... of this is the use of adjectives before or after a character's name, such as "great-hearted," "golden," or "resourceful." Two more characteristics of oral poetry are catalogues and digressions. Catalogues generally are narrated as a series of actions, instead of a mere list of actions, which is easier to remember. The Iliad ... scenes are another way of characterizing oral poems. Type scenes can include the way that the characters pray to the gods, including extending their arms in the air and looking towards the sky and also praising the god they are praying to, saying he/she is the gr...

• Word Count: 741
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... of both books. Each followed the path of a hero forced through suffering at the hands of the gods. And both books recorded these legendary journeys in the form of epic poetry. Nonetheless, the books were very different at certain points, primarily in what they emphasize. The most notable difference was their storylines, which were drastically different. The Iliad concerned itself about ... with Aeneas. Taking advantage of these events in a further attempt to detain Aeneas far from his Italian goal, Juno, with the complicity of Venus, thrusts the unfortunate Dido into the arms of her T...

• Word Count: 8864
• Approx Pages: 35
• Grade Level: High School

... to allow us, the audience, to come closer into the minds of the heroes by showing you how they would react to the retelling of their ordeals. This method of poetry is much more forceful in emphasizing the tragic aspects of war. Even further, we have yet to explain why he "wept as a woman weeps". (viii 522) The poet moves on ... on the body of her husband who has fallen before his own city and people, fighting bravely in defense of his home and children. She wails aloud and flings her arms about him as he lies gasping for breath and dying, but her enemies beat her from behind about the b...

• Word Count: 1313
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... epic poems. The poem is named the Aeneid. Virgil begins and ends the Aeneid with parallels to the Iliad of Homer. This encourages the reader to consider Virgil's style of poetry in light of Homer's. Parallels can be seen in the shield descriptions of the two classic epic poems. Virgil Similar in certain aspects, the shield scenes are also distinctly different ... , "Thetis of the silver feet came to the house of Hephaestus" (Il. 18: 369). Venus (the mother of Aeneas) and Thetis (the mother of Achilles) both ask a god to forge arms for their sons. The same god with different names (Hephae...

• Word Count: 806
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... go! 'T is Pallas, Pallas gives this deadly blow. He rais'd his arm aloft, and, at the word, Deep in his bosom drove the shining sword. The streaming blood distain'd his arms around, And the disdainful soul came rushing thro' the wound."" (Please note that the latter quote is from a different translation of the Aeneid by John Dryden.) In a manner of speaking ... , the Aeneid is sandwiched between elements taken directly from Homer; thus it is inviting us to consider Virgil's poetry in light of Homer's. The Aeneid is both praise to the Homer's style "if indeed imitation is the most sincere...

• Word Count: 1098
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School