Class 1302: First Paper (Sept. 24, 2001, 5pm) The first paper is now due Monday, Sept. 24, by 5pm in my box in Chapman 245. Consider this a formal Trinity paper. This paper should be 3 to 4 pages in length; typed; with reasonable font size (12 pt); with reasonable margins (1 inch); and properly spelled and proofread. A superior paper will correctly and deftly introduce evidence in the forms of citations from the text, such as "Quote quote quote quote" (3.222). You do not need to consult any other secondary scholarship on the Iliad: I want to hear your own ideas and analysis. Merely regurgitating back to me what I said in lecture will not improve your grade, and will waste valuable space. A three-to-four page paper should be taut and exact. Do not introduce the paper with a flowery ode to the wonders of the whole Iliad; I don't want to hear it. That's boring. I hate that. Your paper should start with a clear and intriguing proposition about the specific passage under consideration, and then should follow that thesis (over the next few pages) with arguments that back up your assertions. The end of the paper can be pithy; again, there's no need for an overwrought overview of the whole Iliad. You can't do it in three pages, so don't even try! =). [For the record, I can't do it either. Nobody can. Start small!] For this paper, you have the choice of two paper topics. Choose either topic #1 or topic #2. Topic 1: Below is my own translation of a puzzling scene from the end of the Iliad: the (anti)climactic duel between Akhilles and Hektor. This is a perfect example of a scene in which Homer appears to give you 'too much information' -- the narrator slows down the action with what appears to be a mass of extraneous detail. The question is 'why'? How do the similes and the descriptions in this smaller passage dovetail with the themes of the Iliad as a whole? [For this question, you might want to consider using Richard's tools of tenor, vehicle, and ground.] Iliad 22.139ff (Translation by TEJ) Just a mountain falcon, most swift of all that flies, swoops down easily on a trembling dove— the dove flies on before in fear, while the falcon follows close by, and its thumos urges on the chase— so too did Achilles excitedly give chase, while Hektor fled beneath the walls of Troy as fast as his limbs could go. They ran past the watch-tower, and the wind-swept fig-tree, and the road for wagons that ran by the wall, until they approached two springs, both of which flowed beautifully (kalos): they both fed the Scamander, river of many eddies. The one ran with water that was warm, and that gave off steam as if smoke rising from glinting fire. The other, even in summer, ran with water chill as hail, or snow, or the ice that forms on water. Nearby these spring were wide troughs, made of beautiful (kalos) stone, where the Trojan mothers and their beautiful (kalai) daughters used to go when the city was at peace, before the sons of the Achaeans arrived. Past these they rushed: both the chased and the one closely pursuing. Topic 2: In Iliad 21.34-136 Achilles encounters the Trojan warrior Lycaon, whom Achilles had captured once before and sold as a slave for the price of 100 oxen. Lycaon beseeches Achilles in a formal act of supplication and begs him to spare his life once again. Explore this passage in relation to Achilles' character and the Iliad as a whole. Choose one aspect of the passage and make an argument about the passage based on close reading of the text. Close reading means that you use concepts to explain and illuminate passages, not the other way around. In other words, don't generalize about all heroes on the basis of a few passages, instead make an argument about the passage based on what you've learned so far about the hero. Remember how we teased (or are teasing) meaning out the Shield of Akhilles and do likewise for this important scene. Some themes and passages you may want to consider include: 1) compensation (Iliad 1; 6.405-432; 18.490-503; 24.471-688) 2) Achilles' emotions and their development (Iliad 1, 24.471-688) 3) The hero's disequilibrium (Iliad 1.365-430, 9.620-656, 18.541-587, 24)   Expired Paper Assignment (spring 2001) Classics 207 Paper #1: an exercise in close-reading. For the first paper (due Feb. 9, in lecture), please pick either of the two Homeric passages below for a close reading of approximately three double-spaced pages. Each of the passages presents ‘too much information’: information not strictly needed in order to propel the narrative forward. Your job is to figure out why the Homeric system generates such description at a crucial point in the narrative. 1) What is a close reading? A close reading is just that: a method of looking at literature closely and slowly, teasing out every nuance from a short passage of prose, or, more usually, poetry. A close reading of a poem is different from an interpretation: a close reading precedes an interpretation, since it allows you, in fact, to interpret the poem more successfully, whether as an individual unit, or as part of a larger whole. In other words, a close reading provides you with the building-blocks for an interpretation, and it is up to you (if you choose) to construct an argument from the evidence of a close-reading. 2) What are the elements of a close reading? Close reading encompasses a whole range of activities, from looking at a passage at the level of syntax (what does the language mean literally) to the level of metaphor (what does it mean figuratively, what parallels or allusions is it drawing). I list below some items to look for during a close reading: a) repetition b) emphasis c) key heroic ‘concepts’ d) allusions to other works (Sappho, victory odes, etc.) e) allusions/references within the same work e) metaphor (an important one!) f) climax/anticlimax g) humor h) irony i) cultural or historical allusions j) sequence (why are items in the order that they are?) k) parallel/balance (or its reverse, cacophony) i) mythological references j) religious or ritual references k) contradictions or curiosities l) its context: how does the passage fit into its surrounding narrative (or not!) m) whatever else strikes you as worthy of mention The best way to start a close-reading is to read the passage carefully two or three times; next, annotate the passage in the margins with your carefully sharpened number two pencil. You’ll be surprised, I think, how much you can squeeze from a carefully constructed Homeric simile or set-piece. 3) Hey, do I need a thesis? Not for this assignment. You don’t need an introduction, either: just leap on in with your observations. On the other hand, I don’t want just a list: please use appropriate paragraph formatting, and try to arrange your thoughts in some sort of reader-friendly order. If a thesis, or the germ of a thesis, presents itself to you, then by all means, include it (or hint at it), but please don’t give me a Stunning Overarching Interpretation of All of Homeric Poetry in just three pages. You won’t be able to do it. Start small, and save your big guns for the second paper. Anyhow, the two passages for consideration are as follows; please pick one for your close reading. a) Iliad 22.139ff (Translation by TEJ) Just a mountain falcon, most swift of all that flies, swoops down easily on a trembling dove— the dove flies on before in fear, while the falcon follows close by, and its thumos urges on the chase— so too did Achilles excitedly give chase, while Hektor fled beneath the walls of Troy as fast as his limbs could go. They ran past the watch-tower, and the wind-swept fig-tree, and the road for wagons that ran by the wall, until they approached two springs, both of which flowed beautifully (kalos): they both fed the Scamander, river of many eddies. The one ran with water that was warm, and that gave off steam as if smoke rising from glinting fire. The other, even in summer, ran with water chill as hail, or snow, or the ice that forms on water. Nearby these spring were wide troughs, made of beautiful (kalos) stone, where the Trojan mothers and their beautiful (kalai) daughters used to go when the city was at peace, before the sons of the Achaeans arrived. Past these they rushed: both the chased and the one closely pursuing. b) Odyssey 8.521 (translation by TEJ) All this the famous bard sang. But Odysseus Melted, and made wet his cheeks with tears. Just as a woman wails when she throws herself on her philos husband, Who has fallen before the walls of his people, Warding off a pitiless fate from his city and his children— She sees him dying, gasping for breath, And pours forth a shrill lament for him. Behind her, soldiers Strike her torso and shoulders with the end of their spears, Coercing her to slavery, and meting out ponos and suffering. Her cheeks waste away from so much piteous akhos. So too did Odysseus pour forth piteous tears from his eyes. His tears escaped the notice of nearly everybody. Only Alkinoos, sitting nearby, noticed it in his mind [noos], and heard the man as he sighed so heavily. Assignment #2 (expired) A two part assignment for 1/31/01. Please work your way through both of these parts. Then, write up an answer to one part in a paragraph, to be handed in after discussion. (It won’t be graded, but it will be marked!) Part one: Take a look and listen to the Hungarian lament at: http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~clas207/lament.html Next, try your hand at some modern comparative field work. On the basis of the Hungarian lament, and the following Iliadic laments, what are the common themes of women’s funeral lament in traditional song-cultures? Laments: 22.429; 22.437; 24.718; 24.746; 24.760. Part two: Read with especial attention 21.54-136; 24.475-548. Question: Why does the appeal for Akhilles’ mercy work in book 24 and not in book 21? What themes/concepts are invoked between these two events that color or change Akhilles’ view of ransom? (A red herring: that Zeus made him do it. In this instance, the divine machinery is supporting a change already inherent in the plot. Look for details that cluster around Akhilles himself.)