Key Facts
full title · The Odyssey
author · Homer; some critics argue for multiple authorship
type of work · Poem
genre · Epic
language · Ancient Greek (Ionic dialect mixed with archaic forms
and other dialects)
time and place written · Unknown, but probably mainland Greece,
approximately 700 b.c.
date of first publication · Unknown
narrator · The poet, who invokes the assistance of the Muse; Odysseus narrates
Books 9–12
point of view · The narrator speaks in the third person and is omniscient.
He frequently offers insight into the thoughts and feelings of even minor
characters, gods and mortals alike; Odysseus narrates Books 9–12 in
the first person. Odysseus freely gives inferences about the thoughts
and feelings of other characters.
tone · Celebratory and nostalgic; the poet views the times
in which the action is set as glorious and larger than life.
tense · Past; large portions of the poem (especially Books 9–12)
are narrated in flashbacks.
setting (time) · Bronze Age (approximately twelfth century b.c.); the Odyssey begins
where the Iliad ends and covers the ten years after
the fall of Troy.
setting (place) · Odysseus's wanderings cover the Aegean and surrounding
seas and eventually end in Ithaca, in northwestern Greece; Telemachus
travels from Ithaca to southern Greece.
protagonist · Odysseus
major conflict · Odysseus must return home and vanquish the suitors
who threaten his estate; Telemachus must mature and secure his own reputation
in Greek society.
rising action · The return of Odysseus to Ithaca; the return of Telemachus
to Ithaca; their entrance into the palace; the abuse Odysseus receives;
the various omens; the hiding of the arms and locking of the palace
doors; Penelope's challenge to the suitors; the stringing of the
bow
climax · The beginning of Book 22, when
the beggar in the palace reveals his true identity as Odysseus
falling action · Odysseus and Telemachus fight and kill the suitors;
they put to death the suitors' allies among the palace servants.
themes · The power of cunning over strength; the pitfalls of
temptation; the tension between goals and obstacles; the misery
of separation; maturation as a journey
motifs · Disguises; storytelling; seductresses
symbols · Food; the wedding bed; the great bow; symbols of temptation (Circe,
the lotus, the Sirens' song, the cattle of the Sun)
foreshadowing · Agamemnon's fate at the hands of his wife and his
vindication by his son foreshadow the domestic troubles and triumphs
Odysseus faces when he returns to Ithaca; Odysseus is nearly recognized
by his wife and servants several times in Books 18–19,
foreshadowing the revelation of his identity in Book 22.
