MODULE IN GRADE 10

INTRODUCTION:
WORLD LITERATURE

World literature is used to refer to the total of the world's

national literature and the circulation of works into the wider
world beyond their country of origin. In the past, it primarily
referred to the masterpieces of Western European
literature; however, world literature today is increasingly
seen in an international context. Now, readers have access
to a wide range of global works in various translations.
Many scholars assert that what makes a work
considered world literature is its circulation beyond its
country of origin. For example, Damrosch states, "A work
enters into world literature by a double process: first, by
being read as literature; second, by circulating out into a
broader world beyond its linguistic and cultural point of
origin".[1] Likewise, the world literature scholar Venkat Mani
believes that the "worlding" of literature is brought about by
"information transfer" largely generated by developments in
print culture. Because of the advent of the library,
"Publishers and booksellers who print and sell affordable
books, literate citizens who acquire these books, and public
libraries that make these books available to those who
cannot afford to buy them collectively play a very important
role in the “making” of world literature".
PRETEST
1. This is kind of reasoning that arguing from effect to cause.
a. argument from cause to effect c .argument from sign
b. argument from analogy d. argument from example
2. The “Illiad” is from what Epic .
a. German epic c. French epic
b. Greek epic d. Indian epic
3. Contains the list of all the sources that you consulted when preparing for your paper.
a. Bibliography c. eulogy
b. Autobiography d. E-book
4. Is one of the earliest and most popular activities of humankind.
a. Epic c. literature
b. Novel d. Storytelling
5. The wife of hector in the Illiad.
a. Helen c. Breises
b. Andromache d. Approdite
6. A literary device that stating a great exaggeration
a. Hyperbole c. Oxymoron
b. Paradox d. Metaphor
7. Is comparison of two persons or things that are unlike in most respects.
a. Personification c Simile
b. Metonymy d. allusion
8. The author of the story “The necklace”
a. Guy de maupassant c. Homer
b. Ronald de Carbalho d. Ma. Vicitacion Raval
9. Is a speech given at a memorial service to pay tribute to the deceased?
a. Extemporaneous speech C. informative speech
b. Persuasive speech d. Eulogy
10. Elements of the story that tells about how the story happen.
a. Plot c. Setting
b. Conflict d. character
 LESSON 1

INTRODUCTION

GREEK EPICS

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo

European family of languages, native to Greece,
Cyprus, Albania and other parts of the Eastern
Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the
longest documented history of any living Indo-
European language, spanning at least 3,500 years
of written records.
On these lesson learners are encourage to
love the literature of the Greeks, appreciate their
stories and other poetry because Greek are
known about mythology, how the gods and
goddesses contribute to the 21st century learners.

The legacies of Greece and Rome are so intertwined

that people Speak of them together with the term "Greco-Roman. Thus the famous phrase: the
glory that was Greece and the grandeur Was Rome." even the Ancient Civilizations
Almanac(197) would say, thanks to Rome, Greece would never die.

The Greeks are recognized as an exceptional people. hey are known in history as the "noble
Greeks." Because of their attainments in literature, sculpture, architecture, and philosophy, the
term the glory that was Greece Is particularly applicable to therm.
Out of the darkness of barbarism that prevailed in ancient times when absolute despots
governed their people capriciously, cruelly and ruthlessly, when the governed were wretched and
miserable,
when superstition and ignorance were rampant, the cities of Greece progressed. These cities
became centers of white-hot intellectual energy, and their inhabitants pursued beauty in all its
forms, and developed a passion for democracy in its true sense.

Their neighbors did not understand the Greeks and their way of life. Herodotus, the great
Greek historian, was a great traveler. When he was in Persia, Atossa, the Persian queen, asked
him, "Who are the Greeks?"

I am a Greek," Herodotus answered. "When you look at me, you see a Greek.

“What masters do they obey”? the queen asked again.

The Greeks have no masters; they are not slaves," was Herodotus's bold answer.

Whom do they obey then?" the queen insisted.

They obey the laws!

The laws? What are the laws? They have no master. what a strange people the queen shook her
head.
Greece, which is officially named the
Hellenic Republic, is a country in the
Mediterranean. To the north of Greece lie
Albania, Bulgaria, and the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. To the
east is Turkey. Greece has miles and miles
of beautiful coastline, and no matter where
you are in Greece, you are always close to
the sea. lo the southeast of Greece is the
Aegean Sea, to the south is the
Mediterranean Sea, and to the west is the Ionian Sea. Surrounding Greece are about 1,400
islands, 169 of which are inhabited. The largest islands in Greece are Crete and Evia. Most of
Greece is mountainous, and most of the land is over 1,500 meters above sea level. Northern
Greece has dense forests, but Greece, which is officially named the Hellenic
Republic, is a country in the Mediterranean. To the north of Greece lie Albania, Bulgaria, and the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. To the east is Turkey. Greece has miles and miles of
beautiful coastline, and no matter where you are in Greece, you are always close to the sea. lo the
southeast of Greece is the Aegean Sea, to the south is the Mediterranean Sea, and to the west is
the Ionian Sea. Surrounding Greece are about 1,400 islands, 169 of which are inhabited. The
largest islands in Greece are Crete and Evia. Most of Greece is mountainous, and most of the
land is over 1,500 meters above sea level. Northern Greece has dense forests, but the majority of
the southern hills are covered with shrubs, wildflowers, wild oregano, basil, and thyme.
The climate of Greece is regulated by the Mediterranean Sea. The winters are mild and wet,
although the temperatures in the mountains are quite cold. The summers of Greece are dry and
hot. Spring and tall are the nicest time to visit Greece, as the weather is warm, but not foo hot,
and the sun is shining.
The capital city is Athens. The main language is obviously Greek, probably the oldest
language in Europe, but most people also speak English. About 98% of the Greek people are
Greek Orthodox, but the rest are split among Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim Faiths.

There are many holidays and festivals in Greece, most of which are religious holidays. after
New Tear s Day, the next holiday of the new year occurs on January 8", and is called
Gynaikratia. On this day the traditional roles of the people of northern Greek villages are
reversed. Men stay at home and do the housework, such as cooking, cleaning, and looking after
the children, and the women spend the day drinking coffee in the cates! the Greek Carnival
season lasts for three weeks in February and March, Just before the beginning of Lent. During
the Carnival, people dress up in fancy costumes, and there are feasts, parades, dances, and a
general party atmosphere. Easter is the most significant festival in the Greek year. At Easter
time, there are candlelit processions through the streets, more feasting, and fireworks. Summer
festivals are common in Greece and the biggest of these is the Hellenic Festival from mid-June
until late September. During the Hellenic festival, there are concerts featuring traditional and
modern Greek music styles, as well as drama performances, all occurring in the ancient theaters.
Greek Art and Literature

The Greeks produced a

civilization that in many
ways has never been
surpassed in the world.
Greek a is well-known
throughout the world. There
are four major forms of
Greek art: architecture,
painting Sculpture, and
pottery. Of what they
accomplished in art little
remains, and nobody is even
sure that what still exists is
the best. But what remains
has aroused the admiration
and astonishment of the
world. There is no Sculpture
Comparable to theirs; there
are no buildings more
beautiful and more
admirable than those they
built; there are no literary
pieces superior theirs. In
fact, in literature they are all supreme the world has produced no epic poet to compare with
Homer, no lyric poet to equal Pindar. The Greeks Cultivated prose rather late, but history has no
greater practitioner than Herodotus and Thucydides and There is no prose, aside perhaps from
the Bible, more poetic than that of Plato. One of the four great tragic poets the world has
produced, three are Greeks; the fourth is Shakespeare. Of their painting little has survived, but
there is the statement of a contemporary art critic commenting on a painting of Helen of Troy by
Polygnotus: In her eyes, one could read the story of the Trojan War!"
Greek history goes back to the Bronze Age, between 300 and 1200 B.C. In the Golden Age or
Classical Age of ancient Greece, many of the Greek masterpieces were Constructed. This is the
time that the Parthenon was built in Athens and Sophocles wrote Oedipus the King. It was also
during this time that the beginnings of democracy started in Greece. Modern democracy, the
form of government in many countries, Came from the government of ancient Greece.
To understand the Greeks, one must try to re-capture their experiences and ask what these did
for them and what these cost. Such a search cannot be entirely successful, for to probe a distant
past is extremely difficult. documents and monuments exist, but they are sadly incomplete and
we cannot reconstruct things as they really were. We cannot recover the sights of everyday life,
the casual conversations in field or household, the daily task of a community that would enable
us to judge the Greeks by their own standards, and to understand them as they understood
themselves. Another obstacle to a true understanding is that we read Greek Works only through
translations. translations are indispensable because ancient Greek is now a dead language nobody
speaks it any longer. but a translation can only indicate; it cannot replace the original. This is
especially lamentable in relation to Greek literature because the greater portion of their literary
works were written in poetry. One must remember that a poem, especially a typical lyric poem,
is two-thirds melody and only one-third thought. this is what particularly distinguishes poetry
from prose. Translation cannot duplicate the rhythm, the tone, The combination of vowel sounds
and consonant Values that give poetry is inimitable and enduring quality.
The history of Greek literature is divided into three periods. The first period, covering the Pre-
Homeric Age and the Homeric Age, extends from remote antiquity to the age of Herodotus (484
B.C.) This period includes the earliest poetry of Greece and the works of Homer. The second
period, which coincides with the Athenian Period to the Golden Age of Pericles, extends from
the Age of Herodotus to the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.).The Third period, the
Period of Decline, extends from the death of Alexander the Great to the enslavement of the
Greeks by the Romans and extends to A.D. 1453.
Greek literature has the following qualities.
1.Permanence and Universality. Greek literature has an enduring quality. It is as alive today as it
was when it was written more than ,3OO0 years ago. It has a universality that is truly
remarkable: it is read and admired by all nations of the world regardless of race. religion, Or
culture.
2. Essentially Full of Artistry. Greek literature is a product of a people who purposely and
conscientiously developed their physical and intellectual powers. Greek art is the highest
form of classic art. The Greek mind became the foundation of the literature of the Western
world, and its masterpieces afford the most splendid examples of artistic beauty and excellence
that the world has ever known. The Greeks had such a great love of beauty that
they surrounded themselves with beautiful objects. Their wares, their vases, the baskets
they used-all were conceived in beauty. It would seem that anything ugly struck them as
a physical blow.

3. Originality. The quality of literary originality does not mean that all literary types originated
from Greece. The drama had been produced by the Egyptians and narrative poetry had been
cultivated in India. The Greek mind modified and improved all that it touched.

4. Diversity of Talent. The Greek mind never rested complacently on any one subject; it
was ever searching, ever seeking. It was fond of diversity of application.

5. Intellectual Quality. This means that the Greek mind challenged one to think for some purpose
to bring about some inner transformation.

Hellenic definition, of, relating to, or characteristic of the ancient Greeks or their language, culture,
thought, etc., especially before the time of Alexander the Great.
The drachma was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: An ancient
Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, from the
Archaic period throughout the Classical period, the Hellenistic period up to the Roman period under
Greek Imperial Coinage
Athens is the capital of Greece. It was also at the heart of Ancient Greece, a powerful civilization and
empire. The city is still dominated by 5th-century BC landmarks, including the Acropolis, a hilltop
citadel topped with ancient buildings like the colonnaded Parthenon temple. The Acropolis Museum,
along with the National Archaeological Museum, preserves sculptures, vases, jewelry and more from
Ancient Greece.
The Olympic Games are normally held every four years, alternating between the Summer and
Winter Games every two years in the four-year period. Their creation was inspired by the ancient
The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess
Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when
the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power.
Souvlaki, plural souvlakia, is a popular Greek fast food consisting of small pieces of meat and
sometimes vegetables grilled on a skewer. It is usually eaten straight off the skewer while still hot
The name Greek Orthodox Church, or Greek Orthodoxy, is a term referring to the body of several
Churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was
traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the Septuagint and the New
testament.

Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae). Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their
distinctive flavor and fragrance. The leaves should be removed from the cooked food before
eating (see Safety section below). The leaves are often used to flavor soups, stews, braises
and pâtés in many countries
Greek orders. There are three distinct orders in Ancient Greek architecture: Doric, Ionic, and
Corinthian. These three were adopted by the Romans, who modified their capitals.

TASK
Know the following pictures and put your answer on the space provided

________________ ___________________

_________________ ___________________
 ___________________ _____________________

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Evaluation: Answer the following question.

1. What does the incident about Queen Atossa signify about the difference between the
Persians and the Greeks?
2. Do you believe that some civilizations are superior to others? why or why not?
3. How does the rise and fall of empires relate to our lives?
 LESSON 2
LISTENING AND READING EFFECTIVELY
INTRODUCTION

Listening is receiving language through the ears. Listening involves identifying the sounds of speech and
processing them into words and sentences. When we listen, we use our ears to receive individual sounds
(letters, stress, rhythm and pauses) and we use our brain to convert these into messages
that mean something to us.

Listening in any language requires focus and attention. It is a skill that some people need to work at harder
than others. People who have difficulty concentrating are typically poor listeners. Listening in a second
language requires even greater focus.

"Reading" is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning from them.
When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation marks and spaces)
and we use our brain to convert them into words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate
something to us.
Reading and Listening are very essential skills in learning because it helps every
Individuals to develop every-one’s ability to acquire and inquire information or details.
There are a lot of ways and means to make reading and listening effectively if it is being
aligned with other skills in learning. On these lesson learners are encourage to focus on
this because it makes our learning easy and accessible, to be effective in this skills is very
meaningful because this two ways of learning can be a big reinforcement for the
common good of learners.
Effective Listening
Listening, speaking, reading, and writing well are the four major activities of students who wish to excel
in the studies. Proficiency in listening and skill in reading bring about corresponding efficiency in speaking
and writing because they stimulate and develop the mind. They enable the student to acquire a rich fund of
ideas, develop the ability to concentrate, and induce intellectual activity.
Listening is an exercise in thinking. A student listens, gathers in formation through the auditory “input”,
and continuously selects and organizes what he/she hears into a pattern or structure of closely related
thought. Key words and phrases are listed and used as cues to signal the major ideas to which the minor
ideas are connected.

Effective reading
Reading and writing are the two major activities of students who wish to excel in their studies .

Effective reading is reading with speed and accuracy. Intelligent reading is not a mechanical process. It
means digging beneath the surface, trying to determine what the writer is actually saying, and getting the
writer’s hidden implications and motives.
As Francis Bacon stated in “Of Studies,”

Adjusting Your Reading Rate

You have encountered different kinds of reading materials such as short stories, novels, newspaper
articles, instruction manuals, advertisements, comic strips, maps, and others. Most likely, you read an
instruction manual more slowly than you read a comic book. Also, when you read a magazine for pleasure,
you skim through it quickly. However, if you are preparing for a test, you read more carefully. Hence, you
adjust your reading rate according to your purpose.

Noting Routines When Listening or Reading

Speakers use certain expressions called ROUTINES to signal to the listeners the materials that the
speaker will say next. A routine means a reiterated phrase or formula. The following are examples of
routines:

a. Namely
b. Such as
c. In fact
d. Are as follows
e. And I quote
f. Outstanding examples are
g. As mentioned previously
 h. Among these are
i. Sequence markers such as first, second, next, finally
j. Numerals as parts of an orderly arrangement: there are three Two reasons are…..
k. That is the reason
l. Introductory adverbs such as fortunately, later, after all, now

Note how routines are used:

a. The typical computer has the following basic parts: an input device, a storage unit, and an output
device.
b. I believe what the pope says, and I quote: “a little learning is a dangerous thing.”
c. The three functions of government are legislative, executive, and judicial.

TASK 1: Reread paragraphs 1 & 4 of “Greek art and Literature” and identify the
routines used.

1.
2.
3.
4
5.

TASK 2: Read the text that follows and summarize its contents in two or three
sentences using the routines that you have learned about.

__________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
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.
The Four Cardinal Virtues: Four Aspects of a Human Being

the Greeks believed in four cardinal virtues: courage, temperance, Justice, and wisdom.
These were the standards under which the Greeks Judged themselves. These four
virtues represented the tour aspects of the human being-physical, moral, aesthetic, and
intellectual. Physical courage was valued at all times by a people much given TO war,
temperance was a manner or style of living without display or vulgarity, of behaving
 without arrogance. It is living in moderation of one's passion. Justice was essentially a
moral quality, the natural tendency to obey the laws and rules of society and treating
others as one would want to be treated. Wisdom was an intellectual pursuit. It applied
to any activity of the mind and included skill in the arts as well as a capacity for
philosophy, science, and even political philosophy. It is not easy for one to have all these
four virtues, but the Greeks did not consider it impossible to achieve.
Lesson 3

Introduction
On this lesson we learn about the literature of the Greek that can contribute to the
work of arts that really everyone can appreciate it. The Greek Poet Homer about his
work ILLIAD and ODYSSEY and lot of stories especially the mythological
background of Illiad and the story of Helen of Troy where people get some
information why Trojan war was being happened.
The objective of this lesson is to let the students know, identify and value the
poems of the Greek as we all know that this could really help us as a reader to think
critically and creatively. For this reason, we need to cope on this work to have better
understanding and proper perception.
Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek epic poems “The
Iliad” and “The Odyssey”•, widely thought to be the first extant works of Western literature.
He is considered by many to be the earliest and most important of all the Greek writers,
and the progenitor of the whole Western literary tradition. He was a poetic pioneer who
stood at a pivotal point in the evolution of Greek society from pre-literate to literate, from a
centuries old bardic tradition of oral verse to the then new technique of alphabetic writing.
 Homer
8th Century BC
Many centuries must have elapsed before the
literary temper of the Greeks could produce the
poems of Homer, but of these Ante-Homeric
literature very little remains. the dominant figure of
this Early age was Homer. Seven cities contended
tor the honor of being his birthplace.
Homer was called the blind poet of Greece. Very
little is known about him, but his transcendent
genius is vividly impressed upon his works. His
country folks called him "the Poet." His two epics,
the ILLIAD and the Odyssey, were learned by heart,
and wherever a Greek settled, he/she carried with him/her a love for Homer.
The ILLIAD and the Odyssey depict the complete life of the ancient Greeks in action. the
ILLIAD showcases the passions found in and the cruelty of war. It is a story of love and
heroism. The Odyssey speaks of great adventures. These are great epics, studies of men and
women of the time and the way of life and ideals of a great civilization that has vanished
but is still wonderfully alive in people's hearts
The theme of both the ILLIAD and the Odyssey is the affirmation of the truth that one's
fate is the result of one's actions. lIl fate results from ignorance and unguided and
immoderate passions. The deities give only what a person asks for; one's destiny is largely a
matter of one's own making.
 THE MYTHOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF
ILLIAD

Zeus, the Father of the deities, seemed to have realized

that the Earth was getting terribly overcrowded. To
solve the problem of over population, he devised a
great war that would Weep like a conflagration over
Greece. This was the Trojan War.
A minor goddess, Thetis, was married to a mortal,
Peleus. Out of this marriage, Achilles, the greatest
Greek warrior, was born. Eris, The goddess of mischief,
was not invited to the marriage feast, so into the middle
of the banquet hall she threw a golden apple with this note: to the fairest of the goddesses.
Each of the most beautiful of the goddesses namely, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite-claimed
the golden apple. A quarrel ensued and Father Zeus was asked to decide who was the most
beautiful of the three. This placed Zeus in a predicament since Hera was his own wife and
Athena and Aphrodite were his own daughters. So he parted the clouds covering Mount
Olympus, the dwelling place of the deities, and showed the three goddesses a prince of Troy
named Paris. Zeus suggested that the three beauty contestants fake their problem to Paris
and ask him to decide. The goddesses descended upon the earth, circled Paris by turns, and
each proceeded to bribe him so that he would award her the golden apple. Hera promised
him power; Athena promised him wisdom; Aphrodite promised that she would give him the
most beautiful woman in the world for his wife. Paris awarded the golden apple to
Aphrodite
 HELEN OF TROY

it happened that Helen, the most beautiful woman in the

world, was already warned to Menelaus, king of Sparta. With
the help of Aphrodite, Paris abducted Helen and took her to
Troy where she remained until the end of the ensuing Trojan
var. that is the reason why she is called Helen of Troy. The
Greeks (Achaians) banded together to restore Helen to
Menelaus. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, was their general.
Many adventurous Greek heroes joined the Greek
expeditionary forces. Among them were Achilles, the greatest
and bravest o the Greek heroes; Odysseus, the clever and wily
warrior Diomedes, the bold one; Nestor, the prudent old man; Aias, the giant; and a host of
other heroes.

Task: Answer the following question:

1. Who is Homer?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
____________

2. In the mythological background of Illiad to whom did Paris award the apple? WHY?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
____________

3. Describe the following

a. Odysseus-
__________________________________________________________________
b. Achilles-
___________________________________________________________________
c. Diomedes
__________________________________________________________________
d. Nestor-
___________________________________________________________________
 e. Aias-
_____________________________________________________________________
_

EVALUATION:
1.research on the character of Helen of Troy. Find out where she was from, who her parents
and siblings were, and how she came to be married to her husband.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________

2. keeping in mind that she was the most beautiful woman in the world at the time of the illiad,
write a one paragraph description of what she might have look like?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________

RUBRIC
Content- 5pts
Organization-5pts
Grammar-5pts

15pts
 LESSON 4

THE ILLIAD: A Summary

Introduction:

The Iliad, written sometime in the 8th

century BCE, is a tragic epic poem of
more than 15,000 lines organised by
scholars in Alexandria into 24 books.
Book 10 is thought a possible later
addition on stylistic grounds, but it
could also be a deliberate attempt at an
intermission in the narrative. Most
historians agree that what we have
today is the complete original version.
Homer's Iliad describes the final year of
the Trojan War, a legendary conflict
between an alliance of Greek cities and the city of Troy in Anatolia. It was probably
written sometime in the 8th century BCE after a long oral tradition, but the Greeks
themselves imagined the war to have occurred sometime in the 13th century BCE
during the Bronze Age. The Greeks thought Homer was from Chios or Ionia and
credited him with both the Iliad and Odyssey, the two masterpieces of Greek literature.
They also thought him the greatest ever writer and referred to him simply as 'the poet.'

