Andrew Stutts
The Odyssey of Homer is the first great piece of narrative literature of the Western World. Furthermore, it has been deemed to be one of the oldest complete sets of books in the western world. This epic novel has captured peoples’ imaginations for centuries. The Odyssey of Homer has had an immense impact and influence on the rest of world literature, especially the western world. Some examples include but are not limited to the following: the Greek idylls of Theocritus, Virgil’s Aeneid, Malory’s Morte D’Arthur, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Paradise Lost by John Milton, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Moreover, the literary areas that the Odyssey of Homer has most affected in western literature are the epic, pastoral literature, lyric and dramatic poetry.
To fully appreciate why The Odyssey is a dominant influence and made such a tremendous impact on western literature it is necessary to know the background of this fine work of literary art. The Odyssey together with its prequel The Iliad is the oldest complete set of books that we know of in the Western world. Although there are many educated guesses, experts can not agree on who wrote them, or where, or when. As noted classist Gilbert Highet once said, “Suddenly they gush out of the earth, like living water from a subterranean source, far back beyond the beginning of our recorded history, and like strong rivers they have continued to flow with incomparable force and vitality through nearly three thousand years and over half a planet.” (Bulcher vi)
Much information can be garnered from the literally meaning of The Iliad and The Odyssey. A perfect definition can be found in Gilbert Highet’s introduction of The Odyssey translated by S.H. Bulcher; “Iliad means: ‘the poem about Ilios’, and Ilios was one of the names of the old Asiatic city Troy. Odyssey means ‘the poem about Odysseus,’ and Odysseus was one of the Greek princes who captured Troy.” (Bulcher vi) The Iliad recounts of how a Greek army besieged the legendary city of Troy. Then The Odyssey narrates the tale of how they returned home with great difficulty and danger. These epic poems do not tell us everything. Instead only the essentials are given and the rest is left up to the imagination.
The Odyssey depicts a bizarre, violent, and tumultuous world. The world described in the Odyssey is filled with war, strange creature, and gods. These gods are sometimes helpful and benevolent and at other times temperamental and harmful. Gilbert Highet gave this description of the world in The Odyssey in his introduction of Bulcher translation of The Odyssey, “It is an age of chaos: war everywhere—war and violence; scarce and difficult communications, pirates, savages and monsters pressing in upon the small world, peace and law known as ideals but practiced only within narrow limits; and even in heaven a dynasty of angry, incalculable and violent gods, quarreling with one another and with men. Clearly it is the kind of world that appears again and again in history when races and nations are on the march, when long-established powers are broken down, when unsuspected forces emerge and struggle for mastery, an age like that of the Vikings and the Crusades and the Spanish conquests in America, when the chief virtues are cunning and courageous.” (Bulcher vi) As Mr. Highet continues his introduction, he dates the writings to have been written some time around 1000 BC and adds to their historical value stating, “Geographically, the world of the poems is fairly narrow. It is wider than the world we see through the early books of the Old Testament, but still it is limited; mainland Greece.” (Bulcher vi)
The Odyssey of Homer has had a tremendous impact on the epic. In fact, The Odyssey is crucial to the historical development of the epic in literature. Examples of its legacy can be seen in various literary works throughout the centuries. Furthermore, The Odyssey of Homer still continues to have a profound influence on modern literature.
The Odyssey is what is commonly called an epic poem. This is a term derived from one of the Greek words for poetry. An epic poem is a certain style of writing based, in large part, on the models and criteria established by Homer’s work, namely the Odyssey. Epic poetry is extremely important historically in the context of Western literature. Considered the ultimate in literary achievement, for a long time epic poetry was the best a writer could strive to create. An epic poem, following the example of Homer, is a long narrative poem organized in a series of books (usually twelve or twenty four). The story characteristically begins in the middle of the action and fills in the details of past events in various ways as the narrative proceeds. What gives the long work its epic character; however, is its scope. These works present the reader with what amounts to a comprehensive vision of experience at a particular cultural moment. So the poem is not merely a long story about particular people in particular places; it is also a detailed cultural and spiritual map, delineating an entire belief system, the very basis of a civilization. This map will include, among other things, what certain groups of people believe about themselves, about their relationship with the divine, about their sense of the past and future, about nature, both civilized and wild, and about what is most important in life. In other words, the epic quality of an epic poem emerges from the way in which it holds up for our inspection an entire way of life. For that reason, a really useful way to come to an understanding of a particular historical culture is to explore its famous epic poetry.
