Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Five three person groups; five small brainstorming sessions; five ten minute
"theses" presented to the group for reflection, discussion and appraisal. Dramatic reading of at least one important passage to start each presentation.

Shield (Ted Pierce, Brianna Buck and Leann Gerlach)

Book 18. 368-616. Ekphrasis: work of art represented in another work of art. Shield as a figure of speech just like a simile. Show Flaxman's shield to the seminar. Describe the shield. Relationship between contents of the shield and events at Troy. This shield will be used, but is its use its major importance? Is the shield merely a symbol? Discuss Homeric figures of speech in general, including similes.

Deaths of Sarpedon, Patroclos and Hektor (John Rodier, Kathleen Mahoney and Cara Campanelli)

Book 16. 684-867 and Book 22.131-404 (chase followed by a fight) Who is responsible for Patroclos's death? Achilles? Hektor? Patroclos? Zeus? How would you be able to say using the event itself in Book 16? Read and explain the passage on p. 348 lines 666-692. Also pp. 352-353 lines 830-854.

Book 22.405-515 (pp.446-449). Who is responsible for Hektor's death? Especially Andromache, p. 447-449, lines 477-515. Who is responsible for Hektor's death?

Funeral Games (Morgan Rood, "Moonie" Moon, and Jillian Donohue)

Book 23.257-897. Funeral Games. Digression or key part of the epic? Events; meaning of each; winners; further information and insight into major figures; completion of the story of everyone except Achilles. Why is Achilles so calm? How can they pause at this moment in the war?

Priam and Achilles (Alex Tomkins, Dan Moresco and Kristen Donohue)

Book 24.468-676. How do Priam and Achilles bring the epic to closure? Whitman argues that Priam approaches Achilles (espeicially with hermes's help, in a way that symbolizes a descent into Hades.... Compare Book 22.38-130, p.436 where Priam and Hektor (along with Hekaba) anticipate Hektor's death. Hektor and Achilles are father and son? How?

Achilles and the gods (Connor Wade, Matt Morgan and Ricky Fohrenbach)

Book 21. Page 428-432 lines 385-513. After Achilles's battle with the river and after Hephaestos "boils" the Xanthos (Skamandros), gods break out into hatred. Compare this to 20.48-67 and discuss Zeus's prohibition (8.7-16) and revocation of his prohibition (20.5ff) against divine participation in the fighting. Read aloud some parts of the passage in 21.385-513 and explicate. Does their fighting affect the outcome? By balancing for or against Achilles? Beside the point? Does their fighting differ from their participation before? Has decorum broken down? Does Achilles stand condemned for having attacked the river?