The Aeneid, written by Virgil, is a prime representation of epic poetry and it encompasses all epic themes. In his attempt to continue the Aeneid, Maffeo Vegio looks to use Virgilian style and tone to tell story Aeneas' story after Aeneas kills Turnus. Although he touches upon some Virgilian techniques, he would be viewed through Virgil's eyes as a sub-par epic poet. Vegio does not capture the Aeneid accurately, partly because he does not stay faithful to the epic dactylic hexameter, and he arouses a different attitude toward the story as perceived by the reader than Virgil does. Some of the Virgilian techniques that Vegio attempts to imitate include the use of epithets, similes and metaphors, role of the gods, symbolism, and various others.
The entire city of Troy feared Achilles. They knew that Hector didn’t have a very good chance at defeating Achilles. Andromache tries to talk Hector out of fighting Achilles for her sake and Hector’s. Despite this, Hector goes to fight, and the city watches within the walls of Troy. Even with Hector outside the walls awaiting his own death, Priam begs for him to come back to safety.
Hector vs. Achilles Literary heroes have been important to stories and poems throughout history. Each author develops his hero through a unique writing style, combining conscious use of detail, diction, tone and other narrative techniques to outline a hero's personality. Homer, in his epic poem The Iliad, develops two classic heroes who are distinctly different at first glance, but upon closer inspection are very similar in terms of their basic characteristics. Hector and Achilles both are courageous soldiers, relatively honorable men, and respected leaders, but they also both have human failings that eventually lead to tragedy. In Homer's lyrical verses and in his use of detail, diction, meter and imagery, he paints his own portrait of a classic hero through the brave deeds as well as the human flaws of Hector and Achilles that eventually lead to the downfall of proud and powerful Hector.
The Iliad exists as one of the ancient literary works of Western writing. Written in Homeric Greek, it narrates the battles and events as they took place at a time when there existed a battle between Agamemnon, who was king, and Achilles, the warrior in ancient Greece. Both Homer and Virgil point to the presence of fixed laws that control human beings, for example, morality. Therefore, I accept as true that both pieces of writing share the same critical objective. These works are a beautiful example of cause and effect in the history.
Yvonne Young British Literary Tradition II (EN246OC) Professor Abma May 29, 2011 The Truth in Heroic Allegory: S. Johnson’s “Truth, Falsehood and Fiction: an allegory” The word allegory, coming from the Latin allegoria meaning “veiled language, figurative”, is an effective literary device used by many writers to communicate messages by means of symbolic figures and extended metaphors. As it turns out, Samuel Johnson used just that in his esteemed allegorical work “Truth, Falsehood and Fiction: an allegory” where abstract concepts of human nature (good versus bad) are cleverly woven into an epic tale full of mythological and worldly characters. In this, Johnson is able to place a “mask” of figurative language over intangible, sober subject material, effectively catching the reader’s interest, while at the same time providing a deeper understanding of the true significance behind the narrative. In his essay, allegory is used to personify human concepts into tangible characters providing a deeper understanding of its teachings. For instance, the word truth can be described as honesty, reality, sincerity etc, but the heroine TRUTH, “daughter of Jupiter and Wisdom”, causes readers to envision a “majestic”, “towering” woman “conscious of superior power and juster claim” who must fight to win the hearts of men.
In the poems the Iliad and Beowulf heroes such as Achilles and Beowulf came from communities that were war minded. Whether these heroes succeed or fail in battle determine the height of their honor. The protagonists in both epics have similar supernatural qualities, are trusted with maintaining the fate of there country, fought for glory and fame, were aided by the gods, and faced a fate that led to death. The dynamic adventures that these stories take you through are complex, leaving the impressions that an intricate and very real tale has been told. The chief elements of an epic include: a depiction of the societies values and what is important to the people concerning the epic such as the warlike behavior shown in both the Iliad and Beowulf; heroes such as Achilles and Beowulf that are unafraid of the opposition they face and have courage in front of impossible odds; mythical creatures like Grendel and impressive beings such as Apollo that provide a challenge to the hero; settings like the heavily protected Troy and haunted Herot that capture the mind’s eye; and tales of wars and the battles that encompass them.
Archibald MacLeish “Calypso's island” I. Introduction The collaboration of modernist poetry and Greek mythology is the bedrock of my choice for the assignment. Provided the fact that myths themselves possess the ambiguity of fiction, religion, fairytale and history, one can only be prompt to dive in the endless pool of factual and fictional, and the reflection of the morals and customs of that time and the modernist approach to the myth offered by Archibald MacLeish. The themes and motifs that run through the poem as a parallel to the original myth of Odysseus (or Ulysses) are ones that spark public controversy and are problems of the present day. Patriarch society and the view of the woman as an irresistible allure that threatens to lead men astray and corrupt them.
Compare the ways the central characters are presented in “checking out me history” by John Agard and “Case History: Alison (head injury) by U. A. Fanthorpe. The poems “Checking out Me History” and “Case History: Alison”both use many different techniques and linguistic features in evenly effective and successful ways to present their central characters throughout their piece. “Case History: Alison” relies mostly on the tone set in the poem to convey its characters’ attitude and message, whereas the poem “Checking out me history”, relies more on structural techniques and the language featured to put across its own characters’ different views and ideas. The ambiguous tone that “Case History: Alison” is flooded with is shown through the confused emotion in the poem.
Harmony Blankenship Mrs. Malone English 1210 16, April 2012 Antigone Analysis The play Antigone is a Greek Tragedy written by Sophocles in 405 BC. The two main characters are Creon and Antigone. The main conflict of the drama is between Antigone and Creon. Creon is the tragic hero and antagonist in the conflict. Due to Creon’s tragic flaw and destructive pride, he suffered at the hands of the angry Gods.
The play “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles is a wonderfully written Greek tradgedy based on folklore and mythology. There are almost as many interpretations of the meaning of this play as there are versions of it that have been rewritten by other authors. Francis Fergusson and David Wiles both comment on the political aspects of Oedipus Rex and spend some time commenting on the chorus in particular (183). I feel that although Fergusson and Wiles choose different words to describe was the chorus is trying to say, that if you get down to basics, they are both trying to say something extremely similar. Fergusson describes a Sophoclean chorus as an important character or group personality, like an old Parliament or a Prime Minister (237-238).