It is easy to see why the Odyssey of Homer is categorized as an epic poem. The Odyssey takes us on an extensive trip to an assortment of people, places, and things. Furthermore, various characteristics of the wilderness are observed. Also, the hero’s values as well as the other characters in the Odyssey are examined thru a series of tests. This serves to clarify the relationship of all things in the story, providing a valuable and detail picture of a particular culture’s sense of civility, morality and what is means to be an exceptional human being.
Homer’s epic work had a direct impact on Virgil, one Rome’s finest poets ever. Furthermore, the most notable epic influenced by and compared to The Odyssey is Virgil’s Aeneid. Virgil not only used the Homeric style of writing to write the Aeneid, he used a Trojan hero mentioned by Homer as his leading character. This hero as legend and tradition held fled the defeated and sacked Troy and eventually established Rome after a long arduous journey. Furthermore, it is obvious that he drew heavily on material from both Homer’s Iliad and The Odyssey to create his epic. Due to the revival of scholarly study of Virgil and the Aenid, The Odyssey continued to influence epic literature.
One interesting aspect about epic poems is that they usually are written when the civilization they are honoring is either disappearing or are gone completely. When The Odyssey was recorded in writing, it was describing a culture which did not exist quite in the same manner as the time of its attributed author known simply as Homer. The note worthy pattern of epic poetry describing disappearing or gone civilizations is repeated in western literature throughout the centuries. Further examples are found during the Middle Ages, Dante’s Inferno and Malory’s Morte D’Arthur were both written at a time when the cultural movement they were describing was changing forever or were by and large absent. Another example from the 17th century was the great religious epic Paradise Lost by John Milton. Milton’s Puritanical work was written after the failure of the Protestant experiment and Cromwell’s Commonwealth.
In more contemporary times the epic has moved away from the poetic form. A couple of examples are War and Peace and Moby Dick. Furthermore, the epic novel has essentially replaced the traditional epic poem as the supreme literary accomplishment a writer can strive to create. Despite this fact, The Odyssey has had an unmistakable influence on the epic form of literature.
The Odyssey has been essential in the expansion epic literature. Innumerable examples of its legacy can be seen in various literary works throughout the centuries. Additionally, The Odyssey still continues to have an enormous influence on modern literature. The impact of The Odyssey of Homer on epic literature is undeniable.
Next, The Odyssey of Homer has also had its impact on and has inspired pastoral literature. Although The Odyssey is described as an epic poem, it has many pastoral elements throughout the story. The Homeric style of writing found in The Odyssey has been used by many literary artists to create masterpieces in Pastoral literature. The Odyssey has greatly influenced directly and indirectly many great works in Pastoral literature throughout history.
Pastoral writing is a highly conventional mode of writing that celebrates the innocent life of shepherds and shepherdesses in poems, plays, and prose romances. Pastoral literature describes the loves and sorrows of musical shepherds, usually in an idealized Golden Age of rustic innocence and idleness; paradoxically, it is an elaborately artificial cult of simplicity and virtuous frugality. The pastoral tradition in Western literature originated with the Greek idylls of Theocritus, who wrote for an urban readership in Alexandria about shepherds in his native Sicily.
Theocritus was heavily influenced by The Odyssey of Homer. One of the first elements that he was influenced by was the Homeric style of writing within The Odyssey. Secondly, he used characters from The Odyssey, many times recasting the characters in a different manner to fit his pastoral style of writing. One example being that he re-established the character of the Cyclops Polyphemus as simple love sick Sheppard. Also, Theocritus made mention of other thing in his poetry from The Odyssey such as the skin of strong wine given to Polyphemus by Odysseus. Although Theocritus is credited as the originator of Pastoral literature, he was heavily influenced by the earlier works of Homer including The Odyssey of Homer.
The Roman poet Virgil was influence by The Odyssey of Homer both directly and indirectly. Moreover, his indirect influence is due to much of his work also being inspired by Theocritus. Virgil was the most noteworthy of Roman poets and is known for both his epic and pastoral poetry. Virgil work has influenced writers for centuries, especially writers in medieval Europe and from the Renaissance Era. One such work from the 14th century is The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. In fact Virgil is even used as a guide to Hell in Dante’s Inferno, the first part of the Divine Comedy. Therefore, The Odyssey had a huge impact on Virgil’ work and subsequently these influences were passed on to future generations of writers up until modern times.
