Euamaeus and eurymachus were the two loyal men that odysseus trusted. Penelope s second test was meant to undoubtedly prove to all parties that odysseus had returned. Short outline of the story to read afterwards during the prolonged absence of odysseus, the suitors of penelope began courting his wife. Penelopes final act of loyalty occurs in book 18, when she reveals her intention to follow odysseus instructions to remarry, against her own wishes. She said that if any one of them could bend and string odysseus bow, she would marry them.
My two favourite examples in wilsons text, which both demonstrate the inherent transformations of penelope and emphasise her character as strong, wilful and powerful, are her trick of the suitors and the epithet used to describe her hand. She tells him to go looking for news of his missing father, so he heads to pylos to visit king nestor. As a beggar, he figured out which suitors were loyal and which suitors were disloyal, which justifies his slaughter of some suitors but not. It also depends on whose perspective youre looking from. In homers odyssey, penelope is the wife of odysseus, who is known for her fidelity to odysseus while he was absent, despite having many suitors. Lines 30 49 penelope tells of her failed plot to draw out her time by weaving a mourning shroud, but unweaving it every night. Prezi s director of product marketing on working from home and finding balance. Penelopes trick of the suitors by weaving and unweaving the shroud for over three years is one of the. Penelope character analysis in the odyssey litcharts. Penelope announces the contest and retrieves odysseus great backsprung bow from a secret storeroom deep in the palace. In the odyssey, homer describes odysseus journey home from the trojan war.
Summary and analysis book 19 penelope and her guest. The odyssey study guidecomp warren hills regional school. The odyssey books 2124 summary and analysis gradesaver. The suitors would do whatever they could to try to marry penelope, as they have waited 20 years waiting for her to chose someone to marry. For example, sleep is used in many situations involving odysseus as a transition between one phase of the story and another. Nevertheless, telemachus did try to order the suitors out of the palace, in front of the ithacan assembly. Penelopes test in the odyssey is for the suitors that had taken over her house while odysseus was gone. All men loyal to odysseus had followed him to troy, she simply had no way of forcing the suitors to leave the palace. Penelopes challenge for the suitors was to take the bow and arrow and hit the target. This picture, painted in fresco, was part of a series of eight which decorated the walls of the palace belonging to pandolfo petrucci, the ruler of siena.
You are odysseus, wily master of landways and seaways, king of the island state of ithaca, husband of penelope, and father of your son. Apr 15, 2007 the story of penelope s test is told in book xxi of the odyssey, and odysseus revenge upon the suitors is told in book xxii. The second part of the dream expresses penelopes fearful perception of odysseus right now, still standing apart from her in the disguise of a beggar. He is about to succeed on his fourth try when odysseus privately signals him to back off.
Still in disguise, odysseus asks for a turn and gets it. They will not resume their marriage, and penelope will resent odysseus for being gone so long. As the suitors contend, odysseus meets outside with eumaeus and philoetius, his. The odyssey penelopes test, argus, the suitors, and the. Penelope likely considered this prior to assigning the test. Start studying the odyssey penelope s test, argus, the suitors, and the return of odysseus. When the suitors discovered penelopes trick, they refused to leave odysseus palace unless she married one of them, and in the meantime they consumed. Explain the character traits that both odysseus and penelope. And of course she feared that antagonizing the suitors in any way would put telemachus life in danger. One day odysseus landed in ithaca, and while he stayed at eumaeus 1 s hut, he met his son telemachus, who had just arrived from pylos and sparta. When the suitors discovered penelopes trick, they refused to leave odysseus palace. One of the main elements of book i of the odyssey is the conflict between the suitors who are infesting odysseus s house, on one hand, and telemachus and penelope, on the other.
In the odyssey, why didnt penelope simply turn away her. The suitors learn of penelope s delaying tactic when one of her maidservants, melantho, reveals it to her lover eurymachus. In this lesson, learn about penelopes suitors and the havoc they wreak, and test yourself with a quiz. This picture, painted in fresco directly onto wet plaster, was part of a series of eight which decorated the walls of the palace belonging to pandolfo petrucci, the ruler of siena. Why might homer have chosen the word wildly in line 1428 to describe the actions of the suitors. Describe penelopes challenge to the suitors regarding the bow of odysseus. Describe the trick penelope uses to delay choosing a husband from among the suitors. Stay connected to your students with prezi video, now in microsoft teams.
