Homer’s work The Odyssey has a vast number of features, which are studied from the literature point to this day. This epic poem tells about the return of Odyssey to Ithaca after the Trojan War. The analysis of Odysseus’ books allows readers to recognize the temper and change the perceptions of the hero’s wanderings. Moreover, it is important to know how Odysseus characterizes himself within these stories. Readers can get to know the impact of the way the storytelling affects the image of the main hero in general. Finally, it can help to understand the universe and the image of the ancient Greeks’ world, primarily through how Homer depicts the environment and what values are essential for him.
Elements of the epic style are essential not only from the narrative technique but also from the impression of remarkable stability, the epic world’s immutability. It is still crucial; the heroes’ fates’ vicissitudes are as impressive as the origin of any object or person mentioned in the poem. This distribution of attention leads to the fact that with equal thoroughness, the epic narrates about the miraculous salvation of Odysseus, for instance, during a terrible sea storm and feasts in the palace of the king of the Phaeacians (Homer, 2018, book 13, 105-115). The story is epically dispassionate: there are no signs of Homer’s interest; this gives objectivity in presenting events.
The author’s comparisons sometimes turn into independent stories, apart from the main narrative. The material for comparison in poems is natural phenomena: flora and fauna, for example, “with her fingertips like petals” (Homer, 2018, book 12, line 8). Sometimes comparisons in the poem are designed to create a retardation effect, slowing down the story utilizing artistic retreat and broadening the theme to the larger world of nature, giving a cosmic force to the story.
In Homer’s Odyssey’s structure, the most remarkable thing is the first method of transposition in world literature – a presentation of past events in the form of an Odyssey’s story. The image of Odysseus is a mix of contradictions and exaggeration. Human nature is highlighted, as long as it emphasizes how it can be transformed due to the constant search for new aspects of humankind.
The central hero’s image reflected the human ideal in different epochs. Heroes are always perfect in the case of physical and moral qualities; Odysseus is the first protagonist of world literature, in which bodily perfection is combined with an extraordinary mind. It should be noted that the hero of Homer’s poem is in control of his fortune, and simultaneously, he makes attempts to release society from arbitrariness and chaos and restore justice successfully. “If I spare you or spare your friends, it will not be out of fear of Zeus. I do the bidding of my own heart” (Homer, 2018, book 9, line 277-279).
Odysseus’ patient brings benefits and strength as it enables him to succeed and face obstacles on his way back home.
To sum up, its complete objectivity characterizes the heroic epic song; Homer does not analyze but only reports, revealing his characters in their actions and speeches. He does not judge anything and does not explain anything. However, the presence of the author in the poems is felt continuously. Readers see his moral, political, aesthetic ideals, reflecting on the world through his perception of it. Homer cannot hide his constant admiration for both the universe and humankind. The world is excellent and beautiful; it can be formidable, bring death to people, but it does not suppress a person. The man obeys inevitability but never shows slavish humiliation. Homer’s heroes’ rage, passions play with their souls, often pushing them to madness, but the poet does not judge them. His narrative is imbued with humane tolerance.
Reference
Homer. (2018). The Odyssey. (E. R. Wilson, Ed.). W.W. Norton.