The Iliad is universally acclaimed as a truly great story. There is war and gore, honour
and betrayal, pain and pathos, love and hatred, a good few villains and even more
heroes, all set in the good old days of a glorious but not forgotten past. Above all,
the Iliad presents the tragic yet thrilling reality of humanity's mortality, and as the
events unfold, we are ever reminded that our lives are shaped and buffeted by the
winds of Fate from which even the central character Achilles, magnificent warrior that
he is, cannot escape

After ten years of preparation, the Greek army landed in Troy and began to attack its
fortifications. The illiad begins in the tenth year of the war. There was a prophecy that in that
year Troy would fall and be destroyed victorious Greeks.
 The subject matter of the illiad. The story opens with a violent quarrel between
Agamemnon, the commander in chief of the Greek army, and Achilles, their greatest and
bravest warrior. Briseis, a concubine of Achilles, is unjustly taken by Agamemnon and as a
result, Achilles makes a sacred vow no longer to fight.
For the duration of most of the pitched battles between the Greeks and the Trojans, Achilles
stays sulking in his tent. Because of his absence from the battlefield, the Trojans, led by Prince
Hector, make
bold advances in battle and the Greeks are driven back. Their situation rapidly deteriorates until
most of the Greek leaders are wounded and are forced to leave the battle. Patroclus, the dear
friend of Achilles, saddened by the growing losses of his countrymen, begs Achilles to let him
lead Achilles's men, the Myrmidons, to battle it, because of his anger with Agamemnon,
Achilles still refuses to fight. Achilles gives him his permission.
Patroclus rallies the Greeks and succeeds in making the Trojans retreat, but he is killed by
Hector, the Trojan prince who is equal to Achilles in courage and fighting skill. Angered by the
death of his dear comrade, Achilles now enters the fight, routs the Trojans, killing them
mercilessly. Filled with the dark passion of revenge, he goes after Hector and slays him. With
beastly cruelty, he ties the dead body
of Hector to his chariot and drags it round and round the city of Troy. The story ends with the
funeral rites tor Hector.
Outstanding episodes in the illiad are the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles; the
single combat between Menelaus (the wronged husband) and Paris (the wife stealer); the
farewell of Hector from Andromache, his beautiful, gentle, unfortunate wife, as he leaves to
fight Achilles; the single combat between Aias and Hector; the games played at the funeral of
Patroclus; the ransoming of the
body of Hector by his father, King Priam; and the lamentations of the Trojan women over the
dead body of their beloved Hector, the nanimous defender of the city of Troy.

Task:
1.why was Andromache on the battlements?
2. what is the name of Hector’s son? What is Hector’s special name for him?
3. what misfortune did Andromache suffer from Achilles?
4. what prayer did Hector make for his child .
Farewell between Hector and Andromache
(from a prose translation of the Iliad, Book VI)

So Hector took his leave and went

on to his own house. But he did not
find Andromache there,
for She was already upon the
battlement with her Son and a
servant, weeping in her sorrow.
Hector, finding She was not within,
stood at the door and Said to the
maids:
Be so good as to tell me where
your mistress has gone. lo one of my
sisters or to my good-sisters
or to Athena's temple where the
women are making Supplication?.
The housekeeper said: "No sir, not
to any or the family, nor to Athena's
where the women are al
gone to offer their supplication. lo
fell the truth, she has gone up on the
walls, because she heard that
our people were in danger and the enemy was getting the best of it. She has gone oft in a great
hurry
like one distracted, with the nurse carrying the boy."
So Hector went back by the same way along the streets fill he reached the Scaian gates, by
which he
meant to go out into the plain; and there is precious wife came running to meet him.
Andromache was
the daughter of Eetion, the Cilician king. She came near him, and the nurse followed with the
boy in her
bosom; quite a little child, cheerful and merry-their little Hector, the tiny champion of Troy, like
a shining star, whom they dearly loved. Hector called him Scamandrios, but for others he was
Astyanax.
The father smiled quietly as he looked at his son. But Andromache stood by his side with
tears running down her cheeks, and she caught his hand fast while she said:
"My dearest, how can you do it your courage will be your death! Have you no pity for your
baby boy, or Your unhappy wife, who will soon be your widow! Soon the enemies will all rush
upon you and Kill you! And I if l lose you, it would be better for me to go down into my grave.
There will be no more comfort for me if you are killed, but only sorrow.
“ I have no father and no mother now. My father was slain by Achilles; he laid waste my
home,
Thebe, with its lofty towers; he killed Eetion, my father. My seven brothers all went down to
Hades in
one day, tor that terrible Achilles killed them all amid their cattle and sheep. My mother, who
was queen n that place, was brought away a prisoner. S0 you are my father and my mother,
Hector; you are my brother; you are my loving husband! then pity me and stay here behind the
walls; do not make your
boy an orphan and your wife a widow! But post your men by the fig tree, where the wall may
be scaled
most easily.
Hector answered:

I have not I have not forgotten all that, my wife, but l could not show my face before the
men and women of Troy it I sulked like a coward out of the way. And will not do it, for I have
learned how to bear myself bravely in front of the battle and to win credit tor my father and
myself. One thing know indeed in my heart and soul-a day shall come when sacred Troy shall
perish, and Priam and the people of Priam; but my sorrow Is not so much tor what will happen
to the people, or to my mother, or King Priam, or my
brothers, when all those good and true men shall fill in the dust before their enemies but for
you, when armed men shall drive you away weeping and take from you the day of freedom. To
think that you should live in a foreign land, ply the loom at the orders c another woman; that
you should carry Water from strange fountains, crushed under stern necessity—a hateful task!
That someone should see you
Shedding tears, and say "There is Hector s wife, and he was the first and best of the brave
Trojans when there was a war about Troy’--- and he will make your pain ever fresh, while there
is no such man To save
you from The day of slavery. May I be dead and buried deep In the earth before I hear your
cries and see
you dragged away.
AS he spoke, Hector held out his arm for his boy, but the boy shrank back into the nurse s
bosom, crying and scared at the sight of his father; for he was afraid; for he gleaming metal and
horsehair crest,
when he saw that dreadful thing nodding from the fop of the helmet. Father and mother
laughed aloud, and hector took off the helmet and set if down on the ground shining and
flashing. Then he kissed his son and raised him in his hands and prayed aloud for heaven:
"O Zeus and all ye heavenly gods! Grant that this, my son, may be as notable among our
people
as I am, and let him be strong, and let him rule Troy In his strength! when he goes to war, let
them say
his man IS much better than his father!" May he kill his enemy and bring home the
bloodstained spoils
and give oy to his mother s heart.
Then he gave his boy back into the mother's arm, who pressed him to her sweet-scented
breast,
laughing through the fears. Her husband was moved with pity as he saw this; he stroked her
forehead with his hand and said:
"My dearest, do not grieve too much. No man will send me to my grave unless it be so
ordained.
But destiny is a thing which no man can escape, neither coward nor brave man, from the day he
is born.
Go home now, and see to your own household work and keep your servants to their tasks.
War is man's business and mine, especially of all those who are in Troy."

Then Hector took up his helmet with its nodding crest, but his wife went on her way home,
turning again and again to look at him as the tears flowed down her cheeks. And when she got
to her own house, all the women tell weeping, too; they mourned tor Hector in his own house
while he still lived, tor they never thought he would escape his enemies and return from the
battle again.

TASK
1. Why is Andromache called Hector’s “precious wife”? Mention three things that would make
a woman precious.
2. From a conversation between Hector and Andromache, choose details that show great love
between the two. What qualities in each are revealed?
3. what is the best message you have learned from that story?

EVALUATION:
1. Given the same situation, which would you choose----responsibility to people or
responsibility to one’s family?
2. Would you have done what Hector did? Why or Why not?
3. What do you say about our soldiers fighting for our country?

Additional activity: describe Hector And Andromache.

Getting meaning through context clues

See if you can determine the meaning of some words and expression by looking at the
clues in the sentences. Pick out the context clue and give the meaning of the underlined word
or phrase. Write your definition in your notebook.
1. Mt. Olympus was he dwelling of the deities, the gods and goddesses.
2. When Achilles, the best warrior of the Greeks, refused to fight
the situation of the Greeks quickly deteriorated with many of their leaders wounded.
3. Has she gone to Athena's temple to make supplication for the safety of Troy?
4. Hector, the magnanimous prince of Troy, gave his life for his people.
5. So Hector took his leave, kissed his son good-bye, stroked his wile 's forehead, then went his
way to battle.
6.. Put your men near the fig free, where the walls can be scaled most easily
7. When Hector's body was brought home, Andromache knew that Troy would be completely
destroyed, utterly laid waste by the Greeks.
8. Helen said that it anyone reproached her or seemed unkind, Hector would reprove them
with his gentle words.
9. The Greeks had o diversity of talents; they excelled in sculpt in sculpting, painting,
architecture, philosophy, literature, mathematics. and many other fields.
10. The pattern was intricate, so complex with many details.
11. In ancient times, there were absolute despots who governed people cruelly
12 The Greeks got into Troy and saw the inimitable walls and champions of Troy but still felt
that they would win.
13. . I don't know the meaning of that word. It sounds Greek.to me.
14. Helen ended her lament thus: "I weep for you and with you my unhappy self. For there is no
one in the length and breadth of Troy who is kind or friendly."
15. Many a man bit the dust, killed by Achilles, the greatest Greek Warrior.

Distinguishing Formal from Informal Definitions of Words

When we are asked for the meaning of a word, we often resort to providing a synonym or
listing examples. While these are very helpful in arriving at a basic understanding of words, they
are often not entirely accurate or complete. When writing formal papers or academic essays,
formal definitions are sometimes necessary to avoid confusion.

A formal definition is structured in a logical and concise pattern so that the information can
be provided without additional unnecessary words. A formal definition includes the following:

1. The term (word or phrase) to be defined

2 The class of object or concept to which the term belongs.

3. The differentiating characteristics that distinguish it from others of its class.

Examples from Merriam-Webster's 11h Collegiate Dictionary

 crystal (term)-is a quartz (class) that is transparent or nearly so and that is either
colorless or only slightly tinged (differentiating characteristics)

 newspaper (term)a paper (class) that is printed and distributed usually daily or weekly
and that contains news, articles of opinion, features, and advertising (differentiating
characteristics) On the lines, write F tor the formal definitions and I for the informal
definitions.

Task 1.1
On the lines, write F for the formal definitions and I for the informal definitions.

1.____ cat-a carnivorous mammal (Feliscatus) long domesticated as a pet and for catching rats
and mice.
2.____ dog-man's best friend.
3.____Book-a set of written, printed, or blank sheets bound together into a volume
4. ____poem-a composition in verse
5. ____ concert-0 public performance of songs
6. ____work-the labor, task, or duty that is one's accustomed means of livelihood
7.____camp-summer activity for children
8. ____gourmet-a connoisseur of food and drink
9. ____celebrity-Tom Hanks
10. ___play-a recreational activity; especially: the spontaneous activity of children

Task 1.2

Consult the dictionary. Opposite your definitions, write the dictionary definition of each
item in your list.

Discuss: How are your definitions different from the dictionary definitions? How similar are
they? Why is it important to learn to decode word meanings from context clues? Why is it
necessary to consult the dictionary from time to time ?
Predicting a Character's Speech and Actions in a Critical Situation
Task 1.3

Work with a partner to try and predict a character" actions in critical solution. Start by
stating the character's goal describe how you think he/she acted to achieve his/her goal.
Describe both his/her actions and speech. Here's the situation:

Achilles's friend Patroclus joins the battle wearing Achilles's armor. Hector, believing that he
is Achilles, kills Patroclus Hector is in turn, killed by Achilles. Not satisfied with Hector's death,
Achilles ties Hector's body to his chariot and drags around the Greek camp and later, around
the bier of Patroclus. Priam, king of Troy and father of Hector personally goes to Achilles to
ransom Hector's body for an honorable burial How do you think he went about his task?

Evaluation
Write a formal definition for each of the following terms. You may consult a dictionary, but the
final definition has to be in your own Words. Make sure that the definitions include the three
required parts:
Term, class, and differentiating characteristics. Write your answers in your notebook.

1. Duck 4. grapes
2. Song 5. epic
3. Movie
 LESSON 5

Priam Ransoms the Body of Hector

( From the illiad, Book XXIV)

INTRODUCTION:
Hermes is the god who acts as a guide to heroes, and his presence is necessary in order to

sneak Priam into Achilles’ camp undetected. Without Hermes’ help, Priam would surely be

caught and killed by the Achaean forces. Hermes comment about Priam reminding him of his

father emphasizes again that Priam is a father, with a father's great love for his dead son.
Priam enters Achilles’ lodge and kneels, kissing Achilles’ hand. He asks for mercy, and
beseeches Achilles to remember his own father. Achilles is moved by Priam’s words and
courage. The two men weep for their losses in the war. Achilles tells Priam that his
father Peleus will never see him again. Achilles asks Priam to sit but Priam refuses, asking to
ransom the body immediately. Achilles asks Priam not to anger him, as he might kill him if his
temper flares.

