made up of an accented syllable, but followed by an unaccented one. One more example of variation is: “Odysseus’ son pulled on his snowy tunic.” This line consists of five iambs and a monosyllabic foot as the extra syllable. Sound is what creates the suspense and excitement that thrive in the composition. The killing of Antínoös happens in slow-motion, the fighting between Odysseus and his allies versus the suitors is sounded in short bursts setting the mood of excitement and chaos all at once. This kind of successful variance is a rare find in literature, further proving how neither a poet with his eye fixed chiefly on metrical economy, or even a mnemonic efficiency expert could have produced The Odyssey.

It is made clear that it is against Homer’s religion to be repetitive in his use of words unless there’s an effect he wants to make. With words like “dithering” (XXI, 410), the act of being indecisive, “zenith” (XIX, 357), the highest point in the sky reached, and “maudlin” (XIX, 145), meaning self-pityingly, it is difficult to find the same details more than once unless there are benefits from doing so. Homer weaves the words into the novel so seamlessly that although he uses an extensive vocabulary; it’s never excessive. When Penelope uses the word “wantoning” (XIX, 106) when referring to the suitors she gets her disgust as well as her wit across.

Odysseus’ colorful speech is interpreted as so because of the power in his choice of words. When Odysseus is telling Eumaios about the life he never lived, his story is very believable because of the emotion that can be heard in words like “wretched” (XIV, 247), when referring to his plot of land. “I reveled in long ships…” (XIV, 264), this word implies that Odysseus gained great pleasure making the story he’s telling sound more genuine because of the emotion and excitement. Odysseus then tells of his non-occurring trip to the bottomlands of Egypt where he says that he was inspired by Zeus in battle and “wrenched my (Odysseus’) dogskin helmet off…” (XIV, 318), expressing urgency and fear both at once bringing the story, within the story, within the story; to life. There’s a similar situation in which Odysseus is making up a story of a life that he hadn’t lived but telling it to Penelope the Wise. Odysseus knows he will be challenged, so he must make this account even more authentic than the one he created for Eumaios. Odysseus cleverly requests for Penelope to ask no more questions about his past as his “heart is sore,” expressing anguish. Odysseus uses the words “spacious and rich and populous” (XIX, 204) when he is, to an extent, recalling the island Krete. Odysseus’ choice of words may indicate that he takes pride in his homeland. Homer even says: “Now all these lies he made appear so truthful she wept as she sat listening,” telling the reader that a big part of his success in crafty speaking is in his word use.

“Eat and be quiet where you are, or shamble elsewhere…” (XVII, 627). “This is a good verb, it rocks,” said Mr. Heinitz upon reading the line. Shamble creates the image of a slow, shuffling movement also describing how Odysseus probably had been walking to maintain his impression of a beggar. “Are you not coddled here enough…” (XXI, 326) meaning treated over-protectively. That one verb gives an insight to how the suitors feel about beggars in general. The “slinking maid” puts the image of a maid gliding in her steps doing her best to be stealthy in the reader’s mind. One verb Homer uses is: “bedeck,” which means to decorate lavishly. This single verb alone can create an image as simple as hanging an ornament, to as complex as draping the big halls of the palace. This is an example of another brilliantly selected word. One more impressive use of verbs is: “What is this dithering?” (XXI, 410). The suitors shout at Eumaios when he’s heading towards Odysseus to hand him his bow. They are shouting: “What is this indecisiveness?!” clearly demonstrating their anger and misbelieve that such an act would be performed against their will. Homer cannot be outdone in his description and style of writing.

It is easy to prove how Homer uses a much more diverse vocabulary than most simply by randomly selecting two equivalent chapters and comparing. One chapter from each novel was selected for comparison of vocabulary usage, resulting in The Odyssey with a three to one ratio to New York Time’s Bestseller The Broker, by John Grisham[1]. Besides the usage of the vocabulary, determined by an experienced novelist reader with fair judgment, The Odyssey outperformed The Broker with respect to the richness and depth that is brought to the story. If The Broker were to be the same length as the Odyssey and the same pattern occurred, The Odyssey would have seven hundred-twenty examples of vast vocabulary to John Grisham’s two hundred-forty. This calculation involved the comparison of two extravagant books where The Odyssey came out the better in analyzing vast vocabulary.

