unit 1: homer’s iliad

MEETING 9: literary argument

Today we’ll discuss line of reasoning by looking at several examples of literary arguments. After, you’ll try your hand at scoring three examples of literary arguments.

Please remember that during our next class you’ll write your first essay of the year on your summer reading.

MEETING 8: v/SC1; Iliad 17-18

After the vocabulary quiz, we’ll introduce the new set and sentence patterns ([F], [S], [NN]) and turn to Book 18, which ends the longest day: Homer ends the day with a profound image of Achilles crowned with fire and amplified by the voice of the gods, the beginning of Achilles’s apotheosis. Let’s begin by looking at the top of 356. What does grief do to Achilles? To what extent does Achilles die a kind of death in this passage? What does the grief turn to on 358? Compare to 171. And finally, look to 361 to see what Achilles is rewarded with after he embraces his own mortality.

If we have time, we’ll look at a lyric poem by Patrick Shaw-Stewart that begins with the line, “I saw a man this morning.” How does Shaw-Stewart use this famous moment in the Iliad to cope with his own mortality during WW1? Now consider the cover of our edition of Homer’s poem.

Why is Achilles’s armor fashioned in the way that it is?

Homework:

(1) No new reading. Next we’ll prepare for and ultimately write your first literary argument of the year. If that means you need to return to your summer texts, do so.

MEETING 7: Iliad 9-16; lit. arg.

Today I’ll introduce you to your CHAVRUSA, and we will bring to bear our knowledge of the most recent section of the poem to see if we can discover what Homer intends to show about war. Is it glorified? Is it to be judged? Is it just an inevitability that people are going to make war? In an essay about the Iraq War, Charlotte Higgins writes about American soldiers reading the Iliad in their preparation for battle: She makes a series of claims about she thinks the poem has to teach us about war: “It tells us that war is both the bringer of renown to its young fighters and the destroyer of their lives. It tells us about post-conflict destruction and chaos; about war as the great reverser of fortunes. It tells us about the age-old dilemmas of fighters compelled to serve under incompetent superiors. It tells us about war as an attempt to protect and preserve a treasured way of life. It tells us, too, about the profound gulf between civilian existence and life on the front line; about atrocities and indiscriminate slaughter; about war's peculiar mercilessness to women and children; about friendships and sympathies across the battle lines. It tells us of the love between soldiers who fight together. Most of all, it tells us about the frightful losses of war: of a soldier losing his closest companion, of a father losing his son.”

You and your chavrusa may use that quote and my riffs on the board to organize a discussion of some of our latest reading.

At the end of class we’ll return to your thesis statements from last class.

Homework:

(1) Prepare for your first vocabulary and sentence composition quiz.

(2) Read Books 17 and 18 of the Iliad.

Before you read:

Book 17: Why does Hector put on Achilles’ armor? It seems weird, doesn’t it? Zeus sure thinks so. Read his inner thoughts in lines 199-207 and in 460-65. How do those words prompt your reaction to Hector’s actions and to his fate more generally?

How perfectly Homer ends this Book. An image of the trench, through which much fighting has occurred, littered with weapons but no truce. The fighting continues, the tension mounts.

Book 18: From the beginning of Book 18, Homer hits the mortality subject hard; the poem turns from the glory of war to the grief of war—or of human life and mortality, if we take the war setting as metaphor. Homer begins by showing us Achilles’ reaction to Patroclus’ death. Lines 23-37 refer to usual reactions of mourning. Put Achilles’ reaction in context by looking at these earlier passages: 17:410-23; 17:436-54 (Achilles’ immortal horses weep for Patroclus); 17:455-470, especially 460-61. You might remember that in Book 6 when Hector leaves Troy to return to the battlefield, his wife turns and begins lamenting his surely coming death. She and the women around her mourn as though he were dead. From here on in, Homer will keep our attention on the mortality subject. He will turn his poem from the glory of war to the grief caused by war. The lines that open Book 18 introduce a chorus of sorrow. How does one respond to the death of a loved one? What can one do for a dead loved one? What does terrible grief do to a human being?

