The king kicks the table and scatters the food on the floor, and the food mingles with antinouss blood. Other motifs are the disguise of the hero, the battle for the bride, revenge. There are three noteworthy similes in chapter 20 of the odyssey by homer. Books 2324 the scene in which penelope tests her husbands knowledge of the bed neatly brings together several ideas that the epic has touched on before.
Athena lights the room for them so that they can see as they work. The suitors, horrified, plead for mercy, blame antinous for their wrongdoings, and offer to repay all they have stolen. They are little more than male and female versions of the same malevolent person. Antinous warns him angrily that he may end up like the drunken centaur eurythion, who was mauled by his hosts the lapiths. Homers epic poem the odyssey tells the story of odysseus, greek hero of the trojan war, and his adventures at sea during his travel home. She brings out odysseuss heavy bow and arrow and tells the suitors they must. But penelope urges the suitors to let the stranger try his luck. He reveals himself to be the longabsent king of ithaca. The odyssey books 2124 summary and analysis gradesaver. Book twentyone begins with penelope presenting the challenge to the suitors. Odysseus returns to aeaea, where he buries elpenor and spends one last night with circe. Homers epic poem the odyssey tells the story of odysseus, greek hero of the trojan war.
She describes the obstacles that he will face on his voyage home and tells him how to negotiate them. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Telemachus sets up the axes and then tries his own hand at the bow, but fails in his attempt to string it. The odyssey quizzes about important details and events in every section of the. Homer s 8th century bce oral narrative of a warriors decadeslong quest to return home defines epic poetry. The odyssey study guide contains a biography of homer, literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Odysseus reenters the palace, where eurymachus has just failed to string the bow. The goddess athena puts it in penelopes mind to choose. Like many homeric characters, neither the swineherd melanthius nor the maidservant melantho is very developed. So they mocked, but odysseus, mastermind in action. As he sets sail, odysseus passes circes counsel on to his men. 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. Sparknotes is here for you with everything you need to ace or teach.
When the suitors retire for the night, telemachus and odysseus remove the arms as planned. Near the end of odyssey 21, odysseus is compared to a musician stringing a lyre when he strings his bow. Odysseus shoots antinous through the throat just as the suitor is about to take a sip of wine. Read a character analysis of odysseus, plot summary, and important quotes. Summary and analysis book 21 odysseus strings his bow summary penelope announces the contest and retrieves odysseus great backsprung bow from a secret storeroom deep in the palace. Telemachus tells eurycleia that they are storing the arms to keep them from being damaged. Course heros video study guide provides indepth summary and analysis of book 21 of homers epic poem the odyssey. Summary and analysis book 21 odysseus strings his bow summary. Summary penelope ascends to the upper chamber of the palace where odysseus famous bow is kept. Summary penelope announces the contest and retrieves odysseus great backsprung bow from a secret storeroom deep in the palace.
Themes and colors key litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the odyssey, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Odysseusthebeggar advises the suitors to rest and pray to the archer god while he himself tries the bow, just to amuse them. The difference here is that the challenge in the odyssey requires less magic and more skill and physical strength. Chapter summary for homers the odyssey, book 21 summary. Penelope gets odysseus s 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. In book 21 of the odyssey, the goddess athena made penelope bring out odysseuss bow and tell the suitors she will marry the first one who can. Together with its companion poem the iliad, the odyssey describes the action and aftermath of the trojan wars, andis the model for the heroic quest. As book 21 of the odyssey begins, penelopes contest to find a suitable husband is about to start.
Homer uses minor characters of low rank to great effect in books 17 and 18. Find a summary of this and each chapter of the odyssey. The odyssey quizzes about important details and events in every section of the book. This subtle test reveals penelopes clever sidethe side we have seen in her ploy to use a nevertobefinished burial shroud to put off remarriage for four years. The theme of music has been lurking about throughout the entire epic. The odyssey by homer book 21 summary and analysis youtube.
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