Modern Prose And Poetry; For Secondary Schools Part 19

=Delos=:--An island in the Aegean Sea.

=Ogygia=:--The island of the G.o.ddess Calypso, who held Odysseus captive for seven years.

=Hephaestus=:--Another name for Vulcan, the G.o.d of the under-world. He was a skilled worker in metal.

=Poseidon=:--Neptune, G.o.d of the ocean.

=Land-shaker=:--Neptune.

=Marathon=:--A plain eighteen miles from Athens. It was here that the Greeks defeated the Persians in 490 B.C.

=Erectheus=:--The mythical founder of Attica; he was half man and half serpent.

=THE p.r.o.nUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES IN THIS SELECTION=

Al cin' o us ([)a]l sn' [+o] _[)u]_ s) Ap ei' ra ([.a]p [=i]' r_a_) Ap ei re' an ([)a]p [=i] r[=e]' _[)a]_n) A re' te ([.a] r[=e]' t[=e]) Ar' te mis (ar' t[+e] m[)i]s) A the' ne ([.a] th[=e]' n[=e]) Ca lyp' so (k_a_ l[)i]p' s[=o]) Cir' ce (sur' s[=e]) Cy' clops (s[=i]' cl[)o]ps) De' los (d[=e]' l[)o]s) Dy' mas (d[=i]' m_[.a]_s) E rech' theus ([+e] r[)e]k' th[=u]s) E ry man' thus ([)e]r [)i] m[)a]n' th_[=u]_s) Eu rym e dou' sa ([=u] r[)i]m [+e] d[=oo]' s_[.a]_) He phaes' tus (h[+e] f[)e]s' t_[)u]_s) Le' to (l[=e]' t[=o]) Mar' a thon (m[)a]r' [.a] th[)o]n) Nau sic' a a (no s[)i]k' [+a] _[.a]_) Nau sith' o us (no s[)i]th' [+o] _[)u]_s) O dys' seus ([+o] d[)i]s' [=u]s) O gyg' i a ([+o] j[)i]j' _[.a]_) Phae a' cia (f[+e] [=a]' sh_[.a]_) Po sei' don (p[+o] s[=i]' d_[)o]_n) Scher' i a (sk[=e]' r[)i] _[.a]_) Ta g' e tus (t[=a] [)i]j' [+e] t_[)u]_s)

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY

Odysseus (Ulysses) has been cast ash.o.r.e after a long battle with the sea, following his attempt to escape on a raft from Calypso's island. He has been saved by the intervention of the G.o.ddess Athene, who often protects distressed heroes. When Book VI opens, he is sleeping in a secluded nook under an olive tree. (For Odysseus's adventures on the sea, consult Book V of the _Odyssey_.) Is Athene's visit to Nausicaa an unusual sort of thing in Greek story? Does it appear that it was customary for princesses to do their own was.h.i.+ng? Note here that _I_ refers to the daughter of Dymas, since Athene is not speaking in her own character. From Nausicaa's conversation with her father and her preparations for departure, what can you judge of Greek family life? How does the author make us see vividly the activities of Nausicaa and her maids? Does the out-door scene appear true to life? _This virgin pure_ refers to Nausicaa, who is being compared to Artemis (Diana), the G.o.ddess of the hunt. What plan has Athene for a.s.sisting Odysseus? From the hero's speech, what can you tell of his character? Can you find out what adjectives are usually applied to Odysseus in the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_? Why does he here call Nausicaa "Princess"? What effect is his speech likely to have? What can you tell of Nausicaa from her reply?

Give her reasons for not taking Odysseus with her to the town. Does she fail in hospitality? What do her reasons show of the life of Greek women? What do you judge of the prosperity of the Phaeacians? Why does Nausicaa tell Odysseus to seek the favor of her mother? _Her father's brother_ means Neptune (the Sea)--brother of Zeus, Athene's father; Neptune is enraged at Odysseus and wishes to destroy him. _Here then_: At this point Book VII begins. From what is said of Arete, what can you tell of the influence of the Greek women? How does the author make you feel the richness of Alcinous's palace? How does it differ from modern houses? _Corn_ means grain, not Indian corn, which, of course, had not yet been brought from the New World. Note the vivid description of the garden. How do you think Odysseus is received at the house of Alcinous?

You can find out by reading the rest of Book VII of the _Odyssey_.

THEME SUBJECTS

One of Ulysses's Adventures An Escape from the Sea A Picnic on the Sh.o.r.e The Character of Nausicaa My Idea of a Princess The Life of a Greek Woman A Group of Girls The Character of Odysseus s.h.i.+pwrecked A Beautiful Building Along the Sh.o.r.e Among Strangers A Garden A Story from the Odyssey Odysseus at the House of Alcinous The Lady of the House The Greek Warrior The Stranger Why I Wish to Study Greek

SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING

=A Story from the Odyssey=:--Read, in a translation of the _Odyssey_, a story of Odysseus, and tell it in your own words. The following stories are appropriate: The Departure from Calypso's Island, Book V; The Cyclops Polyphemus, Book IX; The Palace of Circe, Book X; The Land of the Dead, Book XI; Scylla and Charybdis, Book XII; The Swineherd, Book XIV; The Trial of the Bow, Book XXI; The Slaughter of the Suitors, Book XXII.