Jan 29, 20 the second part of the dream expresses penelopes fearful perception of odysseus right now, still standing apart from her in the disguise of a beggar. The problem isnt just that the suitors arent eating up all of odysseus goats. And odysseus took his time, 60 turning the bow, tapping it, every. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the odyssey and what it means. Summary penelope announces the contest and retrieves odysseus great. Briefly describe the situation in ithaca when odysseus returns after his twenty year absence. Theyre totally ignoring the proper family structurejust one more reason theyre in for a bloody demise. Odysseus and penelopes son, telemachos, now a typically moody teenager, gets a visit from the goddess athene who was always chummy with odysseus. Compare in what ways are penelopes struggles similar to. How do telemachus and penelope handle the problems caused. How is this a different portrayal of the suitors from what we have seen previously. The suitors are generally much younger than penelope.
Upon finding out, the suitors demand that she choose a husband from among them. Although penelopes psyche is a very complicated matter, her saying something one way and doing and thinking another way, it is plain to see through the undertones of her subconscious dreams and actions that she truly always has had hope for the return of odysseus and that somehow she knew that he would return and that her suitors would meet. Why is the stringing of the bow seen by penelope as an appropriate challenge. All of the suitors tried, but they all failed, as only odysseus could bend and string his bow. Melantho, the disrespectful servant girl who sleeps with eurymachus, confronts the beggarodysseus once more. One of the main elements of book i of the odyssey is the conflict between the suitors who are infesting odysseuss house, on one hand, and telemachus and penelope, on the other. With this in mind, it is beneficial to think of her cleverness being illustrated on both levels. How do telemachus and penelope handle the problems caused by. However, behind penelopes back, the suitors talk about how penelope is old and ugly, and they admit to only pursuing penelope for her considerable dowry.
Odysseus instructs telemachus to gather the weapons and hide them where they will not be readily available to the suitors the next day. For the ancient greeks, it would probably have been difficult for them to see a woman as a hero, particularly when shes a queen, st. Jun, 2017 penelopes loyalty to the customs of her culture can be seen in her refusal to kick the suitors out, as hospitality requires her to host the intruders despite the drain on her resources. Detail the conversation odysseus has with penelope. Penelope has a very active conscious and subconscious. The difference here is that the challenge in the odyssey requires less magic. Telemachus sets up the axes and then tries his own hand at the bow, but fails in his attempt to string it. Prior to the trojan war, odysseus was king of ithaca, a greek island known for. At times, it is difficult to distinguish which acts are being committed by her consciously and which are being committed subconsciously.
The suitors could also still try to marry her if odysseus is gone. But then penelopes ruse was discovered and the suitors demanded a decision. The man seen entering the room carrying a staff a symbol of a traveller might be odysseus. Mar 27, 2017 ohhh, all the moral questions regarding the odyssey are really being sent to me recently i love them, dont get me wrong, it just takes me longer to answer them because they belong to an area im particularly interested in.
Pintoricchio penelope with the suitors ng911 national. For sport, telemachus attempts to string the bow and fails three times. Whoever could string odysseus bow and fire an arrow through twelve axe handles would be able to. Single penelope moves into a new home in the suburbs and seems sexually interested only in the anonymous young delivery. Michaellyn mcbride in the odyssey of homer, sleep serves as a means to show different aspects of the book and of specific characters as well. Oct 28, 2009 penelopes test in the odyssey is for the suitors that had taken over her house while odysseus was gone. What did penelope do to avoid the suitors demands for marriage. It was 20 years since odysseus had left his palace, but still his wife penelope had some hope he would return, though most believed him dead.
The suitors and penelopes challenge literary devices song lines 5059 the beggar tells penelope that odysseus will be home soon. From the odyssey penelope, what can the reader predict about odysseus and penelopes future relationship. Jan 18, 2008 but then penelope s ruse was discovered and the suitors demanded a decision. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. She also acted slightly flirtatious with the suitors for the first time, to make them. Only odysseus, penelope, and the maid know that the bed cannot be moved because odysseus. Telemachus seems to possess a lot of his fathers thoughtfulness, but sometimes he acts like a child. They will not resume their marriage, but penelope will help odysseus defeat the suitors.
