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Commentary, "and a man say but I most of all"

 

            Commentary, "and a man say but I most of all".
             In book 6 of Homer's Iliad the lines 546-588 tell us about Andromache weeping for fear that Hector`s status, as the greatest warrior of the Trojans will mean his death. She fears that Achilles will kill as he did with her both parents and all her brothers. She wants Hector to stay away from war, however Hector refuses and tells her that he should win glory for himself and his troops. The tones used by Homer vary in a wide range from sympathetic to terrifying. The intension of this passage is to show the greatness of Hector as a husband and father, a compassionate man full of love and devotion to his city.
             The overall structure of the passage is full of dialogues between the characters but above all it is emphasised in the speech between Hector and Zeus. The whole passage is melancholic in the way that the fate if Hector is death, however it is tinged with Hector`s illusions, his glory as a great Trojan warrior. The passage handles the theme of fate very vigorously, in first place with the line " and a man may say, who sees you streaming tears," this refers to Andromache taken into slavery when Hector dies. Furthermore the theme of fate id shown in the line " Andromache presses the child to her scented breast smiling through her tears," this shows how she loved Hector to come back but deep inside her she knows it would not happen, instead he as all her family will be killed by the great Greek warrior Achilles.
             Another theme explored by this passage is the relations between gods with mortals. This can be seen in the lines 568-574 were Hector is praying Zeus to glory his son after his death. By this we can see the importance of gods in mortal's lives. They are capable of intervene when they want and settle up disputes as they wish. This means that mortals have no real freedom. The text clearly admires the reciprocal bonds of family life, but it respects much more highly the pursuit of glory that one wins in the eyes of others by performing greet deeds.


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