In which I argue that great pro-war literature doesn’t exist, including “The iliad” and “War and Peace.” (Both works are magnificent; I just don’t see them as pro-war.)
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Tag Archives: Homer
Great Pro-War Literature Doesn’t Exist
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Charge of the Light Brigade", Alfred Lord Tennyson, anti-war literature, Catch 22, Donald Trump, Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Iliad, Joseph Heller, Leo Tolstoy, Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer, Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien, war, War and Peace Comments closed
Bob Dylan, Gifted Storyteller
Bob Dylan, in his Nobel Acceptance Speech, made it clear that literary influences are as big in his song writing as musical influences.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Blowin' in the Wind", "Masters of War", All Quiet on the Western Front, Bob Dylan, Erich Maria Remarque, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Nobel prize, Odyssey Comments closed
Fantasy, a Portal to the Numinous
People are often drawn to fantasy in our post-Enlightenment world because they hunger for the numinous.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Crystal Forest", alienation, angels, Beauty and the Beast, Charles Taylor, disenchantment, Enlightenment, fantasy, Georg Lukacs, Harmut Rosa, His Dark Materials, John Milton, Odyssey, Paradise Lost, Philip Pullman, re-enchantment, resonance, Theory of the Novel, Willam Sharp Comments closed
Defending Homer against Plato
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.
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