Plato’s attacks on Homer have to do with the bard’s focus earthly concerns rather than higher ones. Following Plato’s prescriptions, however, will not produce very interesting poetry.
Tag Archives: Homer
Defending Homer against Plato
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Henry Fielding, Odyssey, philosophy, Plato, Republic, Tom Jones Comments closed
On Broken Ceasefires, in Homer & in Syria
The horrific bombing of a 31-truck aid convoy brought an end to the painstakingly negotiated ceasefire between Russian and the United States in Syria. The incident resembled how Hera and Athena break up the truce that the Greeks and Trojans are trying to negotiate in “The Iliad.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged broken truces, ceasefires, Iliad, Russia, Syria, Syrian aid convoy bombing, Syrian civil war Comments closed
Homer’s Warning about Revenge Killings
What will it take to bring peace between police and black communities? Homer has a vision of such a truce at the end of “The Odyssey” but it may not be realistic.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "the meeting after the savior gone 4/4/68", Alton Sterling, Beowulf, Black Lives Matter, Ceremony, Dallas police killings, Grendel's mother, Leslie Marmon Silko, Lucille Clifton, Odyssey, Philando Castille, race war Comments closed
Lily, Achilles, Bertha & Ishmael on Vacation
Lily Bart, Bertha Mason, Achilles, Ishmael and Queequeg all go on vacation. Where do they go?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Charlotte Bronte, Herman Melville, House of Mirth, Iliad, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, vacations, Wharton (Edith) Comments closed
Trump’s Use of the Homeric Epithet
Donald Trump is making regular use of “the Homeric epithet.” He doesn’t use it as well as Homer, however.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump, Iliad, Odyssey, politics Comments closed
How To Pin Down Protean Donald Trump
Trying to pin down Donald Trump is like trying to pin down Proteus. But maybe that means that reporters can use the same tactics that Menelaus does to capture the sea god.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Journalism, Odyssey, political journalism Comments closed
Peyton: Old Age Hath Yet His Honor
Two narratives clash on Super Bowl Sunday: the return of the king vs. the aging king that must be overthrown. Is Peyton Manning Odysseus and the Panthers the suitors? Or is he the dragon who must yield to the next generation?
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alfred Lord Tennyson, Football, Odyssey, Peyton Manning, Sports, Super Bowl, Ulysses Comments closed
The Odyssey Speaks to Today’s Refugees
“The Odyssey” looked different to a literature teacher after he taught it to a class of Syrian, Iraqi and Palestinian refugees. Homer’s poem challenges us to open our own hearts to those fleeing persecution and war.
Lit vs. the Evils of History–More Debate
While literature can seem helpless in the face of history’s cataclysms, it proves far more durable than the events that seem to overwhelm it.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alexander the Great, Don Quixote, Iliad, Miguel de Cervantes, politics, W. H. Auden Comments closed
