Highland Park High School English Department
Text Rationale for The Odyssey
Updated 4/29/15
The Odyssey
Title of Work
Homer / Robert Fagles, Ed.
1996
Author
Copyright date
Rationale (including age/ability appropriateness and how text fits into the course’s philosophy
and enduring understanding):
One of the most famous stories of all time, The Odyssey picks up where The Iliad, Homer’s
chronicle of the Trojan War, ends. The Odyssey follows the trials and tribulations of the war hero
Odysseus as he attempts to reach his native land of Ithaca during the ten years following the war. A
tale of suffering and perseverance, courage and craftiness, and revenge and rebirth, The Odyssey is
Greek mythology at its finest.
Robert Fagles’ translation of The Odyssey was first published it in 1996 and has since become
a widely-read version of the epic poem. The Fagles edition includes maps of the ancient Greek lands
and seas traversed by Odysseus, a pronunciation guide, genealogical information for major
characters, extensive footnotes, a glossary of terms, and suggestions for further reading. Critics have
hailed Fagles’ work as “fresh,” “triumphant,” and “peerless” (Newsweek). The Brwn Mawr Classical
Review praises it as such:
The first thing to notice is how Fagles has found a voice that is at once stately and natural.
The dangers are absurd pomposity on the one hand, an overbearing kind of Hollywood-epic
orotundity, and, on the other, a too colloquial folksiness. One wants elevation but of a
tolerable kind. And with that balance, which is not at all easy to find and maintain, Fagles
succeeds wonderfully well… Fagles' Odyssey has one shrewd and inventive solution after
another, illuminating the poem for us and making our reading of it richer and more resonant
which is all one can ask even of the ideal translator (bmcr.brynmawr.edu).
The adventure and intrigue of The Odyssey make it an ideal read for high school students.
They especially identify with the coming-of-age character Telemachus and root for him as the young
boy who never knew his father turns into a valiant warrior and honorable man. The poem supports
the course philosophy of “The Hero, The Journey, The Self” by illustrating the archetypal concepts of
the epic hero, the physical and spiritual journey he must make, and the way in which he evolves
throughout the story. Themes such as perseverance, justice vs. vengeance, redemption, loyalty,
maturation, temptation, and fate vs. free will all play a role in the tale and apply to the readers’ lives
in various degrees.
Summary:
(From LitCharts.com)
The story begins twenty years after Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War, and ten years after he
began his journey home to Ithaca. We enter the story in medias res – in the middle of things:
Odysseus is trapped on an island with the lovesick goddess Calypso, while his wife and son suffer the
transgressions of the suitors, noble young men who vie for queen Penelope's hand. The loyal queen
has rebuffed their advances for many years, because she holds out hope that Odysseus may one day
return. In the meantime the suitors have run free in the household, holding noisy parties and draining
the resources of the estate.
The goddess Athena decides to intervene on Odysseus's behalf. She convinces Zeus to send the
messenger god Hermes to disentangle Odysseus from Calypso's grasp, and she herself flies to Ithaca
to give courage and guidance to the helpless young prince Telemachus. She inspires Telemachus to
set sail to Pylos and Sparta in search of news about Odysseus; his newfound confidence and familial
feeling alarms the suitors, who plot to murder him on his way home. King Nestor of Pylos can't give
Telemachus any information about Odysseus, but King Menelaus of Sparta reports that he learned
from the sea god Proteus that Odysseus is alive on the island Ogygia.
Meanwhile, Hermes flies to Ogygia and tells Calypso to let Odysseus go. Odysseys departs, and sails
for seventeen days until he sees the Phaeacian shore; after some difficulties, he reaches land and falls
asleep. The next morning, the Phaeacian princess Nausicaa finds him on the beach in a pitiable state.
She gives him food and clothes and offers to introduce him to her parents, the king and queen – but
she asks that he enter the city at a distance from her, to ward off uncharitable gossip.
After he spends some time at court, he tells Alcinous and Arete the full story of his travels. He
describes the Cicones, who punished Odysseus's men for recklessness and greed, and the Lotus
Eaters, whose flowers sent his men into a happy stupor. He tells the king and queen how he blinded
the Cyclops Polyphemus, who called on his father Poseidon to avenge him. He tells them about
Aeolus's bag of winds and about the cannibal Laestrygonians, the witch Circe that turned his men
into pigs, the journey to the kingdom of the dead, the alluring Sirens and the monsters Scylla and
Chabrydis. With each trial, the crew's death toll rose, and Odysseus's ingenuity grew more desperate.
Finally, the men anchored on the Island of the Sun. The prophet Tiresias warned Odysseus to keep
his crew from harming the Sun God's cattle, but the men killed a few animals when Odysseus was
asleep. When they were once again at sea, Zeus sent down a punitive bolt of lightning that killed
every man except Odysseus, who floated on a makeshift raft to Calypso's island, where he lived in
captivity for seven years.
Here the king finishes his story. The next day, Alcinous sends him home in a Phaeacian ship loaded
with treasure. Athena apprises him of the dire situation in his household, warns him of the suffering
still to come, and disguises him as a ragged beggar. She sends him to the farm of the loyal swineherd
Eumaeus; she also advises Telemachus to hurry home from Sparta. Father and son reunite and plot
their revenge against the suitors.
The next day, Eumaeus and Odysseus come to court. The king's old dog Argos recognizes him
despite his changed appearance, and the nurse Eurycleia recognizes him by the familiar hunting scar
on his knee. Penelope is friendly to him but does not yet guess his real identity. Some of the suitors
mock and abuse Odysseus in his disguise, but the king exercises great self-restraint and does not
respond in kind. Finally, the despairing queen announces that she will hold an archery contest: she
will marry the man that can use Odysseus's bow to shoot an arrow through a row of axes. But none of
the suitors can even string Odysseus's bow, let alone shoot it.
