Although Horace himself only claimed himself modelled on one among the Greek lyric poets (Alcaeus), even a cursory glance at his Odes suggests a broader range of influences, including Sappho, Pindar, and Anacreon. The Greek lyricists affect Horace in terms of meter, subject matter and language. Often, a poem will be based on an archaic Greek poem but then diverge wildly from the original.
A classic example of this is Ode 1.37, which bears some striking similarities to an Alcaeus fragment--the Horacian opening “Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero/pulsada tellus,” against “νῦν χρῆ μεθύσθην καί τινα πὲρ βίανπώνην/ ἐπεὶ δὴ κάτθανε Μύρσιλος.” Michael Pascalis claims that an important difference is “μεθύσθην” turning into “bibendum”; the Greek
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Although this time the content is more obscure, the meter suggests purposefulness on Horace’s part, both being in the Ionic a minore meter. Ionic a minore was critically endangered in Latin poetry, this Ode possibly the only known example. The Alcaeus poem speaks of a woman in misery, deer, and the feeling of dread, all of which appear in the relevant Horatian Ode. Another source of inspiration, suggested by Nisbet and Rudd, is Sappho 102, which focuses on unfulfilled love distracting a woman from her household tasks, an idea present in the second stanza of the Horace (although they do mention that this is also an old element of folklore). While this might be explained away as too broad to be considered a particular influence, Sappho’s poetry is very important to other Odes (1.13 and 4.1 stand out as particular examples) so it doesn’t seem too much of a stretch to suggest this is also what is happening here. The final two stanzas of Ode 3.12 focus on the athletic pursuits of the man whom Neobule is interested in--swimming in the Tiber, horseriding, sprinting, and hunting, all of which are archetypal pursuits of Roman men. The overall impression is of a blend of Greek and Roman elements, carried off
Hercules is one of the most well-known mythical heroes in history; his associations with adventure and violence exemplify as to why audiences are so interested in him. Virgil briefly writes about Hercules within The Aeneid, showcasing his heroic qualities within a climactic event with the monster, Cacus. Through the characterization of Hercules and Cacus, demonstrations of Hercules’ anger, and exemplifications of vividness, Virgil’s account of the battle between Hercules and Cacus in Book 8 of The Aeneid exemplifies an element of impact, heightening the conflict between the two characters for entertainment purposes.
In this paper, I will argue that although the surface meaning of this passage is the slaughter of the suitors by Odysseus and his men, the deeper meaning of the passage is the
The protagonist is strongly representative of the context in which a text was composed. “The Penelopiad” provides a contrasted perspective of Odysseus portrayed in Homer’s “The Odyssey”. It is critical to analyse the characterisation of the protagonist, as it stands as the composer’s primary means through which to convey his messages about the society and culture that existed during their context. In “The Odyssey”, Odysseus is praised for his various courageous and noble tasks, such a...
In The Odyssey, Homer contrasts Odysseus and his native island of Ithaka with other characters and places that are perceived to be superhuman and subhuman as well as with the less than fully human. Throughout the course of this paper, you will be introduced to a vast number of characters and several circumstances will be examined in order to answer the question of what it is to be human and fully human. Up until the time Telemakhos leaves to find news of his father, he is viewed as nave and child-like by the suitors and his own mother, even though he is in his late teens. This lack of recognition can be attributed to Telemakhos’s poor choices, or lack of choices early in the epic. While Telemakhos remained loyal to a father he has never known, without Athena’s assistance, he would have done absolutely nothing about the suitors.
Ariosto adapts and transforms Vergil’s final episode of The Aeneid into his own conclusion in Orlando Furioso. The final scenes in the epics parallel one another in many ways, yet also show distinct differences. Ruggiero and Rodomont represent Aeneas and Turnus, respectively, and the actions of Ariosto’s characters can be interchanged with their corresponding characters’ acts in The Aeneid. Ariosto reminds us of controversy and questions that Vergil elicits in his conclusion and responds interpretively, reshaping the ending and clarifying ambiguities.
The subject of Homer’s epic poem, the Iliad, is very clearly stated--it is “the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles.” The reader remains continually aware of the extent of Achilles’ rage, yet is never told the reason why Achilles remains angry and unreconciled. There is no definitive answer to this question. Achilles is not a static character. He is constantly changing; thus the question of why he remains angry solicits different answers at various stages throughout the poem. To find an answer, the reader must carefully examine Achilles’ ever-changing dilemma involving the concepts of mortality and honor. At its simplest, Achilles’ dilemma is that if he goes to war, he will die. But he will die with glory.
