Life's Journeys in The Odyssey
Life's Journeys in The Odyssey
The epic, The Odyssey, by Homer, depicts the journey of the hero Odysseus as he faces the greatest of obstacles to evolve into a man, preeminent over that of other mortals. In both power and prowess he is unsurpassed, comparable even to the gods themselves at times. In a particular passage within the epic, the powerful nature of this “master mariner and soldier” is exceptionally portrayed, positioned before the revealing of Odysseus’s true identity and his slaughtering of the voracious suitors. Such an opportunity arises when his wife Penelope, brings out the hero’s bow as a test for the suitors, which commend her hand in marriage. As each of the suitors in turn fail to even string the bow, in the hands of Odysseus, a sense of authority long forgotten about the manor is restored, illuminated by Odysseus’s manner and aura. In the passage, Robert Fitzgerald’s translation of Homer’s work, demonstrates Odysseus’s powerful nature through the use of an extended metaphor and a shift in tone, domineering over the suitors and those around him.
The extended metaphor in the passage, as Odysseus is compared to a musician illustrates the control, which he demands in his presence as well as the harmony that he brings to those around him. A musician in a sense is master over his art and instrument, the two intertwined as one, requiring control to produce the notes that bring harmony to the ears of its listeners. The unmatched quality of melodies produced from the instrument come from the touch of those experienced over time. As a bard himself, Homer shines upon comparing his hero to a musician like himself, and in the passage Odysseus is “like a musician, like a harper” (XXI, 404, 461), the “quiet hand upon his instrument” (XXI, 404, 463), the bow. Power through control is demonstrated, as the youthful suitors, even after “[heating] and [greasing] the bow” (XXI, 396, 201) are unable to even string it, whilst “Odysseus in one motion [strings] the bow” (XXI, 404, 466). As a musician would tune his instrument, Odysseus takes “his time, turning the bow, tapping it, every inch, for borings” (XXI, 403, 446-48). The process taken differs greatly to that of the suitors, strong headed in their actions contrasting to the methodical approach of Odysseus, afterward “[sliding] his right hand down the cord, and [plucking] it, so the taut gut...