Corporación Universitaria del Caribe “CECAR”

Bachelor in Education
Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Subject: English Literature Analysis
Workshop: The odyssey
Dear student please develop the following activities following these instructions properly:

1. Go to the resources section (in the virtual campus) and find a link called:

The odyssey – First task

a. Watch the video about “The Odyssey” by Homer (8th Century BCE).
b. Explore the timeline & Map, Slideshow, Connections and Key Points.
c. Read the Getting started section and Text section (Book 1) check the glossary too.

2. Answer these questions:

a. Write in front of each description the name of the character:

DESCRIPTION CHARACTER
Main suitor; all suitors take over Odysseus's Antinoo
house while he's gone; most arrogant suitor.
Stays faithful to her husband, all the suitors Penelope
wish to take her hand in marriage; questions
her own husband to prove himself, before she
believes him.
Strong and brave epic hero, left for Troy and Odysseus or Ulysses
doesn't return home until twenty years later,
the epic story is based in his journey home;
defeats and kills all the suitors in battle with
Telemachus; the suitors had invaded his home
while he was gone.
God of the sea, brother of Zeus Poseidon
King of gods, Poseidon's brother Zeus
Grew up without a father, sets out in order to Telemaco
find his father; defeats and kills all the suitors
in battle.
Daughter of Zeus; goddess of wisdom; helps Atenea
Odysseus through his whole journey home and
aids Odysseus and Telemachus in their battle
against the suitors.

b. Whose help is invoked to tell the story of Odysseus and his adventures as the epic opens?

To tell the story is invoked the daughter of Jove.

c. On whose island is Odysseus imprisoned at the beginning of the epic?

Odysseus was trapped in a large cave located on the Island of the goddess Calypso.

Author: Rubén Mauricio Muñoz

 Corporación Universitaria del Caribe “CECAR”
Bachelor in Education
Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Subject: English Literature Analysis
Workshop: The odyssey

d. Review the Expert´s View about the Odyssey in the materials provided and identify each
expert´s view in the following comments:

"When they were married, Odysseus didn't simply have a bed made for them, it was almost as if
he constructed the palace around the whole bed. It was sort of a tree bowl that had grown into
the palace and they built the bedroom around it."

Expert’s name: Simon Armitage

This scene shows a fascinating mix of psychological realism and a symbolically heightened
reality, in a kind of expansive elaboration of the early flashes of realism to be found in the
Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. In that story, Gilgamesh denies that his beloved friend Enkidu
has died, sitting by his corpse for six days and seven nights, until a worm crawls out of Enkidu's
nose. Homer makes much use of this vivid physical detail to bring his scenes to life even farther.
A lesser work would have cut straight to the chase, giving us an emotion-filled scene of rejoicing
as the long-separated hero and heroine rush into each other's arms. Yet here, surprisingly,
Penelope refuses to recognize her beloved husband, despite the fact that Athena has even
restored him magically to his youthful appearance of twenty years before. Not yet a modern
novelist, Homer is quite comfortable giving us this miraculous transformation, and Penelope
herself never questions how this rejuvenation could come about. So why doesn't she recognize
him? Or does she, but she is refusing to admit it to herself? Or is she so completely a match for
Odysseus that she takes nothing for what it seems to be? Homer leaves us to plumb the
meaning of the scene as he fleshes it out with the many details that Odysseus, having fallen into
the loving trap set for him by his wife, calls to mind in outrage at the idea that she now might
have a new, movable bed.

Expert’s name: David Damrosch

"From the time which it began to circulate in the Greek world, The Odyssey was acknowledged
as a traveler's text. So Alexander the Great, when he set off to Egypt, had a copy of The
Odyssey with him. Lawrence of Arabia is the other classic explorer who is famous for citing The
Odyssey as his inspirational text. I've heard it said The Odyssey was a text that Columbus
traveled with, and that in addition to the Bible, it was one of his master narratives for his New
World exploration. There's seldom a period when The Odyssey falls out of view."

