The Odyssey

Few works are as important to the history of literature as Homer’s Odyssey, the sequel to his equally influential epic poem The Iliad. These works are the crown jewels of ancient Greek literature; they influenced both the writings and the values of the “classical” cultures of the Greeks and Romans. But The Odyssey, in particular, had a wide appeal not only for classical readers and writers but also for people in later cultures as well, right down to the present day. With its emphasis on strange adventures, personal challenges, and the celebration of enduring marital love, The Odyssey remains perhaps the more appealing of Homer’s two poems – the one to which more people can readily relate. This volume explores the themes, structure, artistry, influence, and critical reception of one of the most important works ever composed.

Critical Insights: The Odyssey, discusses many elements about The Odyssey, the sequel to Homer’s equally influential poem The Iliad. This volume explores the themes, structure, artistry, influence, and critical reception of one of the most important works ever composed.

This volume, like all the others in the Critical Insights series, is divided into several parