Epic Comparisons in Odyssey by Homer - Essay Example

Your number (for example: 22 February Epic Similes and Odysseus’ Rest on the Shore of Skheria Epic similes enhance the descriptions of the surroundings, actions and feelings to such a level that the reader fully grasps the intricacies and the depth attached to them. Homer’s similes in The Odyssey go to expansive proportions thus empowering the reader in his/her quest for understanding the great epic. One of the best uses of an epic simile in The Odyssey is in Book V when the storm rattles Odysseus, a terrible storm from which Odysseus bravely escapes and finds rest in the shores of Skheria. The poet’s descriptions of the storm, of how Odysseus escapes and of how he prepares a bed to rest are made elaborate through similes which enable every action to be painted in vivid colors. A weather-beaten Odysseus and his actions form the theme for one of Homer’s best similes in this epic. The victim of Poseidon’s stormy wrath, Odysseus finally lands on the shores of Skheria. Bruised, swollen and torn, the king of Ithaca has to contemplate many grim situations. Exhausted as he is from his watery adventure, if he stays out all night the bitter frost and dew are sure to kill him. Entering the woods to escape the cold might make him a meal for beasts of prey. Odysseus weighs both options for a long time and chooses the latter and sets off towards the woods. Homer describes a very comfortable shelter that Odysseus makes use of; a pair of bushes with such closely intertwined branches that neither the wind nor the sun nor the rain could get inside. To his delight, Odysseus finds the ground littered with abundance of dead leaves, enough to provide warmth in the coldest winter. Odysseus then makes a bed for himself with these nature’s timely gifts and here is introduced an epic simile. He then lays down and covers himself with the dead leaves like “. . . A man in a distant field, no hearthfires near, / Will hide a fresh brand in his bed of embers / To keep a spark alive for the next day: / So in leaves Odysseus hid himself,” (5. 510–512). The simile itself provokes in the reader a sense of desperation. Hanging on to the last thread of comfort, a lonely man in a vast field would hide the only glowing ember in the ashes so that it will stay alive. And thus too does Odysseus cover himself with the dead leaves so that he himself could stay alive. The man in the distant field would not have the hope of finding light or warmth anywhere as he is alone and the same is the fate of Odysseus. Alone in the unknown land, he must make use of whatever resource is available to him. Odysseus is being compared to a glowing cinder and the dead leaves to a bed of embers. The lonely man is Odysseus himself who has to keep himself warm. But in this simile, the action takes precedence, because the action signifies the prevention of something from dying out. It is even prolonging the certain demise as a glowing ember is sure to die down and the black ashes will only extend its life a little longer. Odysseus too is taking a chance as earlier we saw him contemplating two equally bad options, whether to die in the cold by staying out or to die by the fangs and claws of a predator. Thus in his case too, his almost certain ill fate is only being extended. A powerful king, a great traveler, a fearless warrior, still Odysseus must fend for himself when it comes to fulfilling one of man’s basic needs, shelter. The fear of a frosty death inspires in the great warrior a desperation that makes him sleep on dead leaves. But this episode also proves the mettle of the king of Ithaca; never at any point does Odysseus contemplate giving up. He fights with nature just as he fought with the many enemies and the many monsters. Earlier, he braves the wind and the waves of the sea storm and now, in this subtle way, he fights the bitter cold. The action, in a way, is defiance. It might be the majestic royalty in him or it might be the sheer survival instinct of a human being, but Odysseus has a remarkable amount of restraint; he does not ask the gods for help. During the storm, he receives Ino’s advice, Athena’s aid and in a particularly hopeless situation, Odysseus prays to the god of the stream to keep him safe. Once on the shore, we should assume that he becomes confident as without the aid or advice of divinity, Odysseus decides to keep himself alive. Only after he makes his bed does Athena fill his eyes with sleep, giving him relief from his exhaustion. “while over him Athena showered sleep / that his distress should end, and soon, soon, / In quiet sleep she sealed his cherished eyes” (514–516). That seems to be the only instance a god comes to his aid. But this is not the first instance we see of Odysseus’ self-possession. During the wrathful storm, he would have died had it not been for his wise thinking; here too, it is the sheer will to survive that needs to be acclaimed. Time and again Poseidon sends monstrous waves crashing down on Odysseus but every time, Odysseus manages to cling on to dear life. Poseidon’s attack demolishes Odysseus’ boat and he must think quickly and act wisely. A man of many strategies Odysseus clings on to a single beam like a man riding a horse and swims away. But Poseidon’s anger does not diminish. Another monstrous wave flings him far out into the sea and onto a huge rock. Through an epic simile, Homer describes how pieces of Odysseus’ skin were torn away in his attempt to survive. But survive, Odysseus does. If in another passage, his actions can be interpreted as instinct, in this one, he seems to be in control of himself. Odysseus might have come to an unprecedented end, if Athena had not inspired a wise idea in him. He struggles to the surface and swims along the coastal breakers, all the time keeping an eye on the shore: Odysseus left the skin of his great hands torn on that rock-ledge as the wave submerged him. And now at last Odysseus would have perished, battered inhumanly, but he had the gift of self-possession from grey-eyed Athena. So, when the backwash spewed him up again, he swam out and along, and scanned the coast for some landspit that made a breakwater (451–58). A detailed analysis of the epic similes will yield many points such as discussed above. The superficial elements like the objects of comparison then seem to be just the beginning points. The deeper aspects like the theme they signify give the reader a lot to ponder over. The themes of desperation, survival instinct and the quality of self-possession are the more subtle ones. It is remarkable that in so few lines, the great Greek poet could tell the reader so much, but that itself is the purpose of an epic simile. Because even though an epic simile can be described as an elaborate comparison between two things that otherwise have no similarity, it widens the perspective of the reader, making him/her able to form questions on the story and the characters and then find the answers himself/herself quite easily. Work Cited The Odyssey. Trans. Fitzgerald, Robert. 2nd Ed. London: Vintage Classics, 1990. Print. Read More