As Priam has been led secretly into Achilles’ camp, he can speak with Achilles alone without the

interference of politics. When Achilles sees his father in Priam, they both realize that they have

borne losses. It is the first moment of compassion that Achilles has shown for another living

person since the death of Patroclus. Achilles has accepted his own death, but in Priam's grief

for Hector he can see how his own death will affect his father, and it moves him in a way he

hadn't been since making his choice to act

 Priam dismounted and went toward the tent of Achilles. He found Achilles alone. Only two were
waiting upon him, Automedon and Alcimos, and he had just finished eating and drinking. The
table was still beside him. He came near Achilles and clasped his knees, and kissed the terrible
murderous hands that had killed so many of his sons.

Achilles looked with amazement at the royal guest, and the two men were amazed and
stared each other.
Then Priam made his prayer:
"Remember your own father, most notable Prince Achilles, an old man like me near the
end of his days. If may be that he is distressed by those who lived around him, and there is no
one to defend him from peril and death. But he, indeed, so long as he hears that you still live, is
glad at heart and hopes every day that he will see his well-loved son return home from Troy.
But l am all unhappy since I had the best sons in the broad land of Troy and not one of them is
left. All have fallen in battle; and the only one, who by himself was our safeguard--that one you
killed the other day fighting tor his country, Hector. For him l come now to your camp to
redeem him from you and bring a rich ransom. O Achilles, fear God and pity me, remembering
your own father but I am more pitied. I have endured to do what no other man in the world has
ever done--- to kiss the hand of the man who slew my sons.

As he said this, he lifted his hand to the face of Achilles, and the heart of Achilles ached
with anguish at the thought of his own father. He took the old man's hand and pushed him
gently away. So
the two thought of their dead and wept, one tor his Hector while he crouched before the feet
of Achilles, and Achilles tor his own father and then tor Patroclus. When his agony had passed
and he could move again, he got up from his seat and raised the old man by hand, pitying his
white hairs and white
beard, and spoke simply from heat to heart:

“Ah, poor man, indeed your heart has borne many sorrows! how could you come for the
Achaian camp alone? How could you bear to look at the man who killed all your noble sons, as I
have done? Your heart must be made of steel. Come now, sit down upon a seat We will let our
sorrow lie deep in our hearts awhile, tor there is no profit in freezing lamentation. This is the
way the gods have spun their
threads for poor mortals! Our lite is all sorrow, but they are untroubled themselves."
The old king answered:
 Tell me not to be seated, gracious Prince, while Hector lies here uncared for. I pray you
set him free quickly, that I may look upon him; and accept the ran Some that we bring, a great
treasure. May you live to enjoy it and return to your own country, since you have spared me
first."

Achilles frowned and said:

I mean to set Hector free. Zeus sent me a message by my mother, the daughter of the Old
Man of the Sea. And I understand quite well, sir, that some god brought you into Our camp. For
no mere man would dare come among Us, let him be ever so young and strong. He could not
escape the guards, and he could not easily little bolt of our doors."

Achilles leapt out like a lion, and the two attendants followed. They unharnessed the
horses and mules. Then they unpacked Hector's ransom from the wagon, except two sheets
and a tunic, which they left to wrap up the body on its journey home. Achilles called tor women
to
wash and anoint the body.

After the women had washed the body and anointed it with oil, and put on the tunic and
wrap the sheet around it, Achilles himself lifted him, and laid him upon the bier, and his
attendants carried him to the mule-car

Then Achilles returned to his tent and sat down on the bench where he had been before,
against the opposite wall, and spoke to Priam:

Your son, sir, has been set free now as you asked, and lies in his bier. At break of day you
shall see him Yourself, on your Journey, but now let us think of supper. Venerable Prince, let us
two also think of something to eat. After that, you may weep tor your son again when you have
brought him back to Troy. Many tears he will cost you!"

Then Achilles got up and killed a white lamb. His comrades flayed it and prepared it, cut it
up, spitted and broiled it, and laid the meat on the table. Automedon brought baskets of bread,
and Achilles
served the meat.

When they have eaten and drunk all they wanted, Priam gazed at Achilles, admiring his
fine looks
and stature-indeed he seemed like some god come down from heaven. And Achilles gazed at
Priam, admiring his noble face and speech. They looked at each other for a long time.
 When the saffron robe of dawn spread over all the earth, Priam drove toward the city,
mourning
and lamenting, while the mules brought the dead. No man and no woman had seen them
coming;
Cassandra was the first. She had gone up into the citadel, and from there she caught sight of
her father standing in his car, another lying on a bier in a mule-wagon. She lifted her voice in
wailing and cried for the whole town to hear:

Come, all you men and women of Troy! You shall see Hector. Come if ever you were glad
while
he lived to welcome his return from battle, tor he was a great gladness to the city and all the
nation!"

Then grief intolerable came upon. every heart. Not a man, not a woman was left behind in
the City; all crowded out of the gates and met the dead. First came his wife and his mother
tearing their hair;
they ran to the wagon and threw their arms over his head, while the people stood mourning
around.
They would have stayed there all day weeping and wailing, but the old king called out from his
car:

“Let the mules pass. When have brought him into our house, you will have plenty of time
to lament."

So the people made way for the wagon to pass.

When Hector had been brought home, they laid him out on a bier and posted beside him
mourners to lead the dirge, while the women wailed in chorus. Andromache laid her white
arms about The head of her dead warrior and led the lament:

"My husband, you have perished out of lite, still young, and left me a widow in the house!
The boy
is only a baby, your son and my Son, doomed father, doomed mother! And he I think will never
grow
up to manhood; long before, our city will be utterly laid waste. For you have perished, you our
sentinel, you our only savior, who kept safe Our wives and little children! They will soon be
carried in ships, and with them. And you, my child-you will go with me where degrading tasks
will be found for you to do, driven by a merciless master; or some enemy will catch you by the
arm, and throw you over the wall to painful death, in revenge perhaps tor some brothers that
Hector killed, or father, or son maybe, since many a man bit the dust under the hands of
Hector. Your father was not gentle in the field of battle! therefore the people throughout the
city lament for him and you have brought woe and mourning unspeakable upon your parents.
Hector! But for me most of all, cruel sorrow is my lot. For you did not stretch out to me your
dying hands from your death bed. You said no precious word to me, which I might always
remember night and day with tears!"

So Andromache spoke weeping, and the women wailed in chorus. then Hecuba led the
lament amid her sobs

Hector, best beloved of all children, dearest to my heart! Living, the gods loved you well;
therefore, they have cared tor you even when death is your lot. Other sons of mine Achilles
took, and he would sell them over the barren sea, one to Samos, one to Imbros, or to steaming
Lamnos; but you when he had torn out your soul with his sharp blade, he dragged you again
and again round the grave of his comrade you slew. But that did not bring him back from the
grave! And now you lie in my house fresh as the morning dew, like one that Apollo has visited
and slain with his gentle shafts!"

So Hecuba spoke weeping, and the women wailed long in chorus.

Helen came third and led the lament:

“Hector, best beloved of all my good brothers, and dearest to my heart! Indeed, my
husband is Prince Paris, who brought me to Troy-but would that I had died first! Twenty years
have passed since left my country and came here, but I never heard from You one unkind or
slighting word. It anyone reproached me, my sister or brother of yours, or a brother's wife or
your mother tor your father was always as kind as if he were mine --you would reprove them;
you would check them with your gentle spirit and gentle words. Therefore weep tor you and
with you for my unhappy self. For there is no one else in the length and breadth of Troy who is
kind or friendly; they all shudder at me."
 So she spoke weeping, and the people wailed long and loud.

Then old King Priam said:

"Now Trojans, fetch wood into the city, and have no tear of any ambush of our enemies.
For Achilles in parting from me promised that he would do us no harm until the twelfth day
shall dawn."
Then they put oxen and mules to their wagons and assembled before the city. Nine days
they gathered infinite quantities of wood. When the tenth day dawned, they carried out
Hector, weeping and laid the body on the pile and set it on fire.

When on the next day Dawn showed her rosy fingers through the mists, the people
gathered round
about the pyre of Hector. First they quenched the flame with wine whenever the fir had burnt;
then his brothers and his comrades gathered his white bones, with hot tears rolling down their
cheeks. They placed the bones in a golden casket that they wrapped in so, purple cloth. This
they laid in a hollow space and built it over with large stones. This work done, they returned for
the city, and the assemblage had a famous feast in the palace of Priam their king.
That was the funeral of Hector.

TASK 1
Vocabulary Building

Differentiate these paired words:

a. glory- fame

b. famous-infamous

C. Capricious-cruel

d. Superstition-ignorance

e. surpass-equal

f. admiration-astonishment
g. Contemporary-predecessor

h. universality-permanence

i. anger-wrath

j. reprove- scold

2. Explain the meaning of the following phrases.

a. hurry like one distracted

b. lofty towers of Troy

C. open to assault

d. give them a hint

e. heart made of steel

t. crouched before Achilles

g. anoint the body with oil

h. unharnessed the horses

EVALUATION

1 If easy for Priam to do what he did? Why do you Say so?

2 Would you have done as Priam did for any of your loved ones?
Why? Why not?

3. If you were Achilles, would you grant Priam s request? Why?

Why not?
4. What do you say of Achilles? Of Priam? Of Andromache?
With whom do you most relate? Why?

5 What does the selection tell you about the following issues?
What did you learn from it with regard these issues?
a. rage over the loss of a loved person
b. mourning a dead loved one
C. respect for an enemy
a. fear of the future

Identifying Features of Persuasive Texts

Priam used persuasion to move Achilles to release Hector's body to him and allow him to
bring it home for an honorable burial.

Persuasion is an act or process of convincing another person to do something on your

favor.

You will recognize persuasive texts With these features

1.Use of repeated words

2. Use of capital letters

3. Use of exclamation points

4. Asking rhetorical questions (questions that need not be answered but asked tor effect)

5. touch of humor

Study this example:

SALE! Grab the SPECIAL OFFER today! Would you want to miss this special offer? CALL NOW!

Which of the listed features above were used in this example?

Other writers make use of other features:

1. Alliteration or the use of recurring Similar consonant sounds

Example:
We hail tor happiness, health, and hope

2. Metaphor or the use of description of one using the description of another

Example:
Would you let your website be a bland dish? Let us spice it up for you!

3. Language affect or the use of words that convey distinct emotion

Example:

Where is your sense of fairness, Justice, patriotism?

4. Parallelism or the use of similar words, phrases, or clauses

placed next to each other

Example:

The clean is getting cleaner and the messy is getting mess 1er.

5. Contrast or pointing out the difference between two things.

Example:

This story is about a prince and a pauper.

TASK 1
Watch TV and look for instances of Persuasive Speech. Report your observations in class.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUeTDKsfGc8

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 EVALUATION:
Try your convincing power. Write short persuasive texts based on the following situations.
Use as many strategies for persuasion as possible.

1.Your club is sponsoring an exhibit. Write a letter addressed to parents promoting the
exhibit. Persuade them to come and participate.

