Foundations of Ancient World Literature Reading Response Two Due March 25
From your notes, reading and lectures, develop 2 full paragraphs in responses to each one of the ‘prompts’
listed below. The format is informal, you can use first person and your response is a ‘reading analysis’ not an
essay. You do not need to ‘retell’ the story, I’ve read them. You need to discuss the topics in your own words.
CHOOSE ANY 4 QUESTIONS TO ANSWER FROM THE LIST BELOW.
Iliad Based on the readings in Book I (pp. 232-246)
Why do you think that Homer began the epic poem with the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles ?
What led to the rage of Achilles? Why are the actions of Agamemnon an affront to Achilles?
Iliad Based on the readings in Book VI (pp 246-255)
Lines 375-502 (pp 252-255) tell a heart wrenching scene between Hector and After doing a close reading of
the text discuss what is your lasting impression of Hector in this scene.
Odyssey
4) Much of the Odyssey is told using flashbacks. How do Odysseus use ‘amnesia’ to tell his stories and do you,
as the ‘audience’ believe his has lost his memory? Why or Why not.
Egyptian Love Poetry:
Why do you think the poets utilize the imagery of nature, animals, geography, food, oils in the poems?
In what ways do the poets discuss love as an illness? How might you interpret the cure of ‘lovesickness’ ?
Catullus:
Poems 2 (pp 904-5) are earlier works by the poet that use love and loss as his core issues. Why do you think
he choose the sparrow for his subject and do you detect elements of jealousy?
Poems 5, 7, 8 (p 905-906) refer to his lover Lesbia. How would contrast his absolute devotion and sexual
desire for Lesbia in poems 5 and 7 with the reaction he has to rejection in poem 8?