What Is an Epic or Homeric Simile in "The Odyssey"?
- Hunter's Quarry. In Book 4 of "The Odyssey," the suitors who have been occupying Odysseus’ house during his absence learn of Telemachus’ voyage, and they prepare an ambush for his ...
- Blacksmith's Tools. After festivities at the palace of Alcinous in Book 9, Odysseus tells the story of how he blinded the Cyclops.
- Farmer's Impatience. ...
- Musician's Skill. ...
What are some epic similes in the Odyssey?
- Her smile was bright and clear like white glass
- Her smile glowed like the moon, eerily beautiful
- I felt the warmth of her smile wash over me like the sun’s rays
- Her smile was eerie and haunting, like an image in a broken mirror
- She smiled like a cat playing with a mouse, and fear shot through my heart
What are some examples of Homeric similes?
Virgil, in his “Aeneid,” gives a good example of a Homeric simile: that man rules their minds with words and calms their hearts.” Homer and Dante used more subtle similes than Virgil. Virgil’s, such as this comparison of Neptune to an orator, is direct and lacking in subtlety. Homer used his similes to enhance profound moments and to add depth.
Did Homer really write the Iliad and the Odyssey?
The authorship of the Odyssey and the Iliad is disputed. While some scholars believe Homer is solely responsible, others claim that the poems were retold and revised by numerous people. This theory has led to various explanations for the use of the word Homer. Some speculate that it was a term meaning wandering blind poet.
What are epic similes in book 21 of the Odyssey?
like the thin glistening skin of a dried onion . . . In this simile, Odysseus (disguised as a stranger) compares the perfect fit of his tunic to the shiny skin of an onion, a description that pleases Penelope because she made the tunic. . . .with his virtuoso ease Odysseus strung his mighty bow.
What is Homer's simile?
What is an epic simile in The Odyssey?
What book does Odysseus tell the story of how he blinded the Cyclops
What does Odysseus do after the suitors fail?
What instrument does Homer compare Odysseus' bow to?
What happened in Book 4 of The Odyssey?
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What is a Homeric simile in the Cyclops?
Homer compares the sound that the pierced eye made to the sound of cooling a new-made weapon in water: “As a blacksmith plunges an axe or hatchet into cold water to temper it — for it is this that gives strength to the iron — and it makes a great hiss as he does so, even thus did the Cyclops' eye hiss round the beam …Mar 9, 2019
What are some similes in The Odyssey?
Simile Examples in The Odyssey:Book I. 🔒 1. "she flew away like a bird..." ... Book V. 🔒 1. "rising like a shield on the horizon..." ... Book VI. 🔒 2. "He looked like some lion..." ... Book IX. 🔒 1. "a hole in a ship's plank..." ... Book X. 🔒 1. "as calves break out and gambol round their mothers..." ... Book XI. 🔒 1. ... Book XVI. 🔒 1. ... Book XIX. 🔒 2.More items...
What is a Homeric simile in The Odyssey Book 9?
Epic simile: "I drove my weight on it from above and bored it home as a shipwright bores his beam with a shipwrights drill that men below, whipping the strap back and forth, whirl and the drill keeps twisting faster, never stopping" (10.427-432).
Where are the epic similes in The Odyssey?
List of Epic Similes in The Odyssey. Similes are found throughout The Odyssey. Some are seen in the battle of the cyclops, others on the island of the Laestrygonians, and some in the despair of Penelope, Odysseus' wife, as she struggles to contain the suitors wanting her hand in marriage.Apr 11, 2022
What is a Homeric simile example?
Homeric Similes, also known as Epic Similes, are elaborate comparisons between two different objects using like or as. We often use short similes in every day speech, like the example, “She's tough as nails.” In fact, we use them so often that they can become idioms.Jan 4, 2012
What are Homeric or epic similes?
epic simile, also called Homeric simile, an extended simile often running to several lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration.
What Homeric simile is used to describe the cries of Odysseus and Telemachus?
To what are Odysseus' and Telemachus' cries compared in the epic simile in lines 1063-1065? The cries of Odysseus and Telemachus are compared to those of a hawk that has lost its nestlings to a farmer.
What is the Homeric simile used to describe the suitors?
Epic Simile: “Think of a catch that fishermen haul in to a halfmoon bay in a fine meshed net from the white caps of the sea: how all are poured out on the sand, in throes for the salt sea, twitching their cold lives away in Helios' fiery air: so lay the suitors heaped on one another." Commentary: The pile of dead ...Jun 6, 2009
What is an example of an epic simile in the Odyssey Book 10?
EPIC SIMILE 3: "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 the Cyclops sizzled round that stake!"
What is an epic simile in The Odyssey Book 21?
Homeric simile-Like a musician, like a harper, when with a quiet hand upon his instrument he draws his thumb and forefinger a sweet new string upon a peg:so effortlessly Odysseus in one motion strung the bow.
What is an epic simile in The Odyssey Book 6?
Homeric Simile "And out he stalked as a mountain lion exultant in his power stride through the wind and rain and and his eyes blaze as he charges sheep or oxen or chases wild deer but his hunger drives him on to go for flocks even to raid the best-defended homestead."
What is an epic simile in The Odyssey Book 5?
"A man surf-casting on a point of rock / for bass or mackerel, whipping his long rod / to drop the singer and the beat far out, / will hook of fish and rip it from the surface / to dangle wriggling through the air: so these /were borne aloft in spasms toward the cliff."
What is a simile in literature?
In A Glossary of Literary Terms by M. H. Abrams, Homeric simile is described in this way― Epic Similes are formal, sustained similes in which the secondary subject, or vehicle, is elaborated far beyond its specific points of close parallel to the primary subject, or tenor, to which it is compared.