2. Write a proposal to your classroom adviser. Persuade him/her to allow the class an
adventure-based field trip.
 LESSON 6

The Odyssey: A Summary

INTRODUCTION:

Odyssey, epic poem in 24 books traditionally attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer.
The poem is the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who wanders for 10 years (although
the action of the poem covers only the final six weeks) trying to get home after
the Trojan War. On his return, he is recognized only by his faithful dog and a nurse.
With the help of his son, Telemachus, Odysseus destroys the insistent suitors of his
faithful wife, Penelope, and several of her
maids who had fraternized with the suitors
and reestablishes himself in his kingdom.

The subject matter of the Odyssey is the return of

Odysseus (or Ulysses) King of Ithaca, from the
Trojan War. Because of the anger of the sea god
Poseidon, he is made to wander tor fen years in
lands beyond the range of human knowledge.
Upon arriving home, he finds lthaca, his native
land, invaded by insolent suitors who seek to kill
his young son, Telemachus, and marry his wife,
Penelope.
The poem begins at that point where the hero is considered farthest away from his home
in the island of Ogygia where the nymph Calypso, who has fallen in love with him, has kept him
imprisoned
tor seven years. Receiving a command from Zeus, Calypso releases Odysseus and he sails
happily for home. But Poseidon persecutes him and because of unfavorable winds, Odysseus
encounters many
dangers and adventures before he reaches Ithaca. The most famous of these adventures are
his encounters with Nausicaa, daughter or The king of Phaeacia; the Cyclops, the one-eyed
giant Polyphemus; Circe, the enchantress; the sirens; the Lotus-Eaters; and his Journey to
the Land of the Dead.

King Alcinous of Phaeacia helps Odysseus return to Ithaca where danger from the
aggressive suitors of his wife threatens him. After Overcoming and slaying the suitors, Odysseus
is reunited with Penelope, his faithful wife, who tor twenty years had waited for him with great
loyalty, patience, and shrewdness in avoiding the advances of her treacherous and wicked
suitors.
 Odysseus and Polyphemus
(From the Odyssey, Book IX)

Thence tor nine days drifted before the deadly blast along the swarming sea; but on the tenth we
touched the land of the Lotus-Eaters, men who make food of flowers. So here we went ashore and drew
US water, and soon by the swift ships my men prepared their dinner. Then, after we had tasted food
and drink, I sent some sailors forth to go and learn what men dwelt on the land selecting two, and
Joining with them a herald as a third. These straight away went and mingled with the Lotus-Eaters. They
had no thought of harm against our men; indeed, they gave them lotus to taste; but whosoever of them
ate the lotus-honeyed fruit wished never to leave the place, but with the Lotus-Eaters there desired to
stay, to teed on lotus and target his going home. These men brought back weeping to the ship by very
force, and dragging them under the benches of our hollow ships trusty men to hasten and embark on
the bound them fast and bade my other trusty men to hasten and embark on the swift ships, that none
of them might eat the lotus and forget his, going home. Quickly they Came aboard, took place at the
pins, and sitting in order water smote the foaming going with their oars.

Thence we sailed on with aching hearts and Came to the land of the Cyclops, a rude and lawless
folk who, trusting to the immortal gods, plant with their hands no plant, nor even plow, but all things
sailed on with aching hearts and Spring unsown and without plowing --wheat, barley, and grapevines
with wine in their heavy clusters; for rain from Zeus makes the grape grow. Among these people no
assemblies meet; they have no stable laws. They live on the tops of lofty hills, in hollow Caves; each
gives the law to one's own spouse and children and cares tor no one else.

When we reached the neighboring shore, there at an outer point, close to the sea, we found a cave
high, overhung with laurel. Here many flocks of sheep and goats were nightly housed. Around us built a
yard with a high wall of deep-embedded stone, tall pines, and crested oaks. Here a man-monster slept,
who shepherd his flock alone and far apart; with others he did not mingle, but aloof, followed his
lawless ways.

Quickly we reached the cave but did not find him there; for he was tending his tat flock afield.
Entering the cave, we looked around. Here crates were standing loaded down with cheese, and here
pens were set with lambs and kids. In separate pens each sort was folded; by themselves the older, by
themselves the younglings. Here my men pressed me strongly to take some cheese and go back; then
later, driving the kids and lambs to our swift ship out of the pens, to sail away over the briny water. But l
refuse--far better had I yielded-hoping that I might see him and he might offer gifts. But he was to
prove, when Seen, no pleasure to my men.

Kindling a tire here, we made burnt offerings and we ourselves took of the cheese which we found
in the crates and ate; so we sat and waited in the Cave until he came from pasture. He brought a
ponderous burden of dry wood to Use at supper time, and tossing it down inside the cave raised a great
din. We hurried oft in terror to a corner of the cave. But into the wide-mouthed cave he drove his sturdy
flock, all that he milked; the males, both rams and goats, he left outside in the high yard. And now he
set in place the huge door-stone, lifting it high in air, a ponderous thing; no two-and-twenty carts,
staunched and tour-wheeled, could start it from the grounds: such was the rugged rock he set against
the door. then, sitting down, he placed the ewes and bleating goats, all in due order, and underneath
put each one’s young. Straightway he curdled halt of the white milk, and gathering it in wicker baskets,
set it by; halt he left standing in the pails, ready for him to take and drink, and have tor his supper. So
after he had busily performed his task, he kindled a tire, noticed us, and asked :

"Ha, strangers, who are you? Where do you come from, sailing the watery ways? Are you upon
some business? Or do you rove at random, as the pirates roam the seas, risking their lives and bringing
ill to strangers?"

As he spoke, our very souls were crushed within US, dismayed by the heavy voice and by the
monster's self. Nevertheless, I answered thus and said:

"We are from Troy, Achaians, driven by shifting winds out of our course across the great gulf of the
sea. But chancing here, we come before your knees to ask that you otter hospitality and, in other ways
as well, give the gift which is the stranger's due. O mighty one, respect the gods. We are your suppliants,
and Zeus is the avenger of the suppliants and the stranger; he is the stranger's friend, attending
the deserving."

So l spoke, and from a ruthless heart he straight way answered: "You are simple, stranger, or come
from far away, to bid me dread the gods or shrink before them. The Cyclops pay no heed to aegis-
bearing Zeus, nor to the blessed gods because we are much stronger than themselves."

From a ruthless heart he started up and laid hands on my companions. He seized two and dashed
them to the ground as it they had been dogs. Their brains ran out upon the floor and wet the earth.
Learning them limb from limb, he made his supper, and ate as does a mountain lion, leaving nothing-
entrails or flesh or marrow bones.

We in tears held up our hands to Zeus, at sight of his cruel deeds; helplessness held our hearts. Bu
when the Cyclops had tilled his monstrous mouth by eating human flesh and pouring down pure milk, he
laid himself in the cave full length among his flock. And I then formed the plan of closing on him,
drawing my sharp sword from my thigh, and stabbing him in the breast where the midriff holds the liver,
feeling the place out with my hands. Yet second thoughts restrained me, tor then we would have met
with utter ruin; tor we could never with our hands have pushed from the tall door the enormous stone
which he had set against it. Thus then, With sighs we awaited sacred dawn.

But when the early rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, he kindled a tire, milked his goodly flock, all in
due order, and underneath put each one's young. Then after he had busily performed his tasks, seizing
once more two men, he made his morning meal. And when the meal was ended, he drove from the cave
his sturdy flock and easily moved the huge door stone; but afterward put it back as one might put the lid
upon a box. I hen for the hills, with many a call, he steered his sturdy flock, while I was left behind
brooding on evil and Thinking how I might have vengeance, would but Athena grant my prayer. And to
my mind this seemed the wisest way. there lay beside the pen a great club of the Cyclops, an olive stick
still green, which he had cut to be his staff when dried. I went and cut away a length of this, laid it
before my men, and bade them sharpen it. 1They made it smooth. I then stood by to point the tip and,
laying hold, I charred it in the blazing fire. The piece I now put carefully away, hiding it in the dung which
lay about the cave in great abundance; and then bade my comrades fix by lot who the bold men should
be to help me raise the stake and grind it in the Cyclops eye, when pleasant sleep should come. Those
drew the lot whom I myself would have chosen; four were they, for a fifth I counted in myself. He came
toward evening, shepherding the fleecy flock, and forthwith drove his sturdy flock into the wide-
mouthed cave, all with much care. He did not leave a sheep in the high yard outside, either through
suspicion or a god bade him to do so. Again he set in place the huge door-stone, lifting it high in air: and
sitting down he milked the ewes and bleating goats all in due order, and underneath put each one's
young. Then after he had busily performed his tasks, he seized once more two men and made his
supper. And now drawing near the cyclops I thus spoke, holding within my hands an ivy bowl filled with
dark wine:
Here, Cyclops, drink some wine after your meal of human flesh and see what sort of liquor our
ship holds. I brought it as an offering, thinking that you might pity me and send me home. But you are
mad
past bearing. Reckless! How should a stranger come for you again from any people, when you do not act
with decency?

So l spoke; he took the cup and drank it off, and mighty pleased he was with the taste of the sweet
liquor. He asked tor more again.

Give some more, and straightway tell me your name. This is a bit of ambrosia and nectar that you
have given me."

So l spoke, and I gain offered the sparkling wine. Three times brought and gave; three times he
drank it in his folly. Then as the wine began to dull the Cyclops senses, in winning words I said to him:

Cyclops, you asked my noble name, and will tell it. My name is Noman. Noman | am called by
Mother, Father, and by all my comrades."

So I spoke, and from a ruthless heart he straightway answered: Noman, I eat up last, after his
comrades; all the rest first; and that shall be my gift to you,"

He spoke, and shrinking back fell flat; and there he lay, lolling his thick neck over, till sleep, that
conquers all, took hold of him. Out of his throat poured Wine and scraps of human flesh; heavy with
wine; he spewed it forth. And now it was I drove the stake Under a heavy heap of ashes, to bring if to a
heat, and with my words emboldened all my men, that none might tail me through their tear. Then
when the olive stake, green though it was, was ready to take fire, and through and through was all
aglow, snatched it from the tire, while my men stood around and Heaven inspired us with great courage.
seizing the olive stake, sharp at the tip, they plunged it in his eye (he had only one) and, perched up
above, whirled it around. As when a man bores ship beams with a drill, and those below keep it in
motion with a strap held by the ends, and steadily it runs; even so we seized the tire-pointed stake and
whirled it in his eye. Blood bubbled round the heated thing. The Vapor singed the lid around the eye,
and even the brows, as the ball burned and its roots crackled in the flame. As when a smith dips a great
axe or daze into cold water, hissing loud, to temper it-for that is strength to tell-so hissed his eye about
the olive stake. A hideous roar he raised; the rocks resounded; we hurried away in terror. He wrenched
the stake from out his eye, all dabbed with blood, and flung it off in frenzy. Then he called loudly on the
Cyclops who dwelt about him in their caves along the windy heights. They heard his cry and ran from
every side, and standing by the cave they asked what ailed him:

“What has come to you, Polyphemus, that you scream so and keep us from sleeping? ls a man
driving off your flocks in spite of you? Is a man murdering you'?"

Big Polyphemus answered: "Friends, Noman is murdering me by a craft.

But answering him in winged words, they said, if no man harms you and you are alone, then keep
quiet and left us sleep."