Expert’s name: Emily Greenwood

"Penelope is the wife of Odysseus, and she's a perfect match for him, because she's just as
crafty as he is, just as devious, just as careful, and just as imaginative. She's keeping all of
these suitors at bay in her house who are just clamoring to marry her and take over the castle
and the lands of Odysseus by telling them, Oh, you know, I have to weave a shroud for my poor
father, and I just have to finish this, and so she weaves it every day, and then at night she
unweaves it, so it's never ever done. So, even though he comes and he says, I'm home, it's me,
it's your husband, she wants one test."

Expert’s name: Mary Zimmerman

Author: Rubén Mauricio Muñoz

 Corporación Universitaria del Caribe “CECAR”
Bachelor in Education
Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Subject: English Literature Analysis
Workshop: The odyssey
"I think in a modern novel, you would expect a husband and wife to recognize each other before
any other recognition scene happens. But in The Odyssey, that relationship is so complex and so
deep that when it has been severed, it takes a very long and hard time to rebuild."

Expert’s name: Gregory Nagy

3. In a short paragraph, define what is the importance of this book in history. Include aspects
like:

- The social impact.

- The importance in world literature.
- The topics and characters and how they have transcended in history.
- Any other aspect you consider relevant.

The Odyssey is a very important and well-known work in the history of world literature, it is
attributed to Homer and narrates his history through twenty-four chants or rhapsodies. The
importance of this literary work lies fundamentally in the fact that it is one of the first texts of
the Greco-Latin epic that emerged around the 8th century BC. The work of the Odyssey leaves
many teachings, although in real life there are no mythological beings or gods like Poseidon, we
can find a similarity in the way our life happens with the life of Odysseus, as we find obstacles to
overcome in the same way that Odysseus had them. These unforeseen events of life is what
makes it interesting and makes it an adventure, hence some say the expression "Life is an
odyssey". In the Odyssey we also see highlighted human qualities such as cunning because
Homer highlights this in the exploits of the protagonist who always presents ingenious solutions,
a value that also highlights is loyalty as shown by Telemachus to his father and on the other
hand is that which Penelope herself professes towards her husband. There are also anti-values
such as lust, disobedience and disloyalty, among others.

4. Complete the chart with the following information:

CHARACTERISTI ANSWER
C
Setting Greece, in a village called Ithaca
Plot The genre of the work "The Odyssey" is ancient epic because it is written
in the classical period of Greece. The literary species of the work "The
Odyssey" is epic because it is classical literature.
Theme The mythical story of Odysseus' return to Ithaca after the Trojan War;
the journey of Telemachus, his son, in search of his father; and a set of
sailing stories that Odysseus had.
Characters Odysseus, Naussica, Polyphemus, Calypso, Circe, Eodine, Hermes,
Penelope, Poseidon, Zeus, Telemachus.
Medonte and Fernio, Apollo, Arete, Eolo, Scylla, Euriclea, Eumeo,
Heracles, Mentor, Nestór, Tiresías.
Conflict Enemies of Odysseus, the suitors, harassed Penelope to marry at the
same time want to keep the possessions of Odysseus and his throne.
Resolution Odysseus returns home and recovers his throne and his family. Athena
and Zeus, help to make truce and make a peace agreement.
Tone His style is direct, first-person narration. Third-person facts are narrated.
He knows everything, to the innermost thoughts of the characters

Author: Rubén Mauricio Muñoz

 Corporación Universitaria del Caribe “CECAR”
Bachelor in Education
Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Subject: English Literature Analysis
Workshop: The odyssey
(omniscient narrator). Expresses even value judgments.
Tense In ancient Greece and in the 11th century
Climax Odysseus' return to his native island where he regains his wife's honour
and kills all the suitors who wanted to marry Penelope.

Author: Rubén Mauricio Muñoz