Expressions are plentiful in The Odyssey and play a key role in its success as an epic. One type of expression is epithets. An epithet is a phrase expressing a quality or attribute of a person or thing. They’re important because they identify individuals, add color to the narrative with variation and detail, and the repetition of certain epithets add to the overall poetic quality of the narrative. “Clear-headed Telemakhos” appears several times confirming clear-headedness as a strong attribute of Telemakhos. In the world created by Homer, this is a very useful quality that could mean the difference between life and death and is even proven to make such a difference. Telemakhos knows how to respond to insults, he’ knows when to pick a fight and when to back away, and his unclouded judgment keeps him from getting killed during the battle with the suitors when he’s debating about whether or not to pull his spear out of the Amphinomos he decides to play it safe. “Son of Odysseus” is a patronymic epithet and is used a great amount of times throughout the story for many characters including Odysseus, Achilles, Leokritos, Antinoos, and Menelaos. When someone is greeted with a name gained from the name of a father or one of their ancestors, it usually indicates that the person referring to the kin has respect towards the addressed person. There are also a few times where a family-members name is used in context that the person addressing the other feels contempt or superiority over them.

“Resourceful Odysseus” is deemed so because of his ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties. His immediate responses to situations have saved his, as well as many others’ lives on his journey. Upon arrival of the island populated with the Kyklopes, Odysseus and his men get captured by a “prodigious” Kyklopes, and its Odysseus’ quick thinking that saves the remaining men from the cave. His strategy in blinding the Kyklopes then hanging from the sheep is so clever it has been nominated by many as the best sequence in the book. “O forlorn man” is another accurate characterization for Odysseus that many use and think. His whole adventure home is filled with woe and loneliness. The expression applies to him until the slaying of the suitors where it appears no more.

The “winedark sea” is a very curious epithet that describes certain characteristics of the sea. This description can be interpreted as the view of the sea as joyful but mysterious; something to love but be wary of. Odysseus uses the expression that matches his thoughts about how life should be lived. In Homer’s world; ships are not only ships, but are conveyed as “rolling” (I, 175), as the ships are caused to move along by waves; and sometimes “beaked” (XIX, 215), in reference to the projection from the prow of most ships back then. Sleep can be “honeyed” (XV, 10) which means soothing and soft, or “sweet” (XVI, 553), being pleasurable. Both with the same definition but each with its own effect. Homer’s gift to the reader is the ability to see the “flawless brimming sea” (III, 1) and the “black soot” (XIX, 24), which is made all the more powerful because soot is black by nature; the pictures have already been painted; all that’s left is for the reader to observe. Reading the story is like being present in third person with the knowledge of everything that’s going on at both “sea-girt Ithaka” (I, 452) with Telemakhos, Penelope, and wherever Odysseus happens to be. The “horned bow” (XXI, 404), “smoky air” (XXII, 265), and “the shadowy hall” (XXII, 448) are all right before the reader, and can be imagined as interpreted, following with the guidelines.

Another very vivid expression is “river of mortal red” (XXII, 19). The last thing that Antínoös had expected to happen was for an old beggar (Odysseus) to kill him; especially while he’s amongst all of his companions. Within an instant of Odysseus notching another arrow, he releases the “twanging bow” and strikes Antínoös under the chin, and from his nostrils jetted river of mortal red which is blood. The description of the scene is structured so beautifully that the reader can see the blood flowing out of the page and into the real world. Even Mr. Heinitz with his high standards was impressed by the effect of the expression, exclaiming: “Isn’t that just kick-a*s!”

Zeus: “son of Kronos,” the: “wide-seeing,” the: “cloud-gatherer,” one: “who holds the aegis,” the: “father of gods and men,” and finally: “master of bright lightning.” There are a few different epithets used to describe Zeus, but all are personality traits, titles, or examples of what he has done in the past. Each different expression puts Zeus in a different light. He is not an unknown surveyor from above, but now he possesses human and god qualities creating the vision of a powerful being that knows everything, can do anything, and is the ruler of all inhabitants on the Earth. Homer uses “towering heaven” (XXIII, 369) when referring to the domain father Zeus rules. The use of the word “towering” gives the feeling of great power, importance, and superiority which is synonymous to the description of Zeus. As said by John A. Scott: “Homer is rapid in his movement, Homer is plain in his words and style, Homer is simple in his ideas, Homer is noble in his manner.”

In conclusion, from beginning to end, The Odyssey is an unforgettable journey to a world of perfect use of rhythm and sound, eloquent vocabulary, and meaningful expressions. Every emotion can be found in the epic through use of the expressions, words, and rhythm and sound. Homer’s work cannot have been done by experts in the methods of patterns but is so influential because of the variance in his writing. Reading The Odyssey elevates one’s emotions to the towering heavens.