This said, they went their way, and in

my heart I laughed. My name, that clever
notion, so deceived them. But now the
Cyclops, groaning and in agonies or anguish,
by groping with his hands took ne stone oft
the door, yet stayed himself inside the door
with hands outstretched to catch whoever
ventured forth and thus he probably hoped
to catch us. But Was planning how it all might
best be ordered that might win escape from
death both tor my men and me. So many a
plot and scheme | framed, as for my lite;
great danger was at hand. Then to my mind
this seemed the wisest way; some rams there
were of a good breed, thick in the fleece,
handsome and large, which bore a dark blue
wool. These I quietly bound together with the
twisted willow thongs on which the giant
Cyclops slept-the brute-faking three sheep
together. One in the middle carried a man.
Thus three sheep bore a man. Then tor
myself, there was a ram, by far the best of all
the flock, whose back I grasped and curled beneath his shaggy belly. There lay, and with my hands
twisted in that enormous fleece I steadily held on, with patient heart. Thus then with signs we awaited
sacred awn.
Soon as the early rosy-fingered Dawn appeared the rams hastened to pasture. Their master, racked
with grievous pains, felt over the backs of all the sheep as they stood up, but foolishly did not notice
how under the breasts of a wooly sheep, men had been fastened. Last of the flock, the ram stalked to
the door, cramped by his fleece and me the crafty plotter; and feeling him over the back, big
Polyphemus said:

“ What, my pet ram! why do you move across the cave hindmost of all the flock? Till now you never
lagged behind, but with your long strides you were always first to crop the fender bloom of grass; you
were the first to reach the running streams and first to wish to turn to the stall at night; yet here you
are the last. Ah, but you miss your master's eye, which a villain has put out-he and his vile companions-
blunting my wits with wine. Noman is not, I assure him, sate from destruction yet. It only you could
sympathize and get the power of speech to say where he is skulking from my rage, then should that bra
of his be knocked about the cave and dashed upon the ground. So might my heart recover from the ills
which miserable Noman brought upon me.

So saying, from his hand he let the ram go forth, and after we were gone a little distance from the
Cave and from the yard, first from beneath the ram treed myself and then set tree my comrades. So
at quick pace we drove those long-legged sheep, heavy with fat, many time turning round, until we
reached the ship. A welcome sight we seemed too our dear friends, as men escaped from death. Yet
tor the others they began to weep and wail, but by my frowns checked their fears. Instead I bade them
straightway toss the many fleecy sheep into ship and sail away over the briny w

Task:

Scan the selection “Odysseus and Polyphemus” for unfamiliar words. Choose ten words and write them
below. Look up their meaning in the dictionary and them to complete your vocabulary list below.

1.___________ - _______________________________________________________________________

2.___________ - _______________________________________________________________________

3____________ - ______________________________________________________________________

4.____________ - ______________________________________________________________________

5.____________ - ______________________________________________________________________

6.____________ - ______________________________________________________________________

7.____________ - ______________________________________________________________________

8.____________ - ______________________________________________________________________

9.____________ - ______________________________________________________________________
10.____________ - _____________________________________________________________________

Evaluation:
1. what can you conclude about the cyclops from the words “among these people, no
assemblies meet”?
2. Explain: In this land “none comes here to follow hounds.”
3. Explain: “offer us hospitality and give the gift which is the stranger’s dues.”
4. Does Polyphemus deserve to be blinded? Why do you say so?
 LESSON 7

Greek Drama and

Lyric Poetry
INTRODUCTION

Ancient Greek society placed considerable emphasis

on literature and, according to many, the
whole Western literary tradition began there, with
the epic poems of Homer.

In addition to the invention of the epic and lyric

forms of poetry, though, the Greeks were also
essentially responsible for the invention of drama, and
they produced masterpieces of both tragedy and
comedy that are still reckoned among the crowning
achievements of drama to this day.

Indeed, there is scarcely an idea discussed today that

has not already been debated and embroidered on by
the writers of ancient Greece

For the ancient Greeks, lyric poetry

specifically meant verse that was accompanied by
the lyre, usually a short poem expressing personal
feelings. These sung verse were divided into
stanzas known as strophes (sung by the Chorus
as it moved from right to left across the
stage), antistrophes (sung by the Chorus in its
returning movement from left to right) and
epodes (the concluding part sung by the stationary
Chorus in center stage, usually with a different
rhyme scheme and structure).
The Ancient Greeks took their entertainment very
seriously and used drama as a way of
investigating the world they lived in, and what it
meant to be human. The three genres
of drama were comedy, satyr plays, and most
important of all, tragedy. ... The first master of
comedy was the playwright Aristophanes
Greek Drama

The drama was the crowning glory of the Athenian Age, which has been called by different
terms. It has been called the Age of Pericles because Pericles was the ruling power in Athens at
the time. It has
also been called the Athenian Age because Athens became the white not literary center of
Greece, and if has been called the Golden Age because the drama flourished during this period.
There were three
great tragic writers: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and there was Aristophanes, the
greatest writer of comedy the world has ever produced.

The spirit of an age is more completely represented by its poetry than by its prose.
Accordingly, we can best trace the character of the three different stages of civilization among
the Greeks in the three divisions of their poetry. The epic belongs to a period when the minds
of the people were deeply influenced by legends handed down from antiquity. Lyric poetry
developed in a more republican form of
government when each individual could express one's personal aims and wishes, and all the
depths of human emotions were unlocked by the inspiration of the poets. Dramatic poetry
appeared as on expression of the summit of Greek civilization in the very prime of Athenian
power and freedom. Dramatic poetry was the organ of the prevailing thoughts and feelings of
the time. This is why the drama marks the high tide of literature, and the golden age in the
literary history of a nation coincides with the period when that nation produced its great
dramatists.

Epic poetry relates the actions of great heroes fold in a noble and grand manner Drama,
as its name implies, presents action it does not relate. The dramatist plunges us into the story
and makes us directly experience the event that is presented before our eyes. Consequently,
the drama makes us understand human life with a depth and force, was no other type of
literature can do.

There was a time when dramatic composition was unknown, only a great boldness of mind
could create it. Formerly, Ties and heroes; they regarded events related from afar as objects of
Contemplation. They were always conscious of the great gap between them and the events
they related. In the drama, The Poets become the characters; they assume personalities as they
act and interact with each other. They are by turns the hero and the villain.

It is true there is much in human nature that loves a dramatic Presentation for a person
loves to imitate other persons. Gestures by a narrator or an orator may be considered dramatic,
but these are
only disjoined actions; there is a wide step between these and dramatic actions. The Greeks
gave the drama as a literary form to the world.
The drama of antiquity is very different from the drama as we now know it. f had dignity,
nobility, and power. It had little of the spontaneity and easy naturalness of modern plays. The
Greek drama was cut up info situations or episodes, and between these episodes were choral
recitations of great length. These choral recitations, though they had beauty and power, slowed
the action and interrupted the forward movement of the story. I he choruses, however, were
visually attractive. The participants competed with each other in the splendor of their dresses
and the excellence of their singing and dancing.

To us the Greek tragic hero would appear strange and unattractive. He was purposely
made taller and larger than ordinary men. He wore very high-heeled shoes; his face seemed
very large because of
his tragic mask; his chest and body and arms were stuffed and padded to an enormous size. The
tragic mask was something out of this world. The expression was exaggerated; the mouth halt
open, the eye
sockets deep and large, the features sharply defined in tragic lines giving the impression of a
man agitated by passions of human nature in a degree far above the standard of common lite.
The masks were changed between acts to represent changes in emotion.

Working on an Information Map

"A picture is worth a thousand words," they say. This is true not only tor the picture of a
beautiful scene, a charming lady, or a Cute child. It is true as well in the graphical presentation
of facts and data.
Graphics include maps, graphs, and diagrams that you know appear in your textbooks in
mathematics, science, and social studies. In both fiction and nonfiction, there are information
maps, story webs, and
grammar maps all of which are basically a picture of an outline of the composition.
TASK:
1.____________was the crowning glory of the Athenian age.
2. ___________ was the organ of the prevailing thoughts and feelings of the time.
3.enumerate the greatest writer of comedy.
1.
2.
3.
4.
EVALLUATION:
1.What is the role of Drama in Athenian age?
2. How drama of antiquity differs from drama?
3.what is a tragic mask?

Major Dramatists of the Athenian Age

1. Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.)

Aeschylus was a poet by profession and he was regarded by the Athenians as the father
of tragedy. He is reputed to have written seventy tragedies, but only seven have come down TO
US. The genius of AeschyluS was in the awe-full and sublime rather than in the tender and
pathetic. He excelled in presenting supermen, in depicting gods, Titans, and heroes. He is called
the theological poet because his plays had great spiritual and religious fervor; he presents the
original dignity and greatness of nature and of humankind. His greatest work is considered to
be Prometheus. The hero of this play, a titan,
Was chained and tortured on a rock in the Caucasus because he had, against the explicit orders
of Zeus, given humanity the gift of fire. The plays of Aeschylus have a moral sublimity above
mere poetic beauty.

Aeschylus is called the soldier playwright because he took part in the Battle of Marathon
and in the Battle of Salamis. It is said that his whole family received a citation tor valor after the
Persian war. Apart from Prometheus, he also wrote the trilogy Oresteia, which is composed of
three plays: Agamemnon,
Cheophori (Libation pourers), and Eumenides (The Furies)

Agamemnon: a Summary

The first play of the Oresteia trilogy, Agamemnon, describes the long-awaited
homecoming of Agamemnon from the Trojan War. Waiting at home is his wife, Queen
Clytaemnestra who plans to murder him upon his arrival. This plan is due in part to the death of
lphigeneia, their daughter whom Agamemnon sacrificed to ensure good winds tor the Journey
to Troy. The other reason is that the Queen had been having an affair with Agamemnon s
cousin Aegisthus, whose father and brother Agamemnon s father killed in his bid to reclaim the
throne.

Unsuspecting Agamemnon is welcomed home by Clytaemnestra. She ushers him into his
ban and provides him with a purple robe with no opening tor his head. While ne struggles with
the robe in confusion, she kills him with three blows O an axe as in a ritual sacrifice. She also
kills Cassandra, a princess Troy whom Agamemnon has brought home to be his mistress.

Agamemnon's death happens o g ne audience is told of it by Clytaemnestra herself

proudly describing her act to the chorus (the elders). 1 he elders rebuke her tor the murder, but
she persuades them that the murder was a righteous act as was done in revenge for her
daughter's death, Agamemnon' s adulteries in Troy and with Cassandra, and in fulfillment of the
curse on ne mouse of Atreus.

Agamemnon: Prologue

The play opens with a nighttime scene of a lone watchman on the roof of Agamemnon's palace
at Argos. His dialogue explains his task-keeping watch for the beacon signal light that will tell
him that Troy
has finally fallen. As the Trojan War took ten long years, this watch man has been doing his
lonely task for years. This is the night that he finally sees the long-awaited signal. Both the war
and his watch are
over, and his final task is to tell Clytaemnestra the good news. (SCENE: Before the palace of
AGAMEMNON in Argos. In front of the palace there are statues of the gods, and altars prepared
for sacrifice. It is night. On the roof of the palace can be discerned WATCHMAN.)

A Watchman
I pray the gods to quit me of my toils,
To close the watch I keep, this livelong year;
For as a watch-dog lying, not a rest,
Propped on one arm, upon the palace-roof
Of Aterus race, too long, too well know
The starry conclave of the midnight sky,
Too well, the splendours of the firmament,
The lords of light, whose kingly aspect shows
What time they set or climb the sky in turn-
The year's divisions, bringing frost or fire.

And now, as ever, am I set to mark

When shall stream up the glow of signal-flame,

The bale-fire bright, and tell its Trojan tale

“Troy town is ta'en:" such issue holds in hope

She in whose woman's breast beats heart of man.

Thus upon mine unrestful couch lie,

Bathed with the dews of night, unvisited

By dreams-- ah me!---for in the place of sleep

Stands Fear as my familiar, and repels

The soft repose that would mine eyelids seal.

And if at whiles, for the lost balm of sleep,

I medicine my soul with melody

Of trill or song-anon to tears turn,

Wailing the woe that broods upon this home,

Not now by honour guided as of old.

But now at last fair tall the welcome hour

That sets me tree, whene'er the thick night glow

With beacon-fire of hope deferred no more.

