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Trojan War Diction in the Epic Creative Compositions Reading Book 10

Exams and Papers

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Scores for the exam have been adjusted and will be reflected in your next transcript.

The Rubric

Comments were made on your final drafts. Please make an appointment to meet with me and discuss a rewrite if you choose to do so. Remember, this final draft is only the final draft if you want it to be.

The Trojan War

The Trojan War

Paris, prince of Troy, elopes with Helen, wife of Menelaus, the Spartan king. Menelaus, and his brother Agamemnon (a military chief), must raise an army and go after her.

Odysseus doesn’t want to abandon his new son, Telemachos, so he pretends to be crazy… but is eventually persuaded.

The army prepares for 2 years, and then fights for 9 to take the city of Troy.

The Trojan War

In the 10th year, the year of the Iliad, the greatest Achaean warrior Achilles kills Hector, Paris’ brother, who then kills him (guess how).

Odysseus leaves Troy to retrieve Hercules’ bow and arrow but even they are not enough to take Troy.

Odysseus comes up with the Trojan Horse idea. So sneaky!

Helen, bored of the assault, runs back to her husband Menelaus’ arms.

The Trojan War

But that’s not the end! Because the Greeks abused Paris’ sister Cassandra, the gods make their homecoming difficult…

End Iliad and begin Odyssey.

Whosawhatnow???

The Hero’s Journey

Fill in the handout with any instances of the hero’s journey you see in either Odysseus’ or Telemachos’ travels, so far.

You need not fill in each block for both characters.

Some blocks will be empty as we haven’t read/discussed these scenes yet.

Epic Language

Ennobled Diction Verse/Prose distinction Language/word choice

Epic Similes Epic or Homeric similes are an elaborate

comparison between two unlike objects using like or as. The Odyssey is an epic poem and epic similes in The Odyssey abound. Following are examples of epic similes in The Odyssey.

Epic Similes

Epic Simile: 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.

Thoughts: Odysseus gives a descriptive account of how he defeats the Cyclops Polyphemus. Because he is speaking to the Phaecians, a sea-faring people, they would understand the comparison to a shipwright's drill.

Epic Similes

Epic Simile: its crackling roots blazed and hissed - as a blacksmith plunges a glowing ax or adze in an ice-cold bath and the metal screeches steam and its temper hardens - that's the iron's strength - so the eye of Cyclops sizzled round that stake.

Thoughts: Odysseus compares the sizzling sound of the Cyclops' eye to that of sticking fire-hot metal in cold water.

Epic Similes

Epic Simile: Her mind in torment, wheeling like some lion at bay, dreading the gangs of hunters closing their cunning ring around him for the finish.

Thoughts: Penelope expresses her feeling of helplessness by comparing the suitors to hunters and herself to a trapped lion. The lion reference shows she still considers herself noble.

Epic Creative Compositions

Choose a character you would like to write in the voice of. Telemachos, Athene, Penelope, Odysseus,

Polyphemos the Cyclops Choose a recipient of a letter to be

written by that character Family member, fellow god, sheep

Take 25 minutes and compose at least 2 paragraphs.

Epic Creative CompositionsBut what to say!?

Reveal details about: Your current situation:

Thoughts on how you came to be where you are, who got you there, what you’ve been doing

Your hopes for an outcome: Where are you hoping to get? How will you get there? What

do you want? Diction:

Use language/knowledge appropriate to your character Throw in some epic similes, some personification

Subject matter: War, honor, valor, battle, conflict, the gods, beasts,

farming, seafaring… things that were important to these people.

Sharing and Discussion

Where are we? Lotus-Eaters Cyclops

The rock Nobody The Olive Branch The Ram The Escape

Book 10

Large group reading Each reader 4-7 lines