The Odyssey: Homer and His Narrative Structure
The Odyssey- Homer and his narrative structure
The structure of the Odyssey renders Homer’s epic an interesting perspective of the tale he tells. One of the first things that may strike many readers about the Odyssey, especially in contrast to the Old Testament or even much of the Iliad, is that we are clearly in the presence of a very clever story teller who is manipulating certain conventions of literature in remarkable ways. The story can be split easily into three threads. The first two of which are sewn independent of one another, and the third takes these two threads and weaves them together.
The structure of the Odyssey is very complex, but extremely clever. Complicated in the way that these threads have their own exposition, inciting incident and rising action but the third part intertwines the climax, falling action and resolution. As seen in the structure graph or climax chart below, Homer’s epic creates a sense that there is more than one plot. The first part, woes of Telemachus, sets the scene back at home in Ithaca; the middle section recounts Odysseus’ travels while highlighting the importance of returning home; and the final section is what happens when father and son unite against a common enemy. This varies greatly to the traditional structuring, shown in grey, which would normally follow a single character on his one dimensional quest. This partly attributes to the fantastic finishing effect of the epic.
Alongside that, shown regularly in books 9-12, Homer changes the narrator, from an unseen voice to Odysseus retelling his own voyages. “Odysseus, the great teller of tales, launched his story:...” (Fagles, 2111) “I approached my host with cordial, winning word: ‘So, you ask me the name I’m known by, Cyclops? ….Nobody―that 's my name.’” (Fagles, 222) The first person recount in the centre of the epic can be likened to the climax of traditional stories; the excitement of the first person convention is perfectly timed to
The structure of the Odyssey renders Homer’s epic an interesting perspective of the tale he tells. One of the first things that may strike many readers about the Odyssey, especially in contrast to the Old Testament or even much of the Iliad, is that we are clearly in the presence of a very clever story teller who is manipulating certain conventions of literature in remarkable ways. The story can be split easily into three threads. The first two of which are sewn independent of one another, and the third takes these two threads and weaves them together.
The structure of the Odyssey is very complex, but extremely clever. Complicated in the way that these threads have their own exposition, inciting incident and rising action but the third part intertwines the climax, falling action and resolution. As seen in the structure graph or climax chart below, Homer’s epic creates a sense that there is more than one plot. The first part, woes of Telemachus, sets the scene back at home in Ithaca; the middle section recounts Odysseus’ travels while highlighting the importance of returning home; and the final section is what happens when father and son unite against a common enemy. This varies greatly to the traditional structuring, shown in grey, which would normally follow a single character on his one dimensional quest. This partly attributes to the fantastic finishing effect of the epic.
Alongside that, shown regularly in books 9-12, Homer changes the narrator, from an unseen voice to Odysseus retelling his own voyages. “Odysseus, the great teller of tales, launched his story:...” (Fagles, 2111) “I approached my host with cordial, winning word: ‘So, you ask me the name I’m known by, Cyclops? ….Nobody―that 's my name.’” (Fagles, 222) The first person recount in the centre of the epic can be likened to the climax of traditional stories; the excitement of the first person convention is perfectly timed to
Bibliography: Butcher, S. H, Lang, A 1930, The Odyssey of Homer, Humphries & Co. Ltd., Great Britain Fagles, R 1996, The Odyssey, Penguin Classics, United States of America Page, D 1976, The Homeric Odyssey, Greenwood Press, Inc., United States of America. Schein, S, 1996, Reading the Odyssey, Princeton Academic Press, United States or America. The Bible S H Butcher and A Lang, Homer: The Odyssey, Ancient History Sourcebook, n.d. Available from: The Odyssey: Important quotes, SparkNotes, n.d. Available from: The Biography of Homer, Grade Savers, n.d. Available from: