ENGL-297 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Epic Poetry
11 Sep 2020
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Document Summary
Epic poetry can preserve the knowledge of people and the events of the past a formidable power in the non-literate, oral cultures. He depicts his main characters by presenting their own speeches/interior monologues: achilles" and agamemnon"s. Despite his military prowess as a warrior, achilles must remain subordinate to king agamemnon. Agamemnon"s megalomania (his obsession with power, especially domination of other people) leads to hubris: presumptuous pride, dishonouring others and/or the gods. Therefore, the quest for value occurs in the context of politics and religion: a captive woman need. Achilles feels dishonoured, a very serious offense to a man whose entire life revolves around competing successfully against other men. His initial passionate self-concern and quickness to anger reflects the heroic personality: the sea goddess thetis. She appeals to zeus to punish the achaeans (the greeks) until they have recognized the superior qualities of achilles: prizes and their social significance.
