The Odyssey Day 6

1. The Odyssey Day 6 Agenda Roots Finish Calypso Poem—Share SAF answers The Homeric Simile Writing practice/workshop with Homeric similes Create your own simile assignment

2. English I Honors2/11/14

3. Roots Day 7sonus

4. Calypso: answer these questions. You can answer them on the back of the poem. When is the poem taking place and how do we know this? Which line(s) provide a sense of foreboding (fearful apprehension; a feeling that something bad will happen)? Why is the line “I let him go” repeated so many times? What lines give a sense of happy memories in the second stanza? In lines 36 and on, how does the word choice reinforce Calypso’s feelings?

5. What do you believe is the tone of the poem? Why? • Sad • Accepting • Nostalgic • Resigned • Longing • For each tone, what specific words provide this impression?

6. SAF Practice Question Hoemwork What is the tone of the song “Calypso” by Suzanne Vega? Support your answer with specific evidence from the text.

7. Your SAF Answers from the homework • Share the tone that you chose and how you supported it. • Turn this in

8. The Homeric Simile

9. Homer and Greek Epic A Homeric simile is an elaborate comparison, developed over several lines, between something strange or unfamiliar to the audience and something more familiar to them.

10. The Homeric Simile the simile is one of the hallmarks of Homer’s style a simile is an explicit comparison of two things, using “like” or “as” e.g. my teacher drinks like a fish. This is an example of a simile you have studied in the past. Homer and Greek Epic INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC SIMILE

11. The Homeric Simile Fallen on one side, as on the stalk a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring, beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down. Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion) What do you notice about this simile example? Homer and Greek Epic INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

12. The Homeric Simile Fallen on one side, as on the stalk a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring, beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down. Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion) Two things are being compared here: 1. A dying soldier 2. ? Homer and Greek Epic INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

13. The Homeric Simile Fallen on one side, as on the stalk a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring, beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down. Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion) the flower and the dying hero bend over in a like manner both have colorful tops: one has a flower and the other a crested helmet Homer and Greek Epic

14. The Homeric Simile Fallen on one side, as on the stalk a poppy falls, weighed down by showering spring, beneath his helmet’s weight his head sank down. Iliad 8.306-8 (the death of Gorgythion) but the flower and the hero are more different than alike: man vs. plant dying in battle vs. growing in the rain noisy dirty battlefield vs. serene rainfall Homer and Greek Epic INTRODUCTION TO HOMERIC EPIC (CHAPTER 4.III)

15. Practice Identifying Homeric Similes Identify the two things, one familiar and one unfamiliar, that Home compares in each extended simile. “I drove my weight on it from above and bored it home like a shipwright bores his beam with a shipwright's drill that men below, whipping the strap back and forth, whirl and the drill keeps twisting, never stopping --So we seized our stake with it fiery tip and bored it round and round in the giant's eye.”

16. Practice Identifying Homeric Similes Identify the two things, one familiar and one unfamiliar, that Home compares in each extended simile. Odysseus is comparing how he stabs the Cyclops in the eye to… “I drove my weight on it from above and bored it home like a shipwright bores his beam with a shipwright's drill that men below, whipping the strap back and forth, whirl and the drill keeps twisting, never stopping --So we seized our stake with it fiery tip and bored it round and round in the giant's eye.” The way a shipwright (a person who works on/builds boats) drills a hole in a beam on his ship.

17. Practice Identifying Homeric Similes Identify the two things, one familiar and one unfamiliar, that Home compares in each extended simile. “…its crackling roots blazed and hissed - as a blacksmith plunges a glowing ax or adze in an ice-cold bath and the metal screeches steam and its temper hardens - that's the iron's strength - so the eye of Cyclops sizzled round that stake.”

18. Practice Identifying Homeric Similes Identify the two things, one familiar and one unfamiliar, that Home compares in each extended simile. Odysseus compares the sizzling sound of the Cyclops' eye  “…its crackling roots blazed and hissed - as a blacksmith plunges a glowing ax or adze in an ice-cold bath and the metal screeches steam and its temper hardens - that's the iron's strength - so the eye of Cyclops sizzled round that stake.” to that of sticking fire-hot metal in cold water.

19. Work independently to complete the handout • See the directions on the page • Note that at the bottom of the page you need to read the short story about Odysseus and the enchantress Circi.

20. Now, let’s practice writing our own! Assignment: Create 3 of your own Homeric similes. Choose a familiar object/person/thing/event and one unfamiliar object/person/thing/event to compare it to. Remember to make your comparisons long and detailed! You are trying to think like a writer here! Don’t be afraid of creativity. Use these pictures if you need some ideas/images to work with.