Summary and analysis book 22 slaughter in the hall summary tearing off his beggar rags, odysseus boldly catapults himself onto the halls threshold, utters a brief prayer to apollo, and fires an arrow straight through a new target. Penelope doesnt believe anything that eurycleia says, and she remains in disbelief even when she comes downstairs and sees her husband with her own eyes. The epic focuses, of course, on odysseuss nostos return home or homeward voyage, a journey whose details a greek audience would already know because of their rich oral mythic tradition. The odyssey by homer book 22 summary and analysis youtube. Though the hero himself is still offstage in book one, we find out about his situation by listening in on a conversation that takes place on mount olympus. Home english literature classic books the odyssey book xxi navigate here introduction book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi book vii book viii book ix book x book xi book xii book xiii book xiv book xv book xvi book xvii book xviii book xix book xx book xxi book xxii book xxiii book xxiv. Calypso is angered by this order but agrees to free him and assists him in building a raft for his journey. The suitors look around for arms but cannot find any weapons. Homer, odyssey book 21 theoi classical texts library. The suitors warm and grease the bow to make it supple, but one by one they all try and fail.
The fighting of book 22 is the only pitched battle in the odyssey, and while it cannot help but recall the iliad, which abounds in bloodshed, the description remains thoroughly odyssean. Books 12 the odyssey is an epic journey, but the word journey must be broadly understood. Jul 18, 2017 the odyssey book summary in under five minutes. 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. Heres where youll find analysis about the book as a whole, from the major themes and. After they have safely disposed of the arms, telemachus retires and odysseus is joined by penelope. Homer, odyssey book 22 theoi classical texts library. For sport, telemachus attempts to string the bow and fails three times. Sparknotes is here for you with everything you need to ace. The odyssey book 10 11 12 summary image collections book. She also warns him about the suitors plot to murder him and offers a strategy to avoid their ambush. Athena talks with odysseus in ithaca, tells him what he needs to do, and turns him into an old beggar book 14 odysseus goes to see eumaeus, the swineherd, and. Literally and metaphorically, no one can move their wedding bed.
Sparknotes is here for you with everything you need to ace or teach. Telemachus sets up the axes and then tries his own hand at the bow, but fails in his attempt to string it. When the suitors retire for the night, telemachus and odysseus remove the arms as planned. Odysseus finally reveals himself, and the suitors become terrified. In book 15 the narrative shifts back to telemachus, as athena goes to him and advises him to return home to ithaca. Get a detailed summary and analysis of every chapter in the book from. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Literature network homer the odyssey book xi book xi then, when we had got down to the sea shore we drew our ship into the water and got her mast and sails into her.
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. Summary and analysis book 22 slaughter in the hall. Hector consults within himself what measures to take. Pylos when ithaca character analysis telemachus he helps his father in battling the suitors and obeys his orders, expressing the similarities between the father and son. Book twentyfour begins with the dead suitors going to hades and telling the other dead souls how so many of them died at once. Here begins the tale of the odyssey, as sung by the blind minstrel homer. Since the bow gives odysseus a weapon in hand, it also allows for a seamless transition to the fighting of book 22. Eurycleia goes upstairs to call penelope, who has slept through the entire fight. Tearing off his beggar rags, odysseus boldly catapults himself onto the halls threshold, utters. Test your knowledge take the books 2324 quick quiz. Murray 1 but the goddess, flashingeyed athena, put it into the heart of the daughter of icarius, wise penelope, to set before the wooers in the halls of odysseus the bow and the gray iron, to be a contest and the beginning of death. The story begins ten years after the end of the trojan war, the subject of the iliad.
You dogs, you never thought i would any more come back from the land of troy, and because of that you despoiled my household, and forcibly took my serving women to sleep beside you, and sought to win my wife while i was still alive, fearing neither the immortal gods who hold the wide heaven, nor any resentment. Athena travels to sparta, where she finds telemachus and pisistratus, nestors son. The suitors are confused and believe this shooting to be an accident. Before the suitors realize what is happening, odysseus shoots a second arrow through the throat of antinous. The poet invokes the muse to help him tell the story of odysseus.
