Reading Emily Wilson’s Odyssey

 Reading Emily Wilson’s Odyssey


Rhapsodes - song stitchers - 

Post modern touches - the song of the poet, the importance of the poet

‘Holy singer’ ‘it is lovely thing to listen to a bard’

Helen had these powerful magic drugs - narcotics. 

Odysseus feeds the bard.

‘Poets are honoured by all who live on earth. The Muse has taught them how to sing; she loves the race of poets.’

Odysseus crying as  a woman weeps p 237

Cyclops as atheist: I do the bidding of my own heart.

As when… so did.. Form of comparison

Circe - the goddess - ‘She was weaving as she sang, an intricate, enchanting piece of work, the kind a goddess fashions.’ 266

Agamemnon in the underworld p 293

‘It is annoying repeating tales that have been told before’ p 315

Odysseus weaves a strategy

Why did Penelope laugh when Telemachus sneezed?

Odysseus & Penelope - a lot of wink wink 

Penelope as strategist

Gods in disguise testing mortals

Peter’s three denials - p452

A good sense of the traitors

Odysseus successful return and reunion - then leaves to go on raids p506

When story told to Laretes, Odysseus idea of the axes and bow ehn it ws Penelpe’s idea - already rewritten!

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