LITERARY

CRITICISM
CRITERIA
A.CONTENT 50%

B.ORGANIZTION 20%
C.CONVENTIONS 30%

A LITERARY CRITICISM ON
ODYSSEUS

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS OF THE COURSE

ENGLISH 10

ERICA JOY TABIOS

10-B
I.BACKGROUND OF THE STORY
- written by homers

-most famous for his wandering adventures after the events of the
Trojan War. ... Known for his cunning intellect, Odysseus crafted the plan
that destroyed the city of Troy and ended the Trojan War.

II.SETTING
-Much of the action in the odyssey takes place on the sea, where
Odysseus must battle against the storms of the sea god, Poseidon, but the
last third of the story is set in town and countryside of Ithaca. When he
travel in the underworld, the land of dead, to speak with Tiresias, the dead,
blind prophet. While there, he converses with many other “shades”,
including his war buddies and his mother.

III.CHARACTERS

PROTAGONIST
1. Odysseus- Odysseus fought the other Greek heroes at Troy and
now struggles to return his kingdom in ITHACA. Odysseus is the
husband of Queen Penelope and the father of prince Telemachus.
Though a strong and courageous warrior, he is most renowned for
his cunning. He is a favourite of the goddess Athena, who often
sends him divine aid, but a bitter enemy of Poseidon, who
frustrates his journey at every turn.
2. Athena- Daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom, purposeful
battle, and the womanly arts. Athena assists Odysseus and
Telemachus with divine powers thoughtful the epic, and she
speaks up for them in the councils of the gods on Mount Olympus.
She often appears in disguise as mentor, an old friend of Odysseus.

ANTAGONIST
1. Poseidon- God of the sea. As the suitors are Odysseus’s mortal
antagonist. Poseidon is his divine antagonist. He despises
Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and
constantly happens his journey home. Ironically, Poseidon is the
patron of the seafaring Phaeacians, who ultimately help to return
Odysseus to Ithaca.
CONFIDANTE
1. Telemachus- Odysseus’s son. He is a natural obstacle to the
suitors desperately courting his mother, but despite his courage
and good heart, he initially lacks the poise and confidence to
oppose them. His maturation, especially during his trip to pylos
and Sparta to find his father. When his comeback to his kingdom,
he thought that he didn’t find his father but his father was there.
2. Penelope- Wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus. Penelope
spends her days in the palace pining for her husband who left for
troy, twenty years earlier and never returned. Homer portrays her
as sometimes flighty and excitable but also clever and steadfastly
True to her husband.

IV.PLOT
A. Conflict
- Odysseus and Telemachus are represented with terrible odds.
Realizing that Odysseus is actually the king, the men begin to offer
Their apologies, but Odysseus will have none. He has decided to fight
them, and the fight begins.

B. Significant event
- End of Trojan War. When Odysseus and his men attacks
Cicons. When Odysseus thought how to escape from cyclop and
Odysseus stabs out Cyclops’ eyes. Odyssues receive bag of wind.
When Odysseus went to the underworld. Pass by Scylla and
Charybdis. Odysseus loses all of his man. Odysseus washes up on
calypso’s island. Hermes command calypso to let Odysseus go.
Odysseus is taken in by king Alcinous where he tells his story.
Odysseus arrives back in Ithaca. Argos recognizes Odysseus. Eurycleia
recognizes Odysseus. Odysseus completes the trial of the axes and kills the
suitors.

C. kind
-
D. Appeal
A. his/her appeal
- Hermes tell calypso that if she will not let go Odysseus her
island will be destroyed by Zeus. So that after hearing about it she let
go of Odysseus and let him go home, he make a boat by himself
without the help of everyone. After how many days of making a boat
he was able to finish it and calypso give him a food to eat on his
journey.

B. Basic Humality Appeal

- When Odysseus heard the advice of Circe that he must go to
the underworld and see Tiresias to know what will happen in the
future but he must offer a ram. So he and his men went to the
underworld and when they are already at the entrance, his crew are
insisting to go with him because they are scared to lose him and they
think that Odysseus will die at the underworld. Odysseus being an
independent, also insist that he himself must go and see Tiresias, he
also tell them that if he didn’t come back, they must continue to sail
until their reach to they hometown, Ithaca and tell them what
happened to him.

c. Promise Appeal
- Penelope promise to Odysseus that she will marry if he will not
come back and if their son is already a man. He also promised that he
will come back alive and they will be reunited again. They both
promised at the front of a tree in their room. They promise didn’t
break even though they were separated for how many years. In this
story they show how important promise is. So if you promise to
someone you must do it. Don’t just promise, do it because if you
didn’t do, you must face the consequence. That’s how important
promise is.

E. Symbol
a. Odysseus’ bow
-The mighty bow of Odysseus, which only he can string, is a
symbol of his rightful place as king of Ithaca and husband of
Penelope. By stringing it after all others have failed, he asserts his
dominion and proves to the suitors that their efforts to take his wife
and land from him have been in vain.
B. Odyssues’ dog, argos
-Aside from being one of the most memorable and sympathetic
figures in the poem, Argos can also be seen as a symbol for the fidelity
of Odysseus' household in his absence. The implication is that Argos
could not die until his master returned, out of unparalleled loyalty to
him; just so, Penelope and Telemachus stayed loyal to Odysseus in his
extended absence, despite the many efforts of the suitors to dissuade
them from this loyalty.

C. The final journey of Odysseus

-Tiresias' charge for Odysseus to complete his journey by
traveling inland with an oar until he reaches a people who would
mistake it for a winnowing fan, at which point he must bury the oar
and sacrifice to Poseidon, is a symbol somewhat resistant to
explanation. One promising interpretation is that Odysseus cannot
make peace with the deep agonies he suffered on his journey home
until he has moved on from them in mind and body, as symbolized by
traveling to a land that knows nothing of the sea: only then can he
reconcile with himself and with the gods.