As we begin book 22 of the odyssey, odysseus holds his bow and arrow, rips off his beggar rags, and stands in front of the suitors, who are taken completely by surprise. Book 6 that night, athena appears in a dream to the phaeacian princess nausicaa, disguised as her friend. Book 22 as quickly as he shoots the first shot, odysseus puts an arrow through the throat of antinous and reveals himself as the long lost king, driving fear into the hearts of the remaining suitors. Telemachus excuses himself from eumaeus to see his mother, and instructs him to lead odysseus to town so he can beg. In this lesson, we will begin with a brief recap of book 22 of the odyssey. At the manor, penelope tearfully embraces her son and asks what news he learned. Odysseus sailed forth to the river ocean, which encircles the earth, and offered the proper sacrifice on the shore. Books 1 2 the odyssey is an epic journey, but the word journey must be broadly understood.
The odyssey book 4 summary the next morning, one of nestors sons and telemachus arrive in sparta. See a complete list of the characters in the odyssey and indepth analyses of odysseus, telemachus, penelope, athena, calypso, and circe. Odysseus leaps out of his rags and begins to shoot arrows at the suitors. Achilles pursues him thrice round the walls of troy. Book one the poem begins with an invocation, or prayer, to the muse. Summary and analysis book 21 odysseus strings his bow. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the odyssey, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Home english literature classic books the odyssey book xxii navigate here introduction book i book ii book iii book iv book v book vi book vii book viii book ix book x book xi book xii book xiii book xiv book xv book xvi book xvii book xviii book xix book xx book xxi book xxii book xxiii book xxiv.
Odysseus goes to talk to his father who doesnt initially recognize him until odysseus shows him the scar and points out all the trees in the garden that laertes gave to odysseus as a boy. We learn that poseidon, god of the sea, holds a grudge though we dont know exactly why against odysseus and is making the guys voyage home a pretty difficult one. She encourages the young princess to go to the river the next day to wash her clothes so that she will appear more fetching to the many men courting her. Penelope announces the contest and retrieves odysseus great backsprung bow from a secret storeroom deep in the palace. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. Odysseus lays low for a while, and then finally gets reacquainted with. Free summary and analysis of book 22 in homers the odyssey that wont make you snore. May 23, 2020 the odyssey book 10 11 12 summary may 23, 2020 sparknotes the odyssey study the odyssey study course hero the odyssey reading log packet two others by daniel guerra on prezi. Book odysseus leaves phaeacia and sets sail for ithaca, but poseidon gets angry and destroys the phaeacian ship when its sailing back to phaeacia. Previous section books 21 22 next page books 2324 page 2. Find summaries for every chapter, including a the odyssey chapter summary chart to help you understand the book. Led by zeus, they decide to order calypso to free odysseus. Read an overview of the entire poem or a line by line summary and analysis. The king of sparta, menelaus, was hosting a double wedding and enjoying a feast in the palace.
They have no way out, since philoetius has locked the front door and eumaeus has. Athena lights the room for them so that they can see as they work. 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. Telemachus tells eurycleia that they are storing the arms to keep them from being damaged. Odysseus shoots antinous through the throat just as the suitor is about to take a sip of wine. He is about to succeed on his fourth try when odysseus privately signals him to back off. Murray 1 but odysseus of many wiles stripped off his rags and sprang to the great threshold with the bow and the quiver full of arrows, and poured forth the swift arrows right there before his feet, and spoke among the wooers. All of the greek heroes except odysseus have returned home. The odyssey quizzes about important details and events in every section of the book.
For one thing, it maintains the comic and domestic flavor that many critics find characteristic of the odyssey. Book five begins with the gods discussing the plight of odysseus. Quickly his right hand plucked the string to test its pitch and under his touch it sang out clear and. Book 1 book 2 book 3 book 4 book 5 book 6 book 7 book 8 book 9 book 10 book 11 book 12 book book 14 book 15 book 16 book 17 book 18 book 19 book 20 book 21 book 22 book 23 book 24 themes all themes fate, the gods, and free will piety, customs, and justice cunning, disguise, and selfrestraint memory and grief glory and honor. Reading the odyssey, the great book, with your failing old man, and keeping each other company in the parallel epic known as life is a memory that will last longer than anything on your cellphone. In the twentysecond book of homers odyssey, odysseus begins his battle with the suitors. In book 22 of the odyssey, who is saved from death and why. The odyssey books 1720 summary and analysis gradesaver. In book 22, he accidentally leaves a weapons storeroom unlocked, a careless mistake that allows the suitors to arm themselves.
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