What is the simile used in epics?
“. However, a type of simile is used in epics and especially in battle scenes. It is called Homeric simile.
What is a simile in poetry?
Similes can be often seen in romantic poetry where a poet compares his love or his beloved to beautiful things in the world.
What are some examples of the Odyssey?
Examples in the Odyssey. Sculpture of Homer. The Odyssey, also written by Homer, is considered as a sequel to the epic poem Illiad. The poem revolves around Odysseus and his journey back home after the fall of Troy.
Who invented the epic simile?
Though the epic simile was invented by Homer , several other authors can be seen using it in their writing.
Who imitated Homer?
According to A Glossary of Literary Terms, “ This figure was imitated from Homer by Virgil, Milton, and other writers of literary epics, who employed it to enhance the ceremonial quality and wide-ranging reference of the narrative style .”.
Who wrote the Illiad?
The Illiad is an ancient Greek epic poem credited to Greek poet Homer. The story of the poem is set during the Trojan war and narrates the events of a few weeks before the final year of the war.
Figurative Language in The Odyssey
Figurative language in The Odyssey consists of metaphors, personification, and epic or Homeric similes. Epic similes are an elaborate comparison between two unlike objects using like or as. The Odyssey is an epic poem and epic similes in The Odyssey abound. Following are examples of epic similes in The Odyssey.
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Why does Odysseus use the simile?
Odysseus uses this simple simile to convey how mundane and commonplace the brutalizing and disregard of human life was for the ruthless Laestrygonians. "there slowly came a grand array of women, all sent before me now by august Persephone, and all were wives and daughters once of princes.
What does Homer say about Odysseus?
So welcome now to Odysseus, the setting light of day" (13.34-39) (Similie) Here, Homer uses analogy to raw tiredness and hunger to express phenomenologically how deeply Odysseus yearns to be home once again once, after so many years away, his final passage is in sight.
What is the metaphor for the Odyssey?
The Odyssey Metaphors and Similes. "great Odysseus melted into tears... as a woman weeps, her arms flung around her darling husband, a man who fell in battle... So from Odysseus' eyes ran tears of heartbreak now" (8.586-597) (Simile)
What is the analogy of Odysseus's tears?
When Odysseus hears Alcinous' bard sing of the Trojan War, the agony of his tears is conveyed to the audience by analogy to a woman who, like Odysseus, has lost extremely close loved ones to war, and was powerless to save them.
What does the phrase "they swarmed in a flock around the dark blood" mean?
They swarmed in a flock around the dark blood" (11.258-261) (Metaphor) The description by Odysseus of women in the underworld as a "flock" frames them as less-than-human, suggesting that they have lost an essential aspect of themselves in death.
What does Odysseus compare his tunic to?
like the thin glistening skin of a dried onion . . . In this simile, Odysseus (disguised as a stranger) compares the perfect fit of his tunic to the shiny skin of an onion, a description that pleases Penelope because she made the tunic.
What does Poseidon compare Odysseus's entrapment to?
In this metaphor, Poseidon compares Odysseus’s entrapment on Calypso’s island to a rope tied around his neck. now the East Wind giving her up to West to harry on and on. This epic simile compares the waves tossing Odysseus's boat to the wind blowing dry weeds across fields in the fall.
What does Nestor compare the Greeks' siege of Troy to?
and only after we slaved did Zeus award us victory. In this metaphor, Nestor compares the Greeks’ siege of Troy to a spider weaving its web, suggesting that it was a difficult, hard-won battle in which the Greeks had to continuously work for a long time in order to overcome the Trojans.
What is Homer's simile?
However, Homer's similes emphasize the ceremonial nature of the epic and the universal significance of the story by using references from everyday areas of human life. So striking is his use of epic similes that they are often referred to as Homeric similes.
What is an epic simile in The Odyssey?
What Is an Epic or Homeric Simile in "The Odyssey"? The 16th-century English writer Samuel Johnson wrote, "A simile, to be perfect, must both illustrate and ennoble the subject.".
What book does Odysseus tell the story of how he blinded the Cyclops
After festivities at the palace of Alcinous in Book 9 , Odysseus tells the story of how he blinded the Cyclops. Homer compares the sound that the pierced eye made to the sound of cooling a new-made weapon in water: "As a blacksmith plunges an axe or hatchet into cold water to temper it -- for it is this that gives strength to the iron -- and it makes a great hiss as he does so, even thus did the Cyclops' eye hiss round the beam of olive wood." Here, Homer can show off his mixed-bag knowledge of trades.
What does Odysseus do after the suitors fail?
Little do they know that Odysseus is among them in disguise. After the suitors have failed, he takes up his own bow: "Ulysses, when he had taken it up and examined it all over, strung it as easily as a skilled bard strings a new peg of his lyre and makes the twisted gut fast at both ends.".
What instrument does Homer compare Odysseus' bow to?
Of course, being familiar with his own weapon, he wins the challenge. Here Homer compares Odysseus' skill with the bow to a musician stringing a lyre, an ancient stringed instrument similar to a harp. Based in Montreal, Emily Valentine has been editing academic papers and writing short stories since 2001.
What happened in Book 4 of The Odyssey?
In Book 4 of "The Odyssey," the suitors who have been occupying Odysseus’ house during his absence learn of Telemachus’ voyage, and they prepare an ambush for his return. A servant overhears their plans and tells them to Penelope. She becomes so sick with worry about the fate of her son that her mind turns wildly until she exhausts herself: "Like a lioness caught in the toils with huntsmen hemming her in on every side she thought and thought till she sank into a slumber, and lay on her bed bereft of thought and motion." Homer is comparing Penelope's frenetic thoughts to those of a lion surrounded by hunters.
