The Act of Storytelling in The Odyssey Essay examples

The Act of Storytelling in The Odyssey In The Odyssey, the act of storytelling plays a significant role in revealing the story of Odysseus. Each storyteller reveals a part of the past of Odysseus and his heroic deeds. Each of their stories gives insight into what a hero should be, according to the standards of the Greek society, and they each reflect a different aspect of a hero. When pieced together, each story becomes part of a whole, however, each has a different function within the epic. Some may not contribute to the hero directly, but teach a moral or lesson to the audience listening to the story. The audience directed towards is the Greek society and the morals are taught by storytelling. By using storytelling, a hero is often†¦show more content†¦In book IX, Odysseus begins to tell his story from the time of the Trojan War to Calypsos island, approximately eight years. The story of Odysseus, before his homecoming, approximately 18 years, is condensed into the next two books. This condensation is also show n in the storytelling of Menalaos and Nestor when they tell their stories of other Archaen heroes. It is also significant that the entire section of Odysseuss trials is told by Odysseus himself, rather than Homer, the narrator. There are several reasons for this. By making Odysseus a great storyteller, Homer adds to the evolution of the heros own fame. Odysseus can spread his own fame of how great he is and how much of a hero he really is. For example, the famous story of the Cyclopes, Polyphemus, was only known to his shipmates who traveled with him and Polyphemus himself. Alkinoos would not have known this story otherwise, if Odysseus had not told him. Not everyone knows of all the adventures that Odysseus has been through, except for Odysseus. His entire crew who did travel with him and live through his adventures has been killed. There would be no point in a hero who could not tell his story, because he would not have the ability to reveal the variety of heroic deeds he has done to his audience. What makes Odysseus a hero is the stories told about him that are spread throughout the land to make him known as a hero and a legend.Show MoreRelatedWhat Is The Importance Of Storytelling In The Odyssey1111 Words   |  5 PagesJane Horovitz Jennie Woodard Honors 111 9/25/17 Storytelling in the Odyssey The Odyssey is a story made up of stories. Because there is very little action that happens in the present, the presence of storytelling within the Odyssey is something that characterizes it and makes it unique. The spreading of stories serve to form legends and myths that can have the effect of shaping a culture. In addition, since stories were such an important aspect of entertainment in Greek culture, stories also shapeRead MoreNarrative Means By Julie Beck1184 Words   |  5 Pagessuffering† (Beck, 2015). This helps with storytelling because this explains what is going on in a story; gives people a chance to tell their side of the story.Storytelling has changed in many ways. It can change or elaborated and more story genres have been added. Even though stories and their ideas have not changed, but the storytellers have. Each person is different and tells stories in different ways. Even cultures are different and tell different stories. Storytelling started in the Middle E ast when theyRead MoreThe Homeric Odyssey By Christopher Mcquarrie And Directed By Bryan Singer831 Words   |  4 PagesHomeric Odyssey is a timeless work that shadows the adventures of Odysseus. The main story involves Odysseus’ journey to return home after the Trojan War. Specifically in scrolls 8-12 of the Homeric Odyssey, Homer skips around the journey occasionally to show the audience the construction of the hero of the epic, namely, Odysseus. The events in Homer’s epic are not in chronological order; however, the events are effective on guiding Odysseus as a storyteller. Scrolls 8-12 of the Homeric Odyssey demonstrateRead More Iliad Essay1253 Words   |  6 PagesThe Iliad and The Odyssey are two epic poems with both similar and different styles to the structure of the poems, as well as each poem having the same gods incorporated into the stories intervening with the day to day lives of the mortals. Greek poetry before Homer was all composed orally; therefore it is assumed that Homer’s works are the first written works of art (Joachim Latacz, page 15). Scholars who have spent extensive time researching the origin of Homer’s work cannot verify a specificRead More Disguises in Homers Odyssey Essay954 Words   |  4 PagesDisguises in Homers Odyssey   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Homers Odyssey, disguises help convey a false identity that assist the characters in accomplishing their plans.   Each disguise has its own purpose, such as Athenes image as Mentor to advise Telemachos.   Her purpose was to assist and encourage Telemachos into searching news of his long lost father without revealing her true identity of divinity.   Being old and wise, and especially male, helps put more power behind the words spoken by Mentor because menRead MoreStorytelling in The Odyssey Essay581 Words   |  3 PagesStorytelling in The Odyssey The story of Odyssey comes from a time when storytellers spread tales of heroes and heroic deeds. The Greeks have been known to tell their stories of their heroes in oral tradition. The first few lines of the Odyssey is the narrator asking a Muse to help him tell the story of Odysseus. The story is also filled with dialogue, which might indicate that it is a form of theatre and that these lines were performed orally. From the first few lines, the Odyssey could beRead MoreEssay about Use of Disguise in Homers Odyssey1056 Words   |  5 PagesThe Use of Disguise in Odyssey       In Homers Odyssey, the use of disguise to help convey a false identity assists the characters in accomplishing their plans.   Without the use of disguise it would thwart Odyssey’s attempts at arriving back to his homeland. Each disguise has its own individual purpose, for example Athenes image as Mentor to advise Telemachos.   The main intention being to assist and encourage Telemachos into searching for news of his long lost father without revealingRead MoreAnalysis Of The Odyssey 1011 Words   |  5 PagesName Tutor Course Date Close Reading Essay In Book X of the Odyssey, Odysseus gives a tale of his adventure in Circe’s Island. He also tells of his encounter with Circe, (X. 380 - 419). Circe’s equivocation, â€Å"Why, Odysseus, dost thou sit thus like one that is dumb, eating thy heart, and dost not touch food or drink? / Dost thou haply forbode some other guile?† (X. 380 - 381), portrays Odysseus sadness and worry for his men. Earlier in this book, he had narrated of how Circe had put a portion inRead More Augustan Poetry Essay830 Words   |  4 Pageshad been the greatest form of storytelling and furthermore the Greeks form of storytelling. It also rivaled the great legends of the Greeks, gained much respect for Rome in the ancient world (where the Greeks were traditionally the great writers and thinkers), and, most importantly, allowed the Roman’s to make their myth’s and history known. (The Aeneid can be seen as a direct response to the great literature of the Greeks, in particular, H omer’s Illiad and Odyssey). Simultaneously, Horace becameRead MoreA reflection of Odysseus and Modern Day Heroes The Odyssey by Homer1717 Words   |  7 PagesWritten about two thousand and seven hundred years earlier, the Odyssey is still influencing modern storytelling today. Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca and protagonist of Homers epic poem the Odyssey was recognized as a great hero of his time. He was known for his defining qualities of superior strength and athleticism, sharp intellect, sensual ness, and a thirst for glory. These character traits are still being used to attribute modern day fictional heroes such as Neo, Captain Jack