It is clear to see that The Odyssey of Homer was the stimulus for pastoral literature. Despite The Odyssey being categorized as an epic poem, it was central to the development of pastoral literature and continues to influence many great literary works. Also, the Homeric style of writing found in The Odyssey was a mainstay in pastoral literature. Finally, throughout history many works of genius in pastoral literature have been wrought due to the direct and indirect influence of The Odyssey of Homer.
Moving on to other areas of poetry, The Odyssey of Homer has also been the forerunner to lyrical and dramatic poetry and has laid roots with in this type of poetry as well. Most likely The Odyssey was originally performance poetry with roots in a preliterate oral tradition. Even after it had been committed to writing it continued to be performed orally. The epic poem The Odyssey of Homer had it roots in an oral tradition.
No one knows for certain the exact date when The Odyssey of Homer was written. So it is no surprise that even today its authorship is still questioned by scholars. There are various theories on how The Odyssey came to be written. A poet simply known as Homer is attributed as the author of The Odyssey. Much of what is said about Homer is subject to debate. However, the prevalent opinion concerning Homer is that he was a blind bard. Moreover, it is believed that he composed and recited both The Iliad and The Odyssey a few hundred years after the events illustrated. However, there are those who theorize that Homer was the inheritor of an older bardic tradition. Still, there are others who put forward the idea that no individual author named Homer existed but that The Odyssey was an accumulated effort of numerous bardic poets over time that recorded in writing this epic poem. If The Odyssey of Homer was indeed written by a single author named Homer it definitely originated in and oral tradition. One thing is for certain, The Odyssey is stepped in an oral tradition. In any case, The Odyssey of Homer was meant to be performed, even after it was committed to writing.
To properly understand the relevance of The Odyssey to Lyrical and dramatic poetry a definition of both terms must first be established. First, dramatic poetry is any poetry that uses the dialogue of the characters involved to tell a story or depict a situation. Furthermore, it is drama written in verse to be spoken or sung. Second, lyric poetry means ‘sung to the lyre’. Although it was, strictly speaking, song, the words were of primary importance and are now all that remain, knowledge of the accompanying music having been lost in antiquity. Choral lyric was sung (and often danced) by a chorus (or by a leader answered by a chorus) to a musical accompaniment usually played on the lyre, occasionally on the flute (aulos, a wind instrument like the oboe). It was composed from earliest times and throughout Greek history for public religious ceremonies. To this fact are attributable the predominantly elevated tone and the inclusion of myth and moralizing. In fact, Homer mentions many varieties of choral lyric: dirges, hymns, hyporchemata, maiden-songs, and wedding-songs.
Many literary scholars like to separately categorize epic, lyrical, and dramatic poetry. However, any lyric work that makes use of the fundamentals of drama such as dialogue, conflict, or characterization is a form of dramatic poetry. The Odyssey is no exception. Also, it is a widely held belief that dramatic poetry probably developed out of earlier Greek oral epics, such as The Odyssey of Homer. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that not only did The Odyssey of Homer have a major influence on both lyrical and dramatic poetry but was it is also the forbearer to both.
In conclusion, it is safe to say that The Odyssey, together with its prequel The Iliad, is the oldest complete set of books in the western world. Furthermore, The Odyssey of Homer is the first marvelous occurrence of narrative literature in the western world and has impacted poetry forever. It has captivated the thoughts of mankind for generations. The Odyssey of Homer made and enormous impression on world literature, especially the western world. The Greek idylls of Theocritus, Virgil’s Aeneid, Malory’s Morte D’Arthur, The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Paradise Lost by John Milton, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and Moby Dick by Herman Melville are just a few of the many fine examples of literature following in the footsteps of The Odyssey of Homer. This epic novel is a look into the past. It is captivating and a timeless breakthrough that will be forever referenced and studied throughout time. It is clear to see the effects that The Odyssey of Homer has had on the rest of world literature, including the epic forms of poetry, the pastoral forms of literature, and the lyric and dramatic forms of poetry.
Works Cited
“The Odyssey.” The Bedford Anthology of World Literature The Ancient World, Beginnings-100 C.E. Eds. Paul Davis, Gay Harrison, David M. Johnson, Patricia C. Smith, John F. Crawford, and THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2004. 421-768.
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