| Performance Indicators:
P.S ELA-2 Reading Analysis: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain. A. Evaluate the relevant themes and synthesize how they are present in the novel in oral and written responses. P.S ELA-3 Reading Craft and Structure: Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of a text. A. Understand SOAPSTone: Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject, Tone |
One of the greatest works of literature to be written, this is an epic poem attributed to the blind poet Homer. Written as a sequel to The Iliad, The Odyssey tells of the long journey by the Greek hero Odysseus. He has just fought in the Trojan War, and now, along with his men, is returning home. Altogether, it takes Odysseus twenty years to return. His journey begins in Troy. On his return home he faces cyclops, lotus-eaters, sea monsters, and hostile giants. After getting through all these adventures, the hero finds himself trapped by a goddess on an island. Meanwhile, in Ithaca, the home of Odysseus, suitors have thronged his palace and are each trying to win the hand of Odysseus’ wife Penelope. His son Telemachos believes that his father is still alive, and so, aided by the goddess Athena, sets out on a quest to find him.
The following audio translation to English by Samuel Butler (1835-1902) first published in 1900, may help some readers to follow along with Homer’s epic. The first link below provides learners with a sound background of The Odyssey. Throughout our study of The Odyssey helpful links are provided for you on the web-site to guide your comprehension of the epic as a dual tragedy.