All hail!

(A beacon-light is seen reddening the distant sky.)

Fire of the night, that brings my spirit day,

Shedding on Argos light, and dance, and song,

Greetings to fortune, hail!

Let my loud summons ring within the ears

Of Agamemnon's queen, that she anon

Start from her couch and with a shrill voice cry

A joyous welcome to the beacon-blaze,

For lion's fall; such fiery message gleams

From yon high flame; and , before the rest,

Will foot the lightsome measure of our joy;

For I can say, "My master's dice fell fair

Behold! the triple sice, the lucky tlame!"

Now be my lot to clasp, in loyal love,

The hand of him restored, who rules our home:

Home-but I say no more: upon my tongue

Treads hard the ox o' the adage.

Had it voice,

The home itself might soothliest tell its tale;

1, of set will, speak words the wise may learn,

lo others, naught remember nor discern.

(Exit)
Task
Reread the play excerpt and use context clues
to work out what each expression means.

1. .To quit me of my toils

2. upon mine unrestful couch I lie
3. in the place of sleep stands Fear as my familiar
4. foot the lightsome measure of our joy
5. upon my tongue treads hard the ox o the adage

EVALUATION

1. Which of the characters' actions do you sympathize with the

least? Why?

a. Agamemnon helping his brother get revenge for the loss of

Helen

b. Aegisthus getting revenge for the death of his father and brothers

c. Clytaemnestra getting revenge for her daughter's death

2.DO you see any parallel cycles of violence in our modern

World? Cite an example. How can such cycles of violence be ended?

3. Do you think revenge and violence bring good to a person? To a society? Would you agree or
disagree?
LESSON 8
Oedipus Rex: A Summary

INTRODUCTION:
Oedipus Rex, also known by its Greek title, Oedipus Tyrannus (Ancient Greek: Οἰδίπους
Τύραννος, pronounced [oidípoːs týrannos]), or Oedipus the King, is
an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC.[1] Originally, to the
ancient Greeks, the title was simply Oedipus (Οἰδίπους), as it is referred to by Aristotle in
the Poetics. It is thought to have been renamed Oedipus Tyrannus to distinguish it from another of
Sophocles's plays, Oedipus at Colonus. In antiquity, the term "tyrant" referred to a ruler with no
legitimate claim to rule, but it did not necessarily have a negative connotation. [2][3][4]
Of Sophocles's three Theban plays that have survived, and that deal with the story
of Oedipus, Oedipus Rex was the second to be written. However, in terms of the chronology of
events that the plays describe, it comes first, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone.
Prior to the start of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus has become the king of Thebes while unwittingly fulfilling
a prophecy that he would kill his father, Laius (the previous king), and marry his
mother, Jocasta (whom Oedipus took as his queen after solving the riddle of the Sphinx). The action
of Sophocles's play concerns Oedipus's search for the murderer of Laius in order to end a plague
ravaging Thebes, unaware that the killer he is looking for is none other than himself. At the end of
the play, after the truth finally comes to light, Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus, horrified at
his patricide and incest, proceeds to gouge out his own eyes in despair.
Oedipus Rex is regarded by many scholars as the masterpiece of ancient Greek tragedy. In
his Poetics, Aristotle refers several times to the play in order to exemplify aspects of the genre. [5][6]

Oedipus is king of Thebes because fifteen

years ago Thebes by solving the riddle of the
Sphinx, in gratitude, the elders offered him in
marriage Queen Jocasta and the throne left vacant
by the recently-murdered King Laius. At the
opening of the play, Thebes is facing another
crisis pestilence and plague-so he sends his
brother-in-law, Creon, to seek guidance from
Apollo's oracle. The oracle s answer requires that
he purge the city of Laius's murderer. Oedipus
commits himself to this task but makes slow progress at learning the truth because those who
know---Apollo's seer, a messenger, and shepherd-refuse to provide any information. Instead,
Teiresias issues dire warnings and prophecies.

Oedipus persists in his pursuit of the truth despite the pleas of Jocasta and the
elders/chorus to let the matter rest. To discredit Teiresias, Jocasta even goes so far as to reveal
her abandonment of her infant son to protect against an earlier prophecy that he will kill his
father and marry his mother. Oedipus reveals that he fled from Corinth in an effort to escape
from a similar oracle. The messenger and the shepherd finally verify that Oedipus was the
abandoned prince of Thebes, and recalling the man he killed on the crossroads on his way to
Thebes, Oedipus realizes that Teiresias has correctly identified him as the "rotting canker" in
Thebes. Horrified at her incestuous marrriage, Jocasta hangs herself. On finding her, Oedipus
blinds himself in guilt, grief, and disgust and asks Creon to send him to exile. The
play ends with his banishment.

Oedipus Rex: An Excerpt

OEDIPUS

Teiresias, seer who comprehends all,

Lore of the wise and hidden mysteries,
High things of heaven and low things of the earth.
Thou knowest. Though thy blinded eyes see naught
What plague infects our city; and we turn lo thee,
O seer, our one defense and shield.
The purport of the answer that the God
Returned to us who sought his oracle,
The messengers have doubtless told thee how
One course alone could rid us of the pest,
To find the murderers of Laius,
And slay them or expel them from the land.
Therefore begrudging neither augury
Nor other divination that is thine,
O save thyself, thy country, and thy king,
Save all from this defilement of blood-shed.
On thee we rest. This is man's highest end,
To others' service all his powers to lend.

TEIRESIAS

Alas, alas, what misery to be wise when

Wisdom profits nothing! This old lore
I had forgotten; else l were not here.

OEDIPUS

What ails thee? Why this melancholy mood

TEIRESIAS
Let me go home; prevent me not; ‘twere best
That thou shouldst bear thy burden and I mine
OEDIPUS

For shame! no true-born Theban patriot

Would thus withhold the word of prophecy.

TEIRESIAS

Thy words, O king, are wide of the mark, and I

For fear lest I too trip like thee..

OEDIPUSS

Oh speak,
Withhold not, I adjure thee, if thou know'st,
Thy knowledge. We are all thy suppliants.

TEIRESIAS

Aye, tor ye all are witless, but my voice

Will ne’er reveal my miseries or thine.

OEDIPUS

What then, thou knowest, and yet willst not speak

Wouldst thou betray us and destroy the State?

TEIRESIAS

will not vex myself nor thee. Why ask

Thus idly what from me thou shalt not learn?

OEDIPUS

Monster! thy silence would incense a flint

Will nothing loose thy tongue? Can nothing melt thee,
Or shake thy dogged taciturnity?

TEIRESIAS

Thou blam' st my mood and seest not thine own

Wherewith thou art mated; no, thou taxest me.
OEDIPUS

And who could stay his choler when he heard

How insolently thou dost flout the State?

TEIRESIAS

Well, it will come what will, though I be mute.

OEDIPUS

Since come it must, thy duty is to tell me.

TEIRESIAS

T have no more to say; storm as thou willst,

And give the rein to all thy pent-up rage.

OEDIPUS

Yea, I am wroth, and will not stint my words,

But speak my whole mind. Thou methinks thou art
he,
Who planned the crime, aye, and performed it too,
All save the assassination; and it thou
Hadst not been blind, I had been sworn to boot
That thou alone didst do the bloody deed.

TEIRESIAS

Is it so? Then I charge thee to abide

By thine own proclamation; from this day
Speak not to these or me. Thou art the man,
Thou the accursed polluter of this land.

OEDIPUS

Vile slanderer, thou blurtest forth these taunts,

And think'st forsooth as seer to go scot tree.

TEIRESIAS
Yea, I am free, strong in the strength of truth.

OEDIPUS

Who was thy teacher? not methinks thy art.

TEIRESIAS

Thou, goading me against my will to speak.

OEDIPUS

What speech? repeat if and resolve my doubt.

TEIRESIAS

Didst miss my sense wouldst thou goad me on?

OEDIPUS

Thou shalt rue it

twice to repeat so gross a calumny

TEIRESIAS

Must I say more to aggravate thy rage?

OEDIPUS

Say all thou wilt; it will be but waste of breath.

TEIRESIASS

say thou livest with thy nearest kin

In infamy, unwitting in thy shame.

OEDIPUS

Think'st thou for aye unscathed to wag thy tongue?

TEIRESIAS

Yea, if the might of truth can aught prevail.

OEDIPUS

With other men, but not with thee, for thou

In ear, wit, eye, in everything art blind.

TEIRESIAS

Poor tool to utter gibes at me which all

Here present will cast back on thee ere long

OEDIPUS

Offspring of endless Night, thou hast no power

O'er me or any man who sees the sun.

TEIRESIAS

No, for thy weird is not tall by me.

leave to Apollo what concerns the god.

OEDIPUS

Is this a plot of Creon, or thine own?

TEIRESIASS

Not Creon, thou thyself art thine own bane.

TASK: Vocabulary Building

Reread the play excerpt and use context clues

to work out what each expression means
1.’twere best that thou shouldst bear thy burden and I mine
2. what misery to be wise when wisdom profits nothing
3. am free, strong in the strength of truth.
4. thou livest with thy nearest kin in infamy, unwitting in thy shame
5. thou thyself art thine own bane
EVALUATION:

1. Is the pursuit of truth always the right thing to do?

2. Are there instances when truth does not benefit those who learn it? Justify your answer.
3. Is it ever right to withhold the truth? Why do you say so?
 LESSON 10
EARLY ROMAN LITERATURE

Roman literature, written in the Latin language, remains an enduring legacy of the culture of
ancient Rome. Some of the earliest extant works are historical epics telling of the early military
history of Rome, followed (as the Republic expanded) by poetry, comedies, histories and
tragedies.

The Roman Empire and its predecessor the Roman Republic produced an abundance of
celebrated literature; poetry, comedies, dramas, histories, and philosophical tracts; the Romans
avoided tragedies. Much of it survives to this day. However, Roman literature cannot stand
alone. They owe a debt to their neighbor, the Greeks (more specifically Athens). Most educated
Romans were well aware of their own literary inferiority, and because of this Roman writers
could easily copy Greek classical themes, even going so far as to translate many of the notable
Greek works into Latin. However, to many Romans, this exercise would have been needless, for
a number of highly educated citizens could speak and read both Greek and Latin. Many young,
upper-class Romans even continued their education in Athens. Although the link to Greek
Hellenism would remain for years to come, the Romans would soon develop a rich literature of
their own.

Major Writers of Rome

The literature of Rome holds a secondary
position in the classic literature of antiquity,
probably because the Roman was less a
thinker and creator and more a doer thon
the Greek. The early Romans made little
progress in literary composition until they
conquered and enslaved the Greeks. When
this historical event happened, the Ro-
mans were so impressed by the artistic
attainments of the Greeks that they set
about imitating Greek literature, resulting in
the unique situation of "1he conquered becoming the conquerors and the conquerors becoming
the conquered. Roman children were thought by Greek teachers

Roman literature was greatly imitative of Greek models. Greek literature was translated
into Latin, and it provided the models that the Roman youths studied and learned by heart. There
is a predominance of satire in Roman literature. The satire as a literary type is supposed to have
been invented by the Romans. The purpose of satire is to oat tock evils in society. It flourished in
Rome when social conditions were poor and Roman morals were low.

1. Virgil (70-19 B.C.)

 Virgil was the greatest writer that Rome produced. What Homer was to the Greeks, Virgil
was to the Romans. He was born in 70 B.C. in Mantua, one of the loveliest countrysides in
Italy. His childhood was spent among the fields and woods, springs and pools. This close
familiarity with, and love of, nature is clearly evident in his works. For the greater part of his
life, he stayed away from Rome, which was at that time be coming corrupt and dissolute. All
sorts of degenerate crimes were being committed, and the fabric of society was falling
apart as a result of rampant immorality.