Odysseus, of course, shoots the arrow with grace and ease. Just then the slaughter begins. With the
help of Athena, the swineherd, and the cowherd, Odysseus and Telemachus murder the suitors one by
one; they also kill the disloyal maids and servants. Soon enough, Odysseus reunites with Penelope.
The suitors' families gather to avenge the murders, but Zeus orders them to stand down. Odysseus
must leave for a brief journey to appease Poseidon, who still holds a grudge. Nevertheless, Ithaca is
once again at peace.
Merit Awards and Recognition :
Fagles was awarded the 1996 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and
Letters for his translation of The Odyssey. He was also awarded the PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for
Lifetime Achievement in Translation.
Benefit to Students:
The Odyssey is an excellent introduction to narrative poetry. Fagles’ version helps high
school freshmen learn how to read and comprehend difficult, historic verse. It allows them to
“translate” the verse into modern terms that they understand, thus preparing them for other lengthy
works of poetry they will read in the future (including Romeo & Juliet in the spring of their freshman
year). It introduces students to the concept and traits of the archetypal epic hero. The study of Greek
myths opens up discussion about other cultures and their beliefs. Finally, the text is an excellent
study of the oral tradition. For example, exact refrains are repeated many times over, stories or parts
of stories are occasionally “recapped,” characters are identified and characterized by epithets, etc. in
order to help a “listener” remember key ideas from the story. Fagles manages to keep just enough of
this in his written version without letting it becoming overly tedious to read on the page. His vivid,
lyrical storytelling recalls the story’s origins in oral performance.
Brief description of proposed classroom activities generated by text:
Class Discussions
Study Guide
Creating Thematic Statements – Students learn to take a thematic concept and craft a meaningful
statement about its practical application.
Anatomy of a Protagonist – Character study of Odysseus and the way in which his physical and
mental traits align
Survival Guide – Informative writing piece on how to survive in various circumstances
Character Trial: Cyclops – The Cyclops is prosecuted for the variety of crimes he has committed
against the gods and humanity.
Comparison: Epic poetry vs. modern poetry
Annotating
Translating and interpreting text
Written Tone Analysis – Given a passage from the text, students analyze its tone based on the
imagery, diction, figurative language, and symbolism of the selection.
List of the TEKS/STAAR/HPISD curricular objectives the proposed text supports
TEKS
(1) Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading
and writing. Students are expected to:
(A) determine the meaning of grade-level technical academic English words in multiple content
areas (e.g., science, mathematics, social studies, the arts) derived from Latin, Greek, or other
linguistic roots and affixes;
(D) describe the origins and meanings of foreign words or phrases used frequently in written
English (e.g., caveat emptor, carte blanche, tete a tete, pas de deux, bon appetit, quid pro quo); and
(E) use a dictionary, a glossary, or a thesaurus (printed or electronic) to determine or confirm the
meanings of words and phrases, including their connotations and denotations, and their etymology.
(2) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme and Genre. Students analyze, make inferences
and draw conclusions about theme and genre in different cultural, historical, and contemporary
contexts and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding. Students are expected to:
(A) analyze how the genre of texts with similar themes shapes meaning;
(B) analyze the influence of mythic, classical and traditional literature on 20th and 21st century
literature; and
(C) relate the figurative language of a literary work to its historical and cultural setting..
(3) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. Students understand, make inferences and draw
conclusions about the structure and elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support
their understanding. Students are expected to
(A) analyze the effects of diction and imagery (e.g., controlling images, figurative language,
understatement, overstatement, irony, paradox) in poetry.
(4) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Drama. Students understand, make inferences and draw
conclusions about the structure and elements of drama and provide evidence from text to support
their understanding. Students are expected to
(A) explain how dramatic conventions (e.g., monologues, soliloquies, dramatic irony) enhance
dramatic text.
(14) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real
or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are expected to:
(A) write an engaging story with a well-developed conflict and resolution, interesting and believable
characters, and a range of literary strategies (e.g., dialogue, suspense) and devices to enhance the
plot;
(B) write a poem using a variety of poetic techniques (e.g., structural elements, figurative language)
and a variety of poetic forms (e.g., sonnets, ballads); and
(C) write a script with an explicit or implicit theme and details that contribute to a definite mood or
tone.
(25) Listening and Speaking/Speaking. Students speak clearly and to the point, using the conventions
of language. Students continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are
expected to
(A) give presentations using informal, formal, and technical language effectively to meet the needs
of audience, purpose, and occasion, employing eye contact, speaking rate (e.g., pauses for effect),
volume, enunciation, purposeful gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas
effectively.
(26) Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students
continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to
(A) participate productively in teams, building on the ideas of others, contributing relevant
information, developing a plan for consensus-building, and setting ground rules for decision-making.
STAAR
STAAR Short Answer practice
HPISD
A series AP-style questions based on passages from the epic poem are used in conjunction with its
study. A passage with AP questions appears on the major exam over the text. This helps prepare
students for AP courses at HP and for their AP exams.
Clarification of any potentially controversial segments and why the text remains a suitable
choice, despite being potentially controversial.
•
Graphic violence
Similar Works: The Iliad by Homer, The Aeneid by Virgil, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Watership
Down by Richard Adams
Submit this Text Rationale with an annotated copy of the text for Committee Consideration.