Throughout the Iliad the warriors' dream of peace is projected over and over again in elaborate similes developed against a background of violence and death. Homer is able to balance the celebration of war's tragic, heroic values with scenes of battle and those creative values of civilized life that war destroys. The shield of Achilles symbolically represents the two poles of human condition, war and peace, with their corresponding aspects of human nature, the destructive and creative, which are implicit in every situation and statement of the poem and are put before us in something approaching abstract form; its emblem is an image of human life as a whole.
The bee simile is a prominent figure in Virgil’s Aeneid, appearing first in Book I, and then later in Book VI. The careful arrangement and placement of the similes in the text implies that Virgil considered them to be highly significant to the understanding of his work. Each allusion to bee imagery in the Aeneid provides insight into what Virgil views as the perfect society - a diligent, patriotic, well-organized, dutiful community of likeminded individuals working towards a singular, noble end. Through his use of the bee similes, Virgil emphasizes the importance of the collective over the individual, the theme of rebirth, and the eventual rise of Rome.
Homer's two central heroes, Odysseus and Achilles, are in many ways differing manifestations of the same themes. While Achilles' character is almost utterly consistent in his rage, pride, and near divinity, Odysseus' character is difficult to pin down to a single moral; though perhaps more human than Achilles, he remains more difficult to understand. Nevertheless, both heroes are defined not by their appearances, nor by the impressions they leave upon the minds of those around them, nor even so much by the words they speak, but almost entirely by their actions. Action is what drives the plot of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and action is what holds the characters together. In this respect, the theme of humanity is revealed in both Odysseus and Achilles: man is a combination of his will, his actions, and his relationship to the divine. This blend allows Homer to divulge all that is human in his characters, and all that is a vehicle for the idyllic aspects of ancient Greek society. Accordingly, the apparent inconsistencies in the characterization of Odysseus can be accounted for by his spiritual distance from the god-like Achilles; Achilles is more coherent because he is the son of a god. This is not to say that Achilles is not at times petty or unimaginative, but that his standards of action are merely more continuous through time. Nevertheless, both of Homer's heroes embody important and admirable facets of ancient Greek culture, though they fracture in the ways they are represented.
When considering the structure of the poems, they are similar in that they are both written loosely in iambic pentameter. Also, they both have a notable structured rhyme scheme.
We have read two myths of great heroes this semester, Virgil’s The Aeneid and Homer’s The Odyssey. In both of these tales we get to go along with two great heroes on their journey home and all of the troubles that they face. Although these stories tell us about two great heroes and their journey there are a lot of differences. In this paper I will compare and contrast scenes from both myths and suggest a reason that this borrowing was appropriate for what Vergil was trying to do with his version of the myth.
“The Odyssey” is an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus and the story of his many travels and adventures. The Odyssey tells the main character’s tale of his journey home to the island of Ithaca after spending ten years fighting in the Trojan War, and his adventures when he returns home and he is reunited with his family and close friends. This literary analysis will examine the story and its characters, relationships, major events, symbols and motifs, and literary devices.
The scene from Paradiso in which Cacciaguida speaks to “Dante” explicitly evokes the image of Aeneas and Anchises from the Aeneid (Virgil 6.917-20) by using the same thematic elements. In both scenarios, the hero of the epic journeys to the after-life and visit...
Plato and Sidney had some of the same ideas but yet different ideas for poetry at the same time. They may not have the same ideas because of the times that they each lived in. If you think about it, Plato’s time of living was 427-347 B.C. and Sidney lived in the 1500’s. Therefore, each philosopher had a different view of poetry and what it could possible do for their community. Neither one is right nor wrong but, if we, as people, took both of their perceptions to heart, we would probably live in a world that wasn’t so tainted and corruptive.
Poetry, with its focus on mimesis or imitation, has no moral value. While Plato sees reality as a shadow of a realm of pure Ideas (which in turn is copied by art), Aristotle sees reality as a process of partially realized forms moving towards their ideal realizations. Given this idea by Aristotle, the mimetic quality of art is redefined as the duplication of the living process of nature and its need to reach its potential form. Art, then, for Aristotle, does not become the enemy of society if the artist is loyal to the representation of the process of becoming in nature. Horace, like Aristotle and Plato, also brings to view a theory of poetry as mimesis.