Author's Craft
It is the figurative device indicated in this quote: "he clutched at my companions / and caught two in his hands like squirming puppies..." What a comparison!
What is simile?
As a witch who lives in a stone hall, this character is certainly mean--she turns Odysseus's men into pigs, after all--but she also advises Odysseus to speak to Tiresias in the Underworld and warns Odysseus about sea monsters like the Sirens, Charybdis, and Scylla.
Who is Circe?
This person built Odysseus and Penelope's bed--a key detail to Penelope believing Odysseus's identity in Book 23.
Who is Odysseus?
This rhetorical strategy tries to manipulate an audience's emotions to make an argument more believable.
What is pathos?
This is the name of Mrs. Mac's dog.
Who is Mocha?
Father-son relationships, omens and prophesies, temptation, and the sea are a few examples in the Odyssey of this element of literature, which is defined as a repeated image, idea, symbol, or phrase that appears throughout a story.
What is motif?
This character is going to need some glasses in the future, but "nohbdy" is going to be able to find a pair that fits! He is the son of Poseidon and more than a little bitter about what happens to him in Book 9. This is his name, not his kind.
Who is Polyphemus?
Penelope tells the suitors she will marry the man who can string Odysseus's bow and cleanly shoot an arrow through holes in twelve of these. Chop, chop?
What are axes or axe heads?
This rhetorical strategy tries to use logic and reasoning to make an argument more believable.
What is logos?
This is the year that Mrs. Mac started teaching at WHS.
It is the figurative device indicated in this quote from a suitor, said about Odysseus as Odysseus looks over his bow in Book 22: "See how he handles it, the sly old buzzard!" For those who may not know, a "buzzard" is a bird of prey.
What is metaphor?
This character, who features prominently in Book 5 on the island of Ogygia, is said to be both goddess and nymph. Her father is Atlas. If that doesn't stir your memory, a brand of lemonades and limeades is also named after her...
Who is Calypso?
Odysseus and Penelope's bed is made from the stump and roots of this tree, still planted deep underground. I wonder if their bed is oily...
What is an olive tree?
This rhetorical strategy tries to manipulate an audience's belief systems, values, and ethics to make an argument more believable.
What is ethos?
Both Mrs. Mac and Ms. Riordan are so good at doing this particular accent that they have been mistaken as locals.
What is an Irish accent?
This element of literature is the underlying message conveyed by the author within a story. Need an example of the literary element in action? Here is one that works well for the Odyssey: "Being too prideful leads to self-inflicted suffering and divine punishment."
What is theme?
This god of the sun has very special cattle. Unfortunately, Odysseus's men eat them, which leads to Zeus sending down a bolt of lightning that sinks Odysseus's ship and leaves him stranded on Ogygia--events that end Book 12 and lead to Book 5.
Who is Helios?
Tieresias warns Odysseus not to "raid the beeves" in Book 11, but so does this character in Book 12.
Who is Circe?
This rhetorical strategy involves the deliberate choice of words to make an argument more believable.
What is diction?
This is the color of the medal that Ms. Riordan won in 1994 for figure skating.
WHat is silver?
It is the figurative device indicated in this quote: "...bad luck shadowed me, and no kindly power…" For those who may not know, "shadowed" means "followed."
What is personification?
This swineherd welcomes Telemachus home in Book 16 after Telemachus went searching for his father. In Book 21, he promises to assist Odysseus in facing the suitors.
Who is Eumaeus?
Odysseus knows that he is going to lose some of his men to this villain, so instead of warning them, he decides to say nothing in hopes that they keep rowing onward.
Who is Scylla?
When analyzing an author's diction, it's important to remember that we always use an adjective to describe the diction (e.g. emotional diction). We also talk about how the connotation associated with an author's diction creates the author's attitude toward the subject matter, which is also known as this.
What is tone?
This celebrity danced with Ms. Riordan at a gathering after an NBA game.
Who is Steph Curry?