MEETING 6: literary argument

Today we’ll focus our energy on developing literary arguments. You’ll use a practice prompt and select one of your two summer texts to write a thesis. We’ll also look at how your arguments will be scored.

A point to consider in Book 10: The scene with Dolon is an artistic triumph. Homer takes a small moment and turns it into drama and psychological insight. Odysseus lies to Dolon, perhaps sensing that the latter is scared. Is this the Odysseus of the Odyssey, a man with questionable ethics? He drives Rhesus’ chariot and horses “across the trench,/ Roaring with laughter” (10:581-82). And what of Diomedes, who kills Dolon? Reread lines 467-71. Do they commit wrongs here?

Homework:

Read Books 12 and 16 of the Iliad. Skip Books 13, 14, and 15: Poseidon rallies the Greeks. The Greek Heroes Idomeneus and Meriones meet behind the lines, and then Idomeneus distinguishes himself in battle. The fighting is furious on both sides. The Greeks rout the Trojans, and Ajax knocks out Hector with a huge stone. Hera seduces Zeus to divert his attention from the Greeks’ success. When Zeus awakens, he aids Hector and the Trojans, and they advance all the way up to the Greek ships. Ajax alone holds the Trojans at bay as they attempt to burn one of the ships.

Before you read:

Book 12: Sarpedon’s speech to Glaucus (Yes, the same Glaucus Diomedes talks to in Book 6) in lines 320-42 is the most famous expression of the heroic code in the Iliad. Notice the plot moment at which Homer places this statement. Why does Sarpedon “[feel] compelled/ To rush the wall and tear it down” (12:316-17)? What do Sarpedon’s lines teach you about the heroic code? What does Glaucus’ response show you about the code and about him? Reread Book 6 lines 211-17.

Book 16: Sarpedon’s death. Remember Homer’s usual means of showing us the grim fact of death. Here he shows us that in godly terms by showing Zeus’ pity for his son and using Hera’s reaction as a counterbalance, the “sensible” immortal understanding, more intellectual than emotional. Zeus feels “pity” for Sarpedon’s death, while Hera accepts fate: “‘A mortal man whose fate has long been fixed,/ And you want to save him from rattling death?’” she says (16:478-79). For her, saving humans from fate (death at the appointed time) is wrong, plain and simple. She’s right.

Burial is the proper human ritual allowing us to deal with death, the way we process our inescapable grief. As for the Greeks, so for us today. We can no more stop death than the ancient Greeks could, and we process it much the same way they did. We, too, express our grief communally through burial ritual and group consolation, all while honoring the dead and mourning the fact of mortality. Ritual is important.

You want to pause a few moments and deeply think about Sarpedon’s death and process your reaction to it. His is the most significant death we’ve seen so far, and Homer does the most with it of any death to this point. As you read to the end of Book 16, think about how Sarpedon’s death works in the theme and the plot. Sarpedon’s death brings together for the first time many of the crucial elements of death and mortality in the poem. Remember his death and Hera’s advice. Homer is, as usual, playing the long game here.

MEETING 5: the embassy to achilles; lit. arg.

Ingres, *The Ambassadors of Agamemnon in the tent of Achilles*

In the earliest books of the Iliad, Achilles’s heroism stems from his extreme passion for violence and warfare, but in Book 9 we see Achilles’s heroism take a new shape: his insightful and philosophical efforts to understand himself add a layer of complexity to his character.

Let’s take, for example, this extraordinary moment in Book 9, which may be the clearest expression of the Iliad’s central theme, the clearest expression of every-work-of-literature-ever’s central theme, the clearest expression of what may be a question for you, even, in your own life:

Achilles: “My mother Thetis, a moving silver grace,/Tells me two fates sweep me on to my death./If I stay here and fight, I’ll never return home,/But my glory will be undying forever./If I return home to my fatherland/My glory is lost but my life will be long,/And death that ends all will not catch me soon.”

