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Here it is sans headers/footers! World Lit 2! And honestly I don't even have the heart to read over it at the moment...
Commentary on an extract from The Odyssey: PenélopL’s dream and discussion with Odysseus
In Homer’s epic novel The Odyssey, line 620-700 of book XIX, in which PenélopL tells a disguised Odysseus her dream and their subsequent discussion, highlights themes such as gods controlling the affairs of mortals, the impact of dreams on the lives of mortals, and the importance of loyalty. These pivotal themes are present throughout the work, and because it expresses these ideas, lines 620-700 can be seen as a key passage in The Odyssey. Homer also utilizes literary devices such as imagery, foreshadowing, and epithets to carry on themes in this passage that are present throughout the work.
One of the main themes in The Odyssey, which is evident in this passage, is that gods play a key role in the lives of mortals. When a human being is acting in accordance with the will of the gods, then everything is as it should be. However, whenever human beings, such as the suitors in this passage, act against the will(s) of the gods problems arise like the suitors being massacred at the hands of Odysseus and his followers, which in this passage is evidenced by Odysseus’ quote, "Death to the suitors,/ sure death, too. Not one escapes his doom" (lines 646-647). The suitors had clearly been involved in traitorous activities through disrespecting the memory, possessions, and household of Odysseus which set them up for an "inglorious death" when Odysseus does in fact return seemingly from death (line 639). However, this probably would not have happened were it not for the fact that Odysseus had recently come back into favor with the gods, after suffering through twenty years of trials brought on himself because he and his crew acted against the will of the gods. Also, although the gods allow Odysseus to exact revenge upon the suitors there is an undercurrent of warning in this passage, as there is throughout the epic poem, that one should act in moderation even in revenge as is later demonstrated through Athena’s speech at the end of the poem in which she asks for peace among the inhabitants of Ithaka.
Imagery also plays a key role in the representing of themes in this passage that are present throughout the epic poem. Bird imagery in particular serves to connect the world of mortals with that of the gods. In PenélopL’s dream there are twenty fat geese that feed on grain beside Odysseus’ house, these geese are metaphorical descriptions of the suitors which have been fed by Odysseus’ household for years. Also, in her dream there is a mountain eagle which kills the geese and talks with the voice of a mortal. These images are quite striking, and both foreshadow the death of the suitors as well as connect Odysseus with the gods who often take the form of birds throughout the epic poem. Because the suitors are depicted as geese and Odysseus is depicted metaphorically as a mountain eagle they are being juxtaposed to in order to highlight the lazy pampered nature of the suitors and the heroic and almost god-like nature of Odysseus.
Through foreshadowing the fight and its outcome in this passage, Homer is able to further juxtapose the suitors with Odysseus. In doing this, the suitors are shown to be inferior to Odysseus physically as well as in their relationships with the gods in that they are set up for failure in the contest to win PenélopL’s hand in marriage and that Odysseus is being disguised by Athena in order to help him defeat them. A disguise motif is present throughout this passage both
in that Odysseus is pretending to be an old wanderer (which is also ironic in that he had been basically that for years) and in his dialogue with PenélopL. Homer uses the epithet, "The master of subtle ways and of straight" to imply that Odysseus is being careful to disguise himself through his words and stories in addition to the physical disguise cast upon him by Athena (line 643). The disguise motif is important in that it emphasizes the theme in The Odyssey that ones actions should be taken into careful consideration and that things should be done in moderation.
The recurring theme of dreams impacting the lives of mortals is a key part of this passage. Through PenélopL’s dream and her subsequent discussion on the nature of dreams with a disguised Odysseus, Homer is able to further the connection between the world of mortals and that of the gods. PenélopL talks of two gateways for dreams, that of ivory and that of polished horn. The ivory gateway is that of fantasies, however, she says that if a dream comes through the horn gateway then a mortal can bring it into existence. If this is the case, if gods communicate with mortals through dreams (the foreshadowing of events in PenélopL’s dream) and a mortal is capable of bringing said dreams to life then that person could also be thought of as a gateway for the messages of the gods. In The Odyssey the people who are capable of expressing the messages of the gods are leaders, like Odysseus, and poets. Not only could this be seen as an allusion to himself (Homer) in that he is a poet and this entire work could then be seen as the message of a greater power it can also be seen as an allusion to Odysseus as the narrator/poet earlier in the poem. He also could be seen as alluding to himself and the character Odysseus at the end of this passage in the quote ,"This the undying gods decree for all/ who live and die on earth, kind furrowed earth" (line 689). In Homer’s first work, the Illiad, Odysseus plows a field with salt in order to convince people that he was crazy, so he wouldn’t have to leave for war right after his son’s birth. When one plows a field, one creates furrows, so the reference to "the kind furrowed earth" could be seen as an allusion to Odysseus using the land to try to escape the war and also as an allusion to his (Homer’s) other work.
The importance of loyalty is also shown through PenélopL’s dream and her dialogue with Odysseus. When someone, like PenélopL, is loyal, as she shows through the many refereces to her guilt and that she’ll always remember Odysseus and his house, they are shown favor by the gods. In PenélopL’s case in this passage, Athena casts a "sweet sleep upon her eyes" which provides a respite for her grief (line 700). Also, later in the poem, her dream of Odysseus returning, which she claims is, "too good to be true... for my son and me" becomes a reality thanks to the help of Athena and Odysseus’ cunning (line 659). However, when one is not loyal, in can be expected that something unfortunate will happen because the gods will be against one’s aims, as in the case of the suitors being massacred by Odysseus due to their disloyalty and abuse of his household and memory. So, when one is loyal one is working with the will of the gods and one’s life is more likely to be harmonious than if one is disloyal.
Lines 620-700 of book XIX of The Odyssey are key in relation to the poem’s entirety in that they carry on the themes of gods controlling the lives of humans, dreams having impact on the lives of mortals, and the importance of loyalty which are present throughout the work. In addition, this passage draws on literary devices in order to express new ideas and redefine previously expressed ideas as well as to relate to end of the poem. The fact that this passage relates to the end of the poem shows that it is definitely a key passage in that it expresses most of the same ideas that Homer expresses in his summation of the work and provides readers/listeners with thematic clues which help to convey author’s (Homer’s) message.