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Terms for the Odyssey
EPIC CONVENTIONS
Epic convention – a common technique, practice, or device used in the epic form
Invocation of the muse – a common convention of the epic; the poet’s prayer to the
Muse
Homeric Epithet - an epithet is an adjective or descriptive phrase that is regularly used
to characterize a person, place, or thing. (Honest Abe for Abraham Lincoln).
Homeric Epithets include “wine-dark sea,” “rosy-fingered dawn,” and “the gray-eyed
goddess Athena”
Homeric (heroic) simile – comparison of heroic or epic events to simple and easily
understood everyday events.
Ex. – Hermes is compared to a gull (891)
GREEK GODS AND GODDESSES (A COMPLETE LIST CAN BE FOUND ON PAGES 885-6.)
Muse - a goddess that inspires the arts, such as poetry, dance, painting
Calypso – a beautiful goddess-nymph who keeps Odysseus on her island for 7 yrs.
Nymph – minor goddess of nature in classical mythology represented as beautiful
maiden dwelling in the mountains, forests, trees, and waters
Hermes – messenger god
Athena – favorite daughter of Zeus; goddess of wisdom and the arts of war and peace
Zeus – the most powerful god; home is on Olympus
Poseidon - god of the sea; brother of Zeus; enemy of Odysseus
OTHER LITERARY TERMS TO CONSIDER
Metaphor – comparison between two unlike things without using like or as
Simile – a comparison between two unlike things using like or as
Imagery – Language that appeals to the senses
Foreshadowing – clues or hints about future events in the narrative.
Irony – a contrast between expectation and reality (verbal, situational, dramatic)
Characterization – the way the author reveals the personality of a character
Theme – the overall message about human experience
Conflict – the main problem of a narrative (internal/external)
Symbol – something that is itself and represents more than itself
Personification – ascribing human characteristics to non-human things