Reading Period 12: December 1-7: The Odyssey

Long Read: 

The Odyssey of Homer, Books 11-14

Poems: 

"Calypso" by Suzanne Vega

My name is Calypso
And I have lived alone
I live on an island
And I waken to the dawn
A long time ago
I watched him struggle with the sea
I knew that he was drowning
And I brought him into me
Now today
Come morning light
He sails away
After one last night
I let him go.

My name is Calypso
My garden overflows
Thick and wild and hidden
Is the sweetness there that grows
My hair it blows long
As I sing into the wind
My name is Calypso
And I have lived alone
I live on an island
I tell of nights
Where I could taste the salt on his skin

Salt of the waves
And of tears
And though he,pulled away
I kept him here for years
I let him go

My name is Calypso
I have let him go
In the dawn he sails away
To be gone forever more
And the waves will take him in again
But he'll know their ways now
I will stand upon the shore
With a clean heart

And my song in the wind
The sand will sting my feet
And the sky will burn
It's a lonely time ahead
I do not ask him to return
I let him go
I let him go

"Circe" by Olga Brou

THE CHARM
The fire bites, the fire bites. Bites
to the little death. Bites
till she comes to nothing. Bites
on her own sweet tongue. She goes on. Biting.

THE ANTICIPATION
They tell me a woman waits, motionless
till she’s wooed. I wait
spiderlike, effortless as they weave
even my web for me, tying the cord in knots
with their courting hands. Such power
over them. And the spell
their own. Who could release them? Who
would untie the cord
with a cloven hoof?

THE BITE
What I wear in the morning pleases
me: green shirt, skirt of wine. I am wrapped
in myself as the smell of night
wraps round my sleep when I sleep
outside. By the time
I get to the corner
bar, corner store, corner construction
site, I become divine. I turn
men into swine. Leave
them behind me whistling, grunting, wild.

Odysseus and the Sirens by John Waterhouse

Creative Assignments:

Read this essay about the John Waterhouse painting, "Odysseus and the Sirens." Now that you understand the controversy over whether the Sirens should be portrayed as beautiful women or shrieking monsters, create your own illustration of the Sirens, in which you portray them in a completely different way. Maybe they are cheeseburgers, or new releases of video games, or surfboards, or TV remotes, or something else enticing. You don't have to mimic the Waterhouse painting (although that would be amusing) but you need the familiar elements -- the ship, Odysseus tied to the mast, and the Sirens in whatever form you imagine they would appear.

OR

Circe Invidiosa by John Waterhouse

Read the two poems assigned for this week. The first one, about Calypso, gives a rather traditional interpretation of the mythical figure, and includes the standard Mediterranean island setting. The second one, about Circe, is a modern reinterpretation, with an urban setting. Write a poem about one of the figures in the Odyssey: Penelope, Circe, Calypso, Telemachus, Polyphemus, or Odysseus himself. Your poem must have two stanzas -- one that places your character in the traditional "Ancient Greece" role and setting, and one that updates your character to a modern place -- a board room, or a video arcade, or a boxing ring -- something like that.

Writing Assignment:

Your writing assignment is a 500 word essay. In your essay, analyze the essay we read in class, "What's Happened to Disney Films" by John Evans, and its use of the Toulmin model. This means you'll need to find the claim, the support, the warrant, the backing, the rebuttal, and the qualifier. All of these were discussed in class, so really what you're practicing here is how to form an essay to delivery this analysis. After you've analyzed the Toulmin structure, argue against the essay using your own rhetoric.

Quiz:

1. What is the recipe for bringing the shades to life?
2. What does Elpenor want?
3. What warning does Teiresias give to Odysseus? What should he NOT do?
4. What advice does Teiresias give to Odysseus about after he gets rid of the suitors?
5. Which dead person updates Odysseus on the doings back in his hometown?
6. How does Achilles feel about being dead?
7. How does Circe tell Odysseus he should deal with the Sirens?
8. What two monsters must Odysseus pass between to get home?
9. How does Circe tell Odysseus to get through them with the least damage?
10. How does it happen that Odysseus' men eat Helios' cattle after being strictly forbidden to do so?