Figurative Language and 'The Odyssey'

Terms You Need for 'The Odyssey'

by Ms. L. Carr

​An epic is a long poem that tells a story about a hero and a journey full of adventures. Although they are found all over the world and seem to tell different stories, there are things they all have in common:

​Epic hero

​An epic hero is the brave, noble protagonist in an epic poem. This individual is viewed as the ultimate representation of all the qualities that the culture admires the most. For example, the ancient Greeks admired honor and cunning. Therefore, Odysseus fights in the Trojan War to honor his oath to a fellow king and uses deceit and tricks to get out of potentially deadly situations.

Epithet​

​An epithet is a small, descriptive phrase used to characterize a person or a thing.

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​For example, when Odysseus begins telling of his adventures, he refers to himself as "raider of cities" and "Laertes' son"-- both of these are epithets he uses to characterize himself.

​in media res

​The term in media res is used to describe where readers are at the beginning of an epic. When we read an epic, we start "in the middle of things", or right in the middle of the story.

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​Example: when reading the Odyssey, we start after the Trojan War is over, and Odysseus is on his way home. Many of the trials he endures are related to his audience (and us) in the form of a flashback ("So, while I was on my way home from the war, this happened...")

​Epic Simile

​An epic simile is just like other similes. They are a comparison of two unlike things, using "like" or "as"; the difference between a regular simile and an epic simile is that epic similes can go on for several lines in the poem.

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​Example: "I drove my weight on it from above and bored it home like a shipwright bores his beam with a shipwright's drill that men below, whipping the strap back and forth, whirl and the drill keeps twisting, never stopping --So we seized our stake with it fiery tip and bored it round and round in the giant's eye."

​Invocation

​Traditional epics tend to begin with an invocation. The invocation is a prayer to the Muse, or goddess, of Epic Poetry for inspiration and help for the poet so that he can do a good job relating the story.

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​Example: "Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways, who was drivenfar journeys, after he had sacked Troy’s sacred citadel.Many were they whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of,many the pains he suffered in his spirit on the wide sea,struggling for his own life and the homecoming of his companions."

​NOW it's your turn!

​You have 45 seconds to answer each question!

This counts as a practice grade!

Multiple Choice

A comparison of two unlike things that uses like or as developed over several lines of verse.

• epic plot

• allegory

• epic simile

• allusion

Multiple Choice

a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events. (Protagonist of Epic Poetry)

• Epic Simile

• Epic Setting

• Epic Hero

• Epithet

Multiple Choice

small descriptive phrase used to characterize a person or thing

• Epithet

• Allegory

• Epic Theme

• Allusion

Multiple Choice

Epic poetry begins with an invocation to the Muse. This means:

• a prayer or request to the goddesses for inspiration and to do a good job

• a demand to the gods to fix the current situation

• a request for immortality

• telling the gods that you will do a good job without them

Multiple Choice

An epic begins "in media res" which means

• at the beginning

• at the end

• in the middle of things

• outside the story