October 8,2014
World Lit Take-Home Midterm, Section 3
1. The term epic refers to a long narrative about a hero or a god. In the epic poem Odyssey, the narrative takes the shape because it is written in meter. The Odyssey is an epic poem because it is a long narrative poem, and it focuses on an epic subject such as the suffering of Odysseus life, as he deals with being absent from his home and family for twenty years. (Why is The Odyssey is an epic poem)
2. In The Odyssey there are major themes that serve and important moral and ethical constitution dealing with most of the characters. The reader learns a lot about the characters through these themes that are portrayed in this poem. In the poem Fagles and Knox refers to hospitality as a dominant part of "the only code of moral conduct that obtain in the insecure world of The Odyssey." The lack of hospitality affects Odysseus journey throughout the epic, because Odysseus ' home was invaded by suitors who took a huge advantage of his absences. They lacked the tradition of hospitality, and Penelope lacked the strength and courage to take charge of the situation. Civilized people made hospitality a huge factor because they believed that it demonstrated their quality as human beings and they believed that it made their people was treated well during travel. (The Odyssey By Homer Critical Essays Major Themes in The Odyssey)
3. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gods came off as powerful and they interfered with the lives of the humans in their own way. There are many examples in this epic poem of the Gods trying to control the lives of the humans. An example is the complications of Gilgamesh as bin the ruler. Many people complained that Gilgamesh was a ruler who did not treat his people well. To fix this situation, Aruru the Goddess of Creation created Enkidu in hopes of fixing this problem. The Gods use their powers to affect daily situations of the humans, Gilgamesh was trying to be like a God. He
Cited: "Why Is THE ODYSSEY Is an Epic Poem?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! Web. 9 Oct. 2014. "The Odyssey By Homer Critical Essays Major Themes in The Odyssey." Major Themes in The Odyssey. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.