Aim: How does Homer's invocation establish tone for the beginning of the Odyssey?
Group Discussion
Before we started the lesson, we were put into our breakout rooms to think of a new group name based on the Odyssey. After the discussion in the breakout rooms, we came back to the main room and shared out our new team names. Following this, we moved onto the lesson.
Notes/Discussion for the lesson
Do Now:
Class Discussion
How do you become inspired? Where does it originate? (Team name change!)
The Do Now asked the students to explain how they get inspiration and where their inspiration originates. In the meeting, the class shared and discussed their answers. Some stated that books, stories and quotes played a role in giving them inspiration while others stated that they get inspiration from music and emotions. In the end the class agreed that there are many instances in which one can get inspiration.
After discussing the Do Now the class continued on and did spirit reading through the slide talking about the nine muses.
The Nine Muses:
-Muses serve as inspiration for poets and other artists
-In Greek mythology, there were nine goddesses of arts, literature and science that served as muses
-One of nine Muses inspired different forms of prose, poetry, drama, rhetoric, or general writing.
-Homer’s invocation pays homage (special honor and respect) to these goddesses and to Ancient Greek culture in general
- expresses the purpose of the narrative
-Incorporates traditions familiar to his specific audience
The nine muses were the nine daughters of Zeus Titaness Mnemosyne. They were Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomeni, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania and Calliope.
Below are the muses and what they’re for:
Calliope was the muse of epic poetry.
Clio was the muse of history.
Erato was the muse of love poetry.
Euterpe was the muse of music.
Melpomene was the muse of tragedy.
Polyhymnia was the muse of sacred poetry.
Terpsichore was the muse of dance.
Thalia was the muse of comedy.
Urania was the muse of astronomy.
Along with the notes describing the muses and their purpose, a video was given. The video goes more in depth and gives more information about the muses.
Below is the link for the video:
Muses: The 9 Inspirational Goddesses of Greek Mythology - Mythology Dictionary - See U in History
After watching the video and talking briefly about it, the class was asked to answer the following question:
What exactly is an invocation?
The students were given a few minutes to go online and find information on the term “invoke”. One shared out that the term invoke meant to call for a certain action. Another connected the question to the muses and concluded that the term invoke meant to call for inspiration from the muses. Finally, the class concluded that the general definition that would best fit the lesson is that to invoke is to call on a deity (ex: muses) as a witness for inspiration.
After going over the question, we proceeded on going over questions from the class and the rest of the notes on the slide.
The notes are provided below:
-Homer’s invocation pays homage (special honor and respect) to the goddesses and to Ancient Greek culture in general.
-expresses the purpose of the narrative
-Incorporates traditions familiar to his specific audience
The class then moved on to reading Homer’s Invocation.
Homer’s Invocation:
"Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story
of that man skilled in all ways of contending,*
the wanderer, harried for years on end,
after he plundered the stronghold
on the proud height of Troy.
He saw the townlands
and learned the minds of many distant men,
and weathered many bitter nights and days
in his deep heart at sea, while he fought only
to save his life, to bring his shipmates home.
But not by will nor valor could he save them,
for their own recklessness destroyed them all-
children and fools, they killed and feasted on
the cattle of Lord Helios, the Sun,
and he who moves all day through heaven
took from their eyes the dawn of their return.
Of these adventures, Muse, daughter of Zeus,
tell us in our time, lift the great song again.
Link:Homer’s Invocation
After the reading, the teacher briefly read through the questions the students were to answer in their breakout rooms.
What is your opinion of Odysseus so far after hearing Homer's invocation to the muses and learning about the Trojan War?
My group said that based on Homer’s invocation, one opinion that can be made is that Odysseus is a heroic person who did many acts of heroism. During the class discussion however, our group saw that Odysseus wasn’t exactly a hero because he turned a blind eye to the innocents of the enemy country and slaughtered them. The class then settled on the answer that Odysseus was both a good and bad person.
How does Homer maintain the audience’s interest in the story, knowing that the audience is aware of the outcome from the very beginning?
My group said that Homer maintained the audience’s interest by adding suspense and using certain words and phrases to grab the audience’s attention. Homer doesn’t spoil the rest of the story and instead he reveals just enough to keep the audience on their toes. The class said something similar to this. One said that Homer was just giving a general plot and keeping in the details (like a movie trailer).
What does the invocation of the Muse in the opening lines clarify about Odysseus’ culpability (responsibility for a fault or wrong; blame) during his voyage home?
The class and my group came to the conclusion that the invocation of the muse clarifies that the only fault Odysseus is at is his inability to save his crewmates. As stated in the invocation, “But not by will nor valor could he save them,for their own recklessness destroyed them all-children and fools”.
Odysseus isn’t technically at fault and instead his crew mates.
After answering the questions the class was directed to move to the last slide in which there is an anticipation guide for us to fill out. The class was given the remaining class time to fill the form which consisted of statements.
Reflection
In this lesson I learned more about the nine muses and their importance. I also learned the meaning of invocation and how it’s important in epics. The lesson extended on the little knowledge I knew about the muses and made me see things from a different light. I learned about the muses and invocation because it’ll help me understand the Odyssey better while also ensuring that I'll know who the muses are and what an invocation is for. I can apply what I learned to future texts that might include the muses or an invocation. This way I'll be able to understand the author better and grasp new texts (like the Odyssey) easier.
No comments:
Post a Comment