Spring 1999
English 203
Dr. De Nys

Paper #1

Discussion Day: February 11
Paper Due: February 16

Develop one of the following questions in 2 - 3 pages.

1. SETTING: The characters in literature live in an environment created by the author. Setting includes time in history and time of day. It includes details of geography and those of rooms in houses. It includes light, smells, and weather. Like any other element of imaginative literature, setting is not arbitrary. The author creates it the way he does for a reason.

Question #1: Consider one of the settings in the Odyssey, and comment briefly on the use of setting. Explain how Homer makes this setting vivid for the reader. Explain why this setting is important: Does the setting establish a mood? Does the setting bring about a crisis? Does the setting provide a situation in which crucial aspects of one or more character are revealed?

2. IDEA AND CHARACTERS: In an imaginative work, the characters are created by the author. In the case of the Odyssey, Homer knew some of the traits the audience expected in his characters; but the way the characters are described reveals something of the way the author viewed people and their place in his world.

Question #2: Explain how a family relationship among two or more characters in the Odyssey communicates an idea important in the work. Possible relationships involve spouses, parents and children, masters and servants (for these were familial in that society). Possible ideas involve notions of place in society, relationships between the human and the divine, reconciliation after conflict, establishment or restoration of order. These lists are merely suggestions; there are lots of possibilities.

NOTE: This assignment calls for a brief paper. Do not try to say everything there is to say about setting or characters in the whole poem. Select a crucial example to demonstrate the points you want to make. If you know a lot about your subject, it will show in your ability to be intelligently selective.

Do refer to the text to support your assertions. When doing so, indicate the relevant book and line in parentheses after the citation. Do not quote my lectures or class discussion. If either has been helpful, reformulate the concepts in your own words.

Essays are to be written in clear, graceful, standard English. Spelling and punctuation are to be correct.

Follow the Theme Requirements Handout in completing this assignment.