classical literature

Choose one of the following topics and write a four-page (that's at least four full pages) essay which is thoughtful and supported with several specific examples from the work(s) you are analyzing. Be sure to use standard MLA format (if you choose the first topic, use the format sililar to that used in the plays we've read). Your essay will be evaluated primarily on content (your ideas), but try to eliminate as many errors as possible. Good Luck!

  1. (the creative option): Achilles, Odysseus, Oedipus and Aeneas are sitting together in a bar watching Monday Night Football (make it basketball or hockey or World Cup or ??? if you prefer). They've had a little to drink, and they are arguing about which of them is the greatest hero. Write this scene in play form. Try to reveal the nature of each character, some of their exploits (they will be trying to out-do one another), and a sense of what different qualities the different cultures (8th century B.C. Greece and 1st century B.C. Rome) value in a hero. This will be mainly dialogue, but be sure to set the scene and toss in a bit of action. For added fun, you might want to add Lysistrata as their opinionated waitress and a nosy chorus of old men and old women (also from Lysistrata) as customers who are eavesdropping and commenting on the argument; guests from "Dinner with Trimalchio" might also add some color to your scene.

    Tip: as with other creative options this semester, this one has its challenges. Yes, you can create setting easily enough, and you can even provide a conflict (the guys are rooting for different teams, trying to attract the attention of a young woman, whatever you wish; however, that's just the surface of this task. You need to keep all of the characters in character. Odysseus's dialogue (content and style) will be very different from Achilles's, for example). On one level your scene will demonstrate that you understand the natures of the characters and can convey those natures.

  2. (the straight option): Discuss the nature of the hero in ancient Greece and Rome by comparing/contrasting the characters of Achilles, Odysseus, Oedipus and Aeneas. In your analysis you will want to describe character traits of each (be sure to quote examples from the text to support your observations) and the heroic nature of each (again, you'll need to cite examples of exploits, sacrifices, character changes, etc. from the text to support this). You will also want to discuss what classical Greek and Roman cultures valued in a hero by contrasting Achilles, Odysseus, and Oedipus (each of which represents different aspects of the Greek hero) with Aeneas.

    As always, don't feel limited to the Western focus of our textbook. If you would like to explore characteristics of the hero in cultures not represented in our text, then consider looking at sections of The Ramayana (India), or Sundiata (Africa). Although it is not an epic, and the focus is on the virtues that should be cultivated to create a civilized person (especially a leader), you might want to analyze these values that make an elevated person expressed in The Analects of Confucius. You won't find a Japanese or Chinese epic until about the middle ages, but you may want to consider something like Tale of the Heike when you do Essay 3 later in the semester.

  3. One similarity between The Iliad and The Aeneid is that the main character of each work is given a marvelous shield created by the god of the forge. However, the scenes intricately worked onto the faces of these shields are very different from one another. Discuss how the shield of Achilles symbolizes qualities valued by the ancient Greeks and how Aeneas' shield symbolizes different values of the ancient Romans. Be sure to describe several key images from each shield (quote and document) to support your answer.

  4. Discuss the nature of satire using Aristophanes's Lysistrata. Examine the general characteristics found in satiric literature (you may want to look up some information on satire). Consider the purpose, typical targets, effect on the audience, conventions of satire in general. Then explain what exactly is being satirized in the work you are discussing. Be sure to cite examples from the play or the story which show how characteristics of satire are being used and what things are being poked fun of.

    Note: if you'd like, you can, instead, discuss the nature of satire in the segment of Petronius's Satirycon that is in our textbook. You might find that you can compare the characters and institutions being satirized in this Roman work to contemporary U.S. society; if so, feel free to compare/contrast the work with some current people, institutions, activities.

  5. World literature is certainly not limited to ancient Greece and Rome. Nearly every major culture has at least one key epic. I encourage you to look into some of them, perhaps explore similarities and differences with the ones we discussed, and look at how one of these epics reveals what another culture considered important qualities of the hero. Following are just a few of the major epics:

    • The Epic of Gilgamesh (from Mesopotamia)

    • The Ramayana (from India)

    • The Tale of the Genji or The Tale of the Heike (from Japan)

    • The Sundiata Keita sometimes called The Sunjata (from Mali)

    NOTE: some of these works are quite a bit newer than others, and some are much longer than others. If you have the new edition of our textbook, most of the longer ones appear excerpted; the samplings are well chosen.

For some tips on writing about literature, go to

[writing about literature]

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