Odessey Critics Flashcards
Emily Wilson (Feminist problems)
‘The silencing of female voices, and the dangers of female agency, are central problems in the poem’
‘The silencing of female voices, and the dangers of female agency, are central problems in the poem’
Emily Wilson
Emily Wilson (Goddesses)
‘Calypso, Aphrodite, and Circe provide passionate models of female power - idealised fantasies of how much agency mortal women might have, if only social circumstances were completely different’
‘Calypso, Aphrodite, and Circe provide passionate models of female power - idealised fantasies of how much agency mortal women might have, if only social circumstances were completely different’
Emily Wilson
William Charles Schaefer (Odysseus’ invincibility)
‘When coupled with his courage and fighting ability make him invincible’
‘When coupled with his courage and fighting ability make him invincible’
William Charles Schaefer
William Charles Schaefer (Odysseus’ cowardice)
‘Odysseus cannot be called a coward because of any of these […] incidents; rather, he is the greater hero because of his reactions in those situations. When he trembles and fears, as all men do, he becomes more plausibly human, and not some unreal literary creation’
‘Odysseus cannot be called a coward because of any of these […] incidents; rather, he is the greater hero because of his reactions in those situations. When he trembles and fears, as all men do, he becomes more plausibly human, and not some unreal literary creation’
William Charles Schaefer
Richard Jebb (Odysseus’ failings)
‘Sometimes, when the most deadly danger is imminent he fails in common prudence through too much curiosity […] which leads him to tempt fate’
‘Sometimes, when the most deadly danger is imminent he fails in common prudence through too much curiosity […] which leads him to tempt fate’
Richard Jebb
Richard Jebb (Odysseus’ wit)
‘He has wit enough to extricate himself from any difficulty, and fortitude enough to bear whatever the gods send’
‘He has wit enough to extricate himself from any difficulty, and fortitude enough to bear whatever the gods send’
Richard Jebb
Richard Jebb (Odysseus vs Achilles)
‘Odysseus is also an ideal type; but he is not lifted above ordinary emulation in the same degree as this dazzling embodiment of youthful force and vigour which is presented by the son of Peleus. […] The Greeks saw in Odysseus no unapproachable hero, but the great exemplar of certain qualities which everyone might cultivate’
‘Odysseus is also an ideal type; but he is not lifted above ordinary emulation in the same degree as this dazzling embodiment of youthful force and vigour which is presented by the son of Peleus. […] The Greeks saw in Odysseus no unapproachable hero, but the great exemplar of certain qualities which everyone might cultivate’
Richard Jebb
Michaels
Odysseus is a trickster and a liar… morally ambiguous
Odysseus is a trickster and a liar… morally ambiguous
Michaels
Sadler
Loyalty towards his allies is Odysseus’ redeeming quality
Loyalty towards his allies is Odysseus’ redeeming quality
Sadler
Graziosi
Odysseus is a comic character, a tragic hero, a villain - he could never and cannot yet be pinned down
Odysseus is a comic character, a tragic hero, a villain - he could never and cannot yet be pinned down
Graziosi
Nicholson
Odysseus’ name means ‘to be hated’
Odysseus’ name means ‘to be hated’
Nicholson
Clarke
Odysseus moves beyond the glamour of heroism to a more fundamental level of the human condition, where the hero suceeds only by accepting the inevitablity of his lowliness
Odysseus moves beyond the glamour of heroism to a more fundamental level of the human condition, where the hero suceeds only by accepting the inevitablity of his lowliness
Clarke
Jones
Penelope is the equal of Odysseus her ‘endurance the equal of her husbands’
Penelope is the equal of Odysseus her ‘endurance the equal of her husbands’
Jones
Griffin
Penelope is a model of fidelity
Penelope is a model of fidelity
Griffin
Burkeley
Penelope unconsciously enjoys the attention of the suitors and does not want Odysseus to come back
Penelope unconsciously enjoys the attention of the suitors and does not want Odysseus to come back
Burkeley
Duffy
No passage in the poem which unequivocally states the gods are subordinated to fate
No passage in the poem which unequivocally states the gods are subordinated to fate
Duffy
Nicholson
Odyssey is about the choices people make when faced with the deepest challenges of their lives
Kullman
Athene’s interventions mainly serve the purpose to assert the moral principles of the rule of Zeus
Odyssey is about the choices people make when faced with the deepest challenges of their lives
Nicholson
Athene’s interventions mainly serve the purpose to assert the moral principles of the rule of Zeus
Kullman
Silk
few modern readers condone the idea of revenge but the odyssey does
significant exception to revenge is the mutilation of melanthius
Segal
few modern readers condone the idea of revenge but the odyssey does
Silk
Segal
significant exception to revenge is the mutilation of melanthius
Beard
First recorded example of a man telling a woman to shut up
Knights
Athene is the power behind the plot in the Odyssey
Odyssey is first recorded example of a man telling a woman to shut up
Beard
Athene is the power behind the plot in the Odyssey
Knights
Rieu
Homer makes the growing up of Telemachus an issue of the Epic
Homer makes the growing up of Telemachus an issue of the Epic
Rieu
Fowler
Odysseus’ choice of his Ithica over other glamorous alternatives represents a clear affirmation of moral purpose
Odysseus’ choice of his Ithica over other glamorous alternatives represents a clear affirmation of moral purpose
Fowler
Jones
Ancient Greeks placed an absolute value on a mans loyalty to his househole
Ancient Greeks placed an absolute value on a mans loyalty to his househole
Jones
Griffin (oikos)
The integrity of the oikos is the central and dominating issue of the Odyssey
Armitage
The real mystery is not whether Odysseus will get home but rather if he will find out who he is
The integrity of the oikos is the central and dominating issue of the Odyssey
Griffin
The real mystery is not whether Odysseus will get home but rather if he will find out who he is
Armitage
Selby (2 quotes)
xenia creates a bond between ‘self’ and ‘other’
bad xenia is ‘flagged as a cause for concern’
xenia creates a bond between ‘self’ and
‘other’
bad xenia is ‘flagged as a cause for concern’
Selby
Roisman
xenia appears to be done through fear, not generosity
xenia appears to be done through fear, not generosity
Roisman
Davids
Since Telemachus was his son, that was a good enough reason to trust him
Since Telemachus was his son, that was a good enough reason to trust him
Davids
Peter Jones
men and women are of ‘two worlds’
men and women are of ‘two worlds’
Peter Jones
Emily Wilson
death of serving girls is full of ‘gruesome inhumanity and pathos’
death of serving girls is full of ‘gruesome inhumanity and pathos’
Emily Wilson
natalie haynes (xenia)
‘xenia was a cruel part of how social fabric worked’