After you have chosen a story, read it through several times, to fix the details in your mind. Lay the book aside, and write the story simply, but as vividly as possible.

=The Stranger=:--Explain the circ.u.mstances under which the stranger appears. Are people startled at seeing him (or her)? Describe him. Is he bewildered? Does he ask directions? Does he ask help? Quote his words directly. How are his remarks received? Are people afraid of him? or do they make sport of him? or do they receive him kindly? Who aids him?

Tell what he does and what becomes of him. Quote what is said of him after he is gone.

Perhaps you will like to tell the story of Ulysses's arrival among the Phaeacians, giving it a modern setting, and using modern names.

=Odysseus at the House of Alcinous=:--Without reading Book VII of the _Odyssey_, write what you imagine to be the conversation between Alcinous (or Arete) and Odysseus, when the s.h.i.+pwrecked hero enters the palace.

COLLATERAL READINGS

The Odyssey George Herbert Palmer (Trans.) The Odyssey of Homer (prose translation) Butcher and Lang The Iliad of Homer Lang, Leaf, and Myers The Odyssey (translation in verse) William Cullen Bryant The Odyssey for Boys and Girls A.J. Church The Story of the Odyssey " " "

Greek Song and Story " " "

The Adventures of Odysseus Marvin, Mayor, and Stawell Tanglewood Tales Nathaniel Hawthorne Home Life of the Ancient Greeks H. Blumner (trans, by A.

Zimmerman Cla.s.sic Myths (chapter 27) C.M. Gayley The Age of Fable (chapters 22 and 23) Thomas Bulfinch The Story of the Greek People Eva March Tappan Greece and the Aegean Isles Philip S. Marden Greek Lands and Letters F.G. and A.C.E. Allinson Old Greek Folk Stories J.P. Peabody Men of Old Greece Jennie Hall The Lotos-eaters Alfred Tennyson Ulysses " "

The Strayed Reveller Matthew Arnold A Song of Phaeacia Andrew Lang The Voyagers (in _The Fields of Dawn_) Lloyd Mifflin Alice Freeman Palmer George Herbert Palmer

See the references for _Moly_ on p. 84, and for Odysseus on p. 140.

ODYSSEUS

GEORGE CABOT LODGE

He strove with G.o.ds and men in equal mood Of great endurance: Not alone his hands Wrought in wild seas and labored in strange lands, And not alone his patient strength withstood The clas.h.i.+ng cliffs and Circe's perilous sands: Eager of some imperishable good He drave new pathways thro' the trackless flood Foreguarded, fearless, free from Fate's commands.

How shall our faith discern the truth he sought?

We too must watch and wander till our eyes, Turned skyward from the topmost tower of thought, Haply shall find the star that marked his goal, The watch-fire of transcendent liberties Lighting the endless s.p.a.ces of the soul.

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY

Read the poem through. How did Ulysses strive with G.o.ds and men? Why can it be said that he did not labor alone? Look up the story of Circe and her palace.[10] What was the imperishable good that Ulysses sought? What does his experience have to do with our lives? What sort of freedom does the author speak of in the last few lines?

This verse-form is called the sonnet. How many lines has it? Make out a scheme of the rhymes: _a b b a_, etc. Notice the change of thought at the ninth line. Do all sonnets show this change?

EXERCISES

Read several other sonnets; for instance, the poem _On the Life-Mask of Abraham Lincoln_, on page 210, or _On First Looking into Chapman's Homer_, by John Keats, or _The Gra.s.shopper and the Cricket_, by Leigh Hunt.

Notice how these other sonnets are constructed. Why are they considered good?

If possible, read part of what is said about the sonnet in _English Verse_, by R.M. Alden or in _Forms of English Poetry_, by C.F. Johnson, or in _Melodies of English Verse_, by Lewis Kennedy Morse; notice some of the examples given.

Look in the good magazines for examples of the sonnet.

COLLATERAL READINGS

To the Gra.s.shopper and the Cricket Leigh Hunt The Fish Answers (or, The Fish to the Man)[11] Leigh Hunt On the Gra.s.shopper and Cricket John Keats On First Looking into Chapman's Homer John Keats Ozymandias P.B. Sh.e.l.ley The Sonnet R.W. Gilder The Odyssey (sonnet) Andrew Lang The Wine of Circe (sonnet) Dante Gabriel Rossetti The Automobile (sonnet)[12] Percy Mackaye The Sonnet William Wordsworth

See also references for the _Odyssey_, p. 137, and for _Moly_, p. 84.

A ROMANCE OF REAL LIFE

WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS