"
He also contrasts the image of the brightest star with the image of Achilles' spear: "And as a star moves among stars in the night's darkening, Hesper, who is the fairest star who stands in the sky, such was the shining from the pointed spear Achilleus was shaking…"
With this contrast, Homer conveys a sense of dramatic irony in the final battle between the two heroes.
Irony through Allusion to Past Events
The similes which in Book 22 convey irony by placing Hector in the role as the hunted, in contrast to his role as the dominant warrior throughout most of the story. Such is the case when Achilles is "…chasing him, as a dog in the mountains who has flushed from his covert a deer's fawn follows him through the folding ways and the valleys, and though the fawn crouched down under a bush and be hidden…"
These similes contain no irony within themselves, but are very ironic within the context of the larger story. Hitherto, Hector is referred to as the hunter, the premier warrior on the battlefield, with Homer portraying him "…as a flashing eagle makes his plunge upon other flying birds as these feed in a swarm by a river, whether these be geese or cranes or swans long-throated, so Hektor steered the course of his outrush straight for a vessel."
The irony is accomplished by drawing on the audience's own knowledge of Hector's own exploits in the preceding chapters.
Irony through Foreshadowing
Similar...
Iliad With our observation of God, it can, every now and then, be extremely complicated to understand the proceedings and judgments of the Greek divine beings. In modern times, it is believed that God does not tend to take such a vigorous and energetic function in the dealings of people's lives, where, in contrast, the Greeks considered and respected undeviating participation and association by the gods as an every day, unmanageable
Lysistrata stands in the foreground, guiding the men to peace, despite the fact that neither side wants to admit blame. She reminds the Spartans of Athenian assistance in the wake of the quake, and she likewise reminds the Athenians of Spartan assistance in overthrowing Hippias. "Why on fighting are your hearts so set? / For each of you is in the other's debt" (228). The Spartan and Athenian make
Hector is valiant, and can show great anger in the thick of battle when it is necessary. But behind the walls of Troy, during times of counsel, he is able to show coolness and forthrightness. He urges Paris to fight Helen's legitimate husband Menelaus alone, which would have prevented more people from dying if Paris had not acted like a coward and fought unethically in the one-on-one battle. Hector regrets
The book also describes the foregone decision of the result of the war as decided by Hera who held a vicious grudge against the Trojans. The events in Book Four perfectly portrays how despite the truce forged and upheld after the fight between Menelaos and Alexandros, it is through the meddling of the gods and goddesses in the form of Athena's machinations to convince Pandaros to break the truce that
The two lovers are trapped by Hephaestus' chains and the gods are debating their fates. They contemplate the issue of whether being trapped in the chains is sufficient punishment, to which Hermes quips "...although I might be held by chains that are three times more numerous, more tight, than these then - even if the gods should watch the sight and all the goddesses - I'd find delight in
Thus repetition of characters, character epithets or tags, and events are key to oral poetry, as oral poetry usually relates familiar cultural myths. Repetition in Homer's "Iliad" is not simply evident in the poet's use of taglines to delineate his characters. For example when one hero responds to another, the poet usually uses a set phrase, such as 'then in answer again he spoke.' This is not evidence of Homer's
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now