Whoever could string odysseus bow and fire an arrow through twelve axe handles would be able to marry her. Penelope disliked the suitors attentions, and in order to win time fooled them with the help of the shroud of laertes, which she wove by day and unravelled by night. She will line up 12 axes, straight in a row inside the hall, and i will give a trial to the suitors. How, according to antinous, do the suitors view penelopes reluctance. Penelope, virtuous wife of odysseus the role of women in. Although there are many suitors, three are particularly important to the narrative of the epic. What is the suitors reaction when odysseus still in disguise, takes up the bow. In this lesson, learn about penelope s suitors and the havoc they wreak, and test yourself with a quiz.
Get an answer to your question explain the character traits that both odysseus and penelope possess. What reason does odysseus give for not answering penelopes questions about his background. Penelope issues her challenge to the suitors, but none of the men can bend the bow to string it. The challenge pressed by the suitors to choose a husband from among them, penelope says she will marry the man who can string odysseus bow and shoot an arrow through twelve ax handle sockets. It depends completely on what youd class as a hero. Jun 07, 2019 my two favourite examples in wilsons text, which both demonstrate the inherent transformations of penelope and emphasise her character as strong, wilful and powerful, are her trick of the suitors and the epithet used to describe her hand. When the suitors discovered penelope s trick, they refused to leave odysseus palace unless she married one of them, and in the meantime they consumed odysseus estate in great parties and banquets. Ohhh, all the moral questions regarding the odyssey are really being sent to me recently i love them, dont get me wrong, it just takes me longer to answer them because they belong to an area im particularly interested in. They profess to be in love with her, and to think she is beautiful and charming.
Whoever could string the bow with the greatest ease and shoot it straight through the 12 holes of the axes she would marry. Describe the challenge that the suitors must complete to gain penelopes hand in marriage. Which of odysseuss traits allows him to succeed in penelopes bow challenge. Before she retires, penelope describes to odysseus a dream that she has had in which an. Odysseus finds a chance to confides in philoetius and eumaeus and include them in his plans for revenge. Rising to the challenge, odysseus explains it to her. He doesnt recognize her, and what the last 20 years have been like for her. From the odyssey penelope, what can the reader predict. The story of penelopes test is told in book xxi of the odyssey, and odysseus revenge upon the suitors is told in book xxii. Penelope gets odysseuss bow out of the storeroom and announces that she will marry the suitor who can string it and then shoot an arrow through a line of twelve axes. Penelope directs the servants to set twelve axe handles upright in a line in the sand such that the holes in the handles all form a straight line. Penelopes second test was meant to undoubtedly prove to all parties that odysseus had returned.
She would marry whoever could string odysseus s bow and fire it. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Character description of penelope from the book the odyssey. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The odyssey is without a doubt an epic tale of one mans journey home to ithaca, to his wife and son, and is the tale of the adventures that befell odysseus on that journey. Explain the character traits that both odysseus and.
The suitors character analysis in the penelopiad litcharts. Intro to the odyssey homer, the greek poet, is commonly regarded as the author of the epic. What impression of penelope do you get from her speech. Penelope tells the suitors i offer you the mighty bow of prince odysseus. If i remember the story correctly, penelope spends over a decade telling her suitors that she will choose one of them as a husband some day, but continues inventing elaborate reasons why she cannot yet. Penelope tells one of the maids to move the bed from the couples bedroom for the stranger to sleep in. Back in ithaka, odysseus wife penelope is getting swarmed by a horde of unwanted suitors. Penelope is aware that the challenge to string the bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axes is difficult. When the suitors retire for the night, telemachus and odysseus remove the arms as planned. Penelope tells one of the maids to move the bed from the couple s bedroom for the stranger to sleep in.
The the odyssey quotes below are all either spoken by penelope or refer to penelope. Homer demonstrates one of penelopes character traits, her ability to be cunning and sly, when she fools. The suitors behave badly in odysseus home, drinking his wine and eating his food. How long was she able to trick them before she was caught. You might say that penelopes arguments are emotional and effective while jocatas arguments are rational and ineffective. What does the beggar tell penelope about her husband. However masculine the poem may at first appear, the poem is laced with very strong women. Choosing a competition of arms gave odysseus a strong advantage over the inexperienced suitors. What was penelopes challenge to the suitors answers.
1246 694 677 1620 1173 1320 1193 553 485 8 1520 362 1167 340 111 777 739 1643 119 1413 232 1630 980 1164 490 328 905 296 1224 902 183 701 740 381