Virgil had an excellent education in philosophy, and a love for this discipline remained
with him all his life. He learned One of the great laws of art: that its greatness is in direct
proportion to the worth of its philosophy and theology His works are therefore an ideal
combination of content and form He had the philosophic yearning to know the causes of things
and his mastery of his medium, the Latin language, allowed him to develop a style that was
powerful and sweet. By means of this language, he was able to communicate the glory and
splendor of things.

He began as a lyric Poet.of great passion and.melody but his masterpiece is the Aeneid,
the great.epic.of Rome, the subject matter of which is set way back in the legendary age
of Greece. He selected for.his.epic character.the warrior Aeneas, a Trojan prince and one of the
bravest men who for Trov. In the epic, Virgil makes Aeneas the founder of Rome and the
progenitor of the Romans.

The idea and plan of the Aeneid are derived from Homer Homer’s illiad and Odyssey are
stories of war and of adventure, respectively. Virgil’s.Aeneid inverts this order it begins with the
adventures.of Aeneas and ends with the battle for the position of Latium. Both parts closely
Order; follow the structure of Homer's epics. Episodes in Homer are duplicated and many
characters found in the Illiad are also found in the Aeneid.

Aeneid: A Summary
Aeneas, son of Venus the goddess of beauty, is a Trojan hero and a cousin.of Hector's, and
like Hector, he is a brave warrior. The story begins with the burning of Troy and the massacre of
the men while the women and the children are carried off into slavery. Aeneas is saved by his
mother, and together with his father Anchises and his son Ascanius and a few other Trojans, he
sails away from burning Troy. Their destination is Latium, where they intend to found a Trojan
colony. But their ships are driven from their course by Athena, who is angry with Aeneas. They
land in Carthage, in North Africa, where they are welcomed by Queen Dido. The queen falls in
love with Aeneas and makes him co-ruler of Carthage. But Aeneas has a great destiny-to be the
founder of Rome-and much as he would like to stay with Dido, he is commanded by Zeus to
leave for Latium. Dido, brokenhearted, commits suicide as Aeneas sails away.
 He passes through many dangers paralleling some of the adventures of Odysseus. After
Aeneas finally reaches ltaly, he goes down to the Underworld and learns about his future
descendants, the Romans. He celebrated the anniversary of his father's death with funeral games
in the Underworld.
He reaches Latium and gains the friendship of King Latinus, the ruler of Latium. Oracles
have foretold that the only daughter of the king, Lavinia, would marry a foreigner and
become the mother of an imperial line. Aeneas has a rival for the hand of Lavinia in the brave
and powerful Turnus.
A battle begins between the Trojans and the Latinus, and after many pitched encounters,
Aeneas defeats Turnus in single combat and gains the hand of Lavinia He becomes king and in
ceremonial rites required by the gods, a new nations formed and the Trojans are named Latins

The Stratagem of the Wooden Horse and the Fall Of Troy

O Queen, you request me to tell you of the fall of Troy and the grief unutterable that fell
on every Trojan heart. What Trojan speaking of such dreadful scenes can refrain from crying?
Still, if it is your earnest Wish to hear of our sad disaster and the last expiring sufferings of Troy,
though I sink in grief shall begin.

The Grecian chiefs, tired of the many years of War, thought of a stratagem to conquer
Troy. VI the help of Pallas', they constructed a wooden horse huge as a mountain, enlaced and
ribbed with fir. The wooden horse was to be a votive offering to the gods for the Greeks' sate
return from Troy. They sent out the rumor that they would abandon the siege of Troy. But in the
safety of the night, they seated inside the body of the wooden horse a chosen band of warriors
including the Greek heroes. Then, the next morning they sailed away, to the great relief of the
Trojans, but instead they sailed to the Island of Tenedos where they hid themselves until they
received the signal to return to Troy.

At the sight of the ships sailing away, all the people of Troy threw their grieves aside and
all went to the Greek comp to see the abandoned posts and the deserted shore. Some cried, "Here
the fierce Achilles was encamped; here laid the fleet and here were the battles fought!" Some
stared in astonishment at the wooden horse, dedicated to Athena; they gazed in admiration at the
huge proportions of the horse.Thymoetes advised that we should carry it inside the city. He must
have been moved by some treacherous design or else the gods inspired him to speak this.
But Capys urged, supported by wise old men, that we should either throw it into the sea or build
a tire under it and burn it. Being left by the Greeks, it was a wicked gift and was probably a
snare. He said, "Let us bore through it and find out what is inside."

AT This moment, Laocoon ran forward, attended by a numerous train of men. "O
wretched men he cried, "what madness, citizens, is this? Believe ye that our foes are gone
indeed! Do you suppose the Greeks can give anything but deceitful gifts? Do you know Ulysses
so little? Either the Greeks are concealed within this wooden horse or the Greeks in- tend to Use
it to spy upon us by overlooking our houses and thus descend upon our city. Some other guile is
lurking here, my fellow Trojans! Do not trust this horse, I beg you. Whatever it may be, I tear the
Greeks even when they bring us gifts.

As he spoke, with all his strength he hurled a mighty spear against the wooden horse,
against its belly. The caverns of the horse resounded with a roar. And if the Fates had been
favorable with us and we had been wise, we should have destroyed the gift of the Greeks and
Troy would now be standing and Saved the lofty palace of Priam.

Meanwhile, the Trojan shepherds, with loud cries, dragged forward a young man tightly
bound, with hands behind his back, who had surrendered of his own accord. The throng rushed
forward to insult the captive, tor he was o Greek youth. Now listen to the treachery of the
Greeks, and from one crime learn all, For a while the youth stood looking troubled, defenseless
in the sight of all, and gazed around upon the Trojan band.

Alas," he said, "what land now or what sea can harbor me? What remains for me, unhappy
wretch, for whom there is no place among the Greeks, and on whom the vengeful Trojans wish a
bloody death?"

At his lamenting groans our minds were changed and every violent impulse was checked
at once. We asked him then to tell us oft what race he was. He said, "I have so much to say but
how Can you put faith in me, a captive and an enemy?" He told us that he was Sinon, that he had
displeased his fellow Greeks and they had let him perish as they sailed away for home.

Here another dire event, more dreadful for, occurred. Laocoön, with gloomy face, was
sacrificing a bull to Neptune when behold, two snakes Came gliding o'er the deep and crawled
on the sandy shore. Side by side they moved with necks erect and bloody heads, their huge backs
winding in sinuous folds. Their burning eyes were ablaze with blood and fire; they hissed and
licked with their quivering tongues. We gazed in horror, unable to fly. With steady pace they
sought Laocoön. Laocoön's little sons were with him at the altar. The snakes entwined the bodies
of the little boys and each snake bit into their miserable bodies.

When Laocoön saw this, he shrieked for help and rushed to save his sons, but even as he
approached, the snakes seized him and bound him, twice around his waist, twice around his
neck. Laocoon strained with his hands to untwine the knots as the snakes raised their heads and
spat their black poisoned gore on him. His dreadful shrieks rose to the stars: he groaned such
bellows as a bull when sorely wounded by the hunters.

Then indeed the people began to say that Laocoön had paid the penalty tor the crime he
had committed when he threw his spear at the wooden horse sacred to Athena. All now cried
aloud, "Let us take the sacred horse into the city." All prepared for work. Beneath the feel of the
horse, we laid smooth rollers, around the neck we laid the rope with which to help
the image inside the city. We destroyed the walls and battlements to enable it to be dragged
inside. Around it youth and unwedded maidens sang sacred song All rejoiced as they strained
their bodies or touched the ropes. Onward it moved into the city's midst.

Alas! My country! llium, home of the godly people. o heavy was the wooden horse, tour
times it stopped in its journey. Some thought they heard the sound of arms ring from its depths
within. Yet, on we pressed thoughtless of omen, blind with furious zeal and in the sacred palace
we lodged the fatal monster. Throughout the city the Trojans danced with festive leaves.
Meanwhile, the night came apace, and tired and weary, the Trojans at last went to their
homes and sleep embraced each weary frame.

And now the Grecian ships moved on from Tenedos, their ships in order ranged, beneath
the friendly silence of the moon. Sinon unbarred the wooden prison doors and secretly released
the hidden Greeks. The horse stood, ifs belly as the Greeks stepped out. Joyful from the hollow
wood they leaped. The guards were slain, the gates were opened, Troy was no more.

TASK
Answer the following questions:
 who built the wooden horse: the Greeks or the Trojans?
 What did Laocoon do to the wooden horse?
 According to the Trojans, how did Athena punish Laocoon?

EVALUATION:
1.Why does the literature of Rome hold a secondary place in the
classic literature of antiquity?

2. Did the way Virgil spend his childhood probably have an effect
on the quality of his works? Why do you say so

3 Does his mastery of the language he used dictate his success?

4. Why do you suppose Virgil selected Aeneas, a Trojan, to be

the hero of his epic?

5. Did the Greek warriors show great courage in getting into the
Trojan horse? Why do you say so?

Identifying and using Reflexive and intensive Pronouns

Reflexive and intensive Pronouns have the same form, which can cause confusion. Is
defined as a pronoun that ends in self or selves and places emphasis on its antecedent by
referring back to another noun or pronoun used earlier in the sentence. For this reason, intensive
pronouns are sometimes called emphatic pronouns.
 Intensive Pronouns usually follow the subject or object, which they emphasize. Since they are
used for emphasis, they may be removed from the sentence.

The following list contains the most commonly used examples of intensive pronouns.
 Himself
 Herself
 Yourself
 Themselves
 Ourselves

Example:
1. Jesse wondered aloud whether he himself was the only seeing what was happened.
2. Maria know the she herself could make positive impact on the world, if only she put her
mind to it.

Reflexive Pronouns act as the object of the verb and are necessary to the sentence.
Reflexive Pronouns is a pronoun that refers to the subject and is necessary to the meaning of the
sentence.
The following list contains the most commonly used examples of Reflexive pronouns.
 Himself
 Herself
 Yourself
 itself
 Yourselves
 Themselves
 Ourselves

Example:
1. Bob enjoyed himself at the gym.
2. The boy kicked himself.
TASK
Identify the underlined word as either a reflexive pronoun or an intensive pronoun.
1. Ben built a boat for himself.
2. My mother bakes our family’s bread herself
3. The Mayor herself appeared at the rally.
4. She made herself coffee.

EVALUATION
Identify the reflexive and intensive pronouns in the sentences. On the lines, write R for reflexive
pronouns and I for intensive pronouns.

_________1. Pallas himself helped the Greeks build a wooden horse.

_________2. I consider myself fortunate to have escaped the sack of Troy.

_________ 3. The Greek soldiers themselves hid inside the wooden horse.

_________ 4. You can choose your fate yourself or one will be selected for you.

_________ 5. Laocoon himself threw a spear at the wooden horse.

__________6. Because he wanted to save his father, Aeneas carried him himself.

__________ 7.The Trojans themselves brought the wooden horse into the city.

___________8. The Greeks saved themselves the trouble of having to attack Troy from Outside
its walls.

___________9.When the people saw the wooden horse, they sang and danced around it.

___________10. The gods have willed it, so do not blame yourself for the fall of Troy.

Carefully read the poaragraph next to the last in the selection from
Virgil. Suppose that the heavy wooden horse was dropped and split
open. Write a short narrative on what might have happened and how
Troy might have been saved. Use retlexive and intensive pronouns to

highlight important points in your narrative.

References:
ECAS 10 pages 2-7

ECAS 10 pages 9-11

ECAS 10 pages 12-15

ECAS 10 page 17-23

ECAS 10 pages 24-33

ECAS 10 pages 35-44

ECAS 10 pages 46-52

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