Epithet & Epic Similies

1. Epithet & Epic Similies

2. Epic Simile • Simile • Comparison using like or as • Ex: “You’re as cute as a button.” “Jim grew like a weed.” • Epic simile • Elaborate, more involved version of a regular simile • Often goes on for several lines • Homer uses for emphasis • Character’s thoughts & feelings • Magnitude of a battle between two armies

3. Epic Similes • “And Odysseus/ let the bright molten tears run down his cheeks,/ weeping [like] the way a wife mourns for her lord/ on the lost field where he has gone down fighting/ the day of wrath that came upon his children. • In this excerpt, Odysseus is listening to the fall of Troy and his role in it. • What is his reaction? • What is being compared? • What does this comparison help to emphasize?

4. Epithets • Brief, descriptive phrases that help to characterize a particular person or thing • Has the right meter or number of syllables to fill out a line • Ex: • Odysseus referred to as “master mariner” or “old contender” • Achilles referred to as “swift footed” • Dawn is referred to as “with fingertips of rose” • Ocean is referred to as “winedark sea”

5. Group Work • Each group will receive a picture of a famous person. • In your group, you must come up with 5 epithets to describe this person • In addition, you must create an epic simile describing this person’s talent (or lack there of). • After 9 minutes, groups will switch pictures until every group has seen every picture. • This assignment is due at the end of the class.