Analyze Book 9 as a rhetorical situation. What does each of the speakers say to Achilles, and how does he say it? Do you find their arguments persuasive? Do you feel that Achilles' resistance is justified? Is there any change at all in Achilles' position at the end of Book 9?

What is literary argument? How can we develop a response to a prompt?

Homework:

Read Books 10 and 11 of the Iliad.

Before you read:

Book 11: Poor Agamemnon! Is he always to be the plaything of fate and the gods? Just when he is “coming up to Ilion’s steep wall” (196), just when he is about to achieve what he was promised in Book 2 in the dream, what he has sacrificed so much for, Zeus sends Iris to Hector. No wonder Agamemnon is insecure and irascible. He gets one day of success, but even that day serves Achilles’s plan. Contrast Diomedes’ aristeia in Book 5 to Agamemnon’s in Book 11. Diomedes enjoys serious battle success and shows great honor in all senses of the word. Agamemnon, too, has battle success, but he gets only payback and the empty hope of taking Troy. It’s as though Homer wants us to sympathize with Agamemnon, whose success only demonstrates his weaknesses and shows us the very basis for them. Agamemnon is, strangely, one of the most complex characters in the poem. He is a man conflicted, in torment. He seems more realistic than any other character.

MEETING 4: brothers in arms

Book 6 of the Iliad walks us into the walls of Troy and offers a fully developed picture of Trojan society, a society that finds itself caught in a war they never sought. This extraordinary book shows the oldest generation of Trojans—Priam and Hecuba—down through the newest generation of Trojans—Astyanax—suffering the consequences of a crime none of them committed. In class today, we’ll explore Book 6 in detail by looking at the Book’s structure, its individual scenes, and its interrelated moments:

(1) Menelaus’s guilt / Agamemnon’s ruthlessness (2) Diomedes and Glaucus’s old ties of xenia (3) An imbalanced exchange of armor (4) Hector and Hecuba (5) Athena’s Denial (6) Hector, Paris, and Helen (7) Hector, Andromache, and Astyanax (8) Hector’s courage / Paris’s splendor

This kind of patterning and artistic skill and intention is one reason many readers think that the poem must have been written by one person. How else, they say, could the poem be so artfully made? What do each of those narrative beats combine to create in Book 6?

Will we have time to take a quiz?

Homework: Read Books 8 and 9 of the Iliad.

Before you read:

Book 8: The conventional wisdom is that the Iliad is Achilles’ poem, but many readers find his ego and selfishness off-putting. It’s Hector that many readers find so sympathetic that he, actually, often becomes their favorite character. We’ve seen Hector several times now. What characteristics does Hector possess that might make him so sympathetic? Make a list of Hector’s qualities and say whether you find him sympathetic and why.

Book 9: An important book, guys. In Book 9, Achilles returns to the poem. Notice how carefully and how fully Homer has prepared us for Achilles’ return. We’re talking Books 2-8! When we remember that the Iliad is the story of Achilles’ rage, then we see that from one perspective, anyway, everything that happens is ultimately about Achilles. So, in a sense, Achilles is always present, whether through those comparisons or the many reminders Homer builds into his plot. Just recall Andromache’s mentioning that Achilles sacked her town and killed every male in her family, her seven brothers in “one blinding sprint” (6:445). Homer wants us to compare and contrast every other man to Achilles and to think about how one balances the demands of the heroic code and one’s humanity. How easily can our humanity be lost in times of war? Notice how carefully and clearly Homer has set up those comparisons. He has introduced key terms and other warriors who live them in varying degrees and with varying depth of humanity. Homer shows us, for instance, Diomedes, who grins when he realizes that he needn’t fight Glaucus in Book 6. Would Achilles have grinned? Those key terms include the heroic code, heart, comraderie, pity. All of them include something missing from Achilles or something he has foregone for his anger. We saw the warmth of Achilles in Book 1 when Talthybius and Eurybates arrive at his tent coming to take Briseis. Recall how Achilles welcomes them, and recall that Briseis is in tears, though we questioned the source of them. Recall, too, Achilles’ tearful response to Agamemnon’s dishonor. Achilles is a man who feels but for what and why? Has Achilles lost something essential to his humanity? If so, when and why did he lose it? Because of the heroic code? Because of Agamemnon’s act of dishonor? Because of something askew inside himself? Those are questions Homer wants us to ask. In warrior/heroic culture how does one retain one’s humanity and what is that humanity? Book 9 gives us many ways to think about Homer’s questions.

