1. You should be able to identify, recognize, apply, and/or construct the following literary terms.

2.  Record the definition of each literary term.  Record an example of the literary terms as applied in The Odyssey  We will continue to find examples of these as we read the Odyssey.

3.  A long narrative poem about the deeds of a hero. (This is in your background notes.)  The Odyssey is a long poem that tells the story of Odysseus as he returns home from the Trojan War.

4.  The central character, or hero, of an epic. He has qualities that are superior to those of most men, yet he is very human. (This is in your background notes.)  Odysseus is the epic hero in The Odyssey.

5.  A lengthy and elaborate comparison of one thing to another.  For example, when Odysseus strings his bow, it is compared to a musician: “like a musician, like a harper, when/with quiet hand upon his instrument/he draws his thumb and forefinger/a sweet new string upon a peg…”

6.  Find a Homeric simile on p. 1056 and write it down.  Hint: See line 341  “In a smithy/one sees a white- hot axe-head or an adze/plunged and wrung in a cold tub, screeching steam- /the way they make soft iron hale and hard-:/just so that eyeball hissed around the spike.”

7.  The Odyssey is told in episodes (installments) that make up a whole story  The Cyclops story is one episode in the entire story that Odysseus shares in his journey home.

8.  A reference to another person, place, thing, or event. This can be literary, historic, common day, musical, etc.  Think of a modern allusion to the Odyssey.  Naming a minivan the Honda Odyssey is making reference to the long journey that Odysseus must go through to return home.

9.  A word or phrase used repeatedly to characterize or describe someone or something (almost a glorified nickname).  Find an epithet on the top of p. 1047.  Odysseus is frequently described as “Laertes’ son.” That is an epithet because it is commonly repeated in the epic.  Others: Dawn, Athena?  “rosey-fingered Dawn, gray-eyed Athena”

10.  Think of others from history or popular culture.  Gandolf the Gray  Katniss Everdeen: Girl on Fire  Helen of Troy  Alexander the Great  Charles Martel (won the battle of Tours): Charles the Hammer  Queen Mary (daughter of Henry VIII): Bloody Mary

11.  Foreshadowing: The use of clues in a literary work to suggest events that have yet to occur. Example: Polyphemus lets the rams into the cave right before Odysseus and his men stab him in the eye. From the intro, what do we know will happen to Odysseus’ men?  Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects, ideas, or animals. Example: Dawn with fingertips of rose.

12.  Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate sounds.  Find examples on p. 1056, lines 340, 345:  “hissed,” “popped,” “roared”  Imagery: Descriptive language that appeals to one or more of the five senses. What words were used when Odysseus stabbed Polyphemus in the eye? See lines 339-348.  Alliteration: Repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words. See line 345:  “Rock roared round”