MEETING 3: the aristeia of diomedes

At the beginning of today’s class, I’ll set the first vocabulary words and sentence patterns for the year. Here are samples of the first patterns. Remember that you’re to look up the definitions of each of the adjectives to define a writer’s tone.

The Anatomy of 50 Great Sentences: [D], [K], [O], [P]

Back to Book 3

Book 5 opens with Athena inspiring Diomedes with fighting prowess. Diomedes will now enjoy what is called an aristeia, a time of invincible power or battlefury. The aristeia begins on line 151. Notice how Homer shows us this power: “Starlight flowed from his helmet and shield,/ As if Sirius had just risen…” (5:5-6). And note some other ways that Homer shows Diomedes’ super power: similes, for example; and note other ways that Diomedes himself shows his super powers in battle. Are these powers only beneficial? Might they push a man to go too far, to risk too much? Find out as you read. Going too far would be an example of ate, a moral blindness or error. This question is interesting when you see the gods from a psychological point of view. What happens when we are very good and in the zone? How easily can we go too far, forget our limits and suffer? Again, the gods can be seen as literal or as psychological.

Homework:

Read Books 6 and 7 of the Iliad.

Before you read:

Book 6: In Book 6 Homer shows us what Hector is fighting for, which we should contrast with what the Greeks are fighting for. Homer wants us to see and to feel the different motivations for each side and to think about them and then to think about the heroic code and heroic culture.

Book 7: Hector now challenges a Greek to single combat, in clear parallel to Paris in Book 3. Notice how Hector appeals to the heroic code, to honor (timê) and glory (kleos). The heroic code here gives meaning to death. Notice, too, that Menelaus is first moved to speak and that he is just the man we have already seen: moved by emotion, by heroism, and by pity. Again, just as in Book 5, Menelaus must be saved from his own heroism. And notice that when Ajax’s token jumps from the helmet, he smiles and readies himself for battle. Note how Ajax speaks. What does his speech, the word and the manner, show us about him?

MEETING 2: kleos, timê, and books 2 & 3

Today’s mini-lecture concerns Kleos and Timê, two concepts that shape much of the heroic code in the Homeric world. What are they? And what is the relationship between both? In your group: How does this new context reshape your understanding of a moment so far in the poem? Are there differences between Agamemnon’s and Achilles’ loss of timê that are worth considering?

Book 1: Divine cackling to end the book

Book 2: A dream? How should we read it? Is Agamemnon a pawn of Zeus? And is he, therefore, someone to be pitied?

Books 2: What do you think Homer intends to show the reader about Agamemnon's character, about the morale of the Achaeans, about Odysseus in the scenes detailing Agamemnon's plan to test his troops and its result?

Book 2: Why do you think Homer included the episode of Thersites' abuse of Agamemnon and his chastisement by Odysseus? Why is it OK for Achilles to abuse Agamemnon but not OK for Thersites to disrespect him?

Book 2: Last night, when you compared Agamemnon’s speech in lines 119-152 to Odysseus’s in lines 306-359, what did you determine? Can you now also compare together as a group Odysseus and Achilles?

Book 2: A quick word about the Catalogue of Ships

Book 2: A quick word about those italicized passages

——

Book 3: How does Homer open this Book? What mood does he establish? How does Homer create this mood? Define his techniques. What does Homer think of war? That’s a question to consider throughout the poem.

Book 3: Lines 156-259 are a famous section called teichoscopia, a viewing from the wall. They’re also a good example of Homer’s mastery of narrative technique. This section makes little logical sense. Priam must know the commanders of the enemy army after nine years of war. But the section makes great emotional sense. Helen sees again men she knows, those figures of her past life. It’s expository: we meet some key Greeks who are fearsome; it’s an interlude between the preparations for war and the battle between Menelaus and Paris, a moment of quiet between storms; it’s a moment of warm humanity, the war seen from the perspective of those waiting to see their fates decided. Homer is a master storyteller and dramatist. What did you learn from it?

Book 3: What is your initial response to some of the key Trojan figures: Priam, Hector, Paris, Helen? How does Homer portray Helen as a deeply sympathetic and pathetic figure?

Homework: Read Books 4 and 5 of the Iliad. No skippin’ this time!

Before you read:

Book 4: One major question—maybe THE major question—the Iliad raises and explores is what it means to be wise. Where do you see wisdom in Book 4, and in previous Books? Think about wisdom as you read the poem. Note places where you see wisdom being defined, demonstrated, or explored. Achilles will be one of Homer’s main means of thinking about the question of wisdom. But every time you see suffering, look to how the character responds to and understands that suffering. What does one do in the face of suffering? Many other topics—leadership, for instance—fall beneath that of wisdom.

Book 5: The Iliad gives us several different versions of masculinity, or maybe the better word is variations on masculinity. Compare some of the men we’ve seen so far: Chryses, Agamemnon, Achilles, Nestor, Diomedes, Odysseus, Menelaus, Hector, Paris, Sarpedon, Priam. Are they all the same? Do they do nothing but follow the heroic code in the same way?

MEETING 1: the trojan legend and book 1

The events of Homer’s Iliad occur in a span that is less than a month in the 10th year in the Trojan War. So what was the Trojan War, and how did it start? In today’s Homeric mini-lecture, I’ll give you my best attempt at a retelling of the so-called Trojan Legend.

During most of today’s class, we’ll move through Book 1: According to the first 8 lines, what will this poem be about? What accusations do Achilles and Agamemnon level at each other? Do you think these charges are just? Who do you think is in the right in this quarrel? Who do the Achaeans think is in the right? Why? Why do you think Achilles and Agamemnon fail to take Nestor’s advice? What kind of people do you think Agamemnon and Achilles are?

Which passages stand out? Whose speeches are most memorable? Why?

Book 1 asks us to notice the way kingship holds the community together and the fragility of that bond. Only as long as the ruler honors all in the accepted way can the bond hold—and then only delicately, as long as one member doesn’t see himself above everyone else, as Achilles does. Achilles’ discontent about his work’s reward threatens established bonds. Homer wants us to reflect on Achilles’ egotism and the question of what holds us together into a working community.

Homework:

(1) Familiarize yourself with the course website—this page, the Policies page, and the Writing Center.

(2) Locate a thin binder for your poetry packet.

(3) Read Books 2 and 3 of the Iliad. Reserve enough time. This is a long selection of the poem. If you’re not a purist, feel free to skip Book 2, lines 522-872: In a passage known as the Catalogue of the Ships, the poet lists—yes, lists—the contingents of the Greek army and their leaders.

Before you read:

Book 2: Leadership is a subject of the poem so far. Book 2 contrasts Agamemnon, Odysseus, and Nestor. Compare Agamemnon’s speech in lines 119-152 to Odysseus’s in lines 306-359. In the world of the Iliad—and in our world still—the ability to speak well is part of leadership and heroism. (Think every war movie you’ve ever seen.) Then add in Nestor’s speech in lines 364-398. How well do these men speak? How is speech an important part of leadership?

Book 3: Homer wants us to think about heroic values and heroic culture, as we see in Book 2 and as we will see throughout the poem. But he also wants us to think about those affected by war. Homer cares about people. Indeed, Homer humanizes the war by showing us its costs on human beings. Homer is a master psychologist able to show us a person’s character, mind, personality. Choose one character and consider the human cost of war and how Homer shows it to us. What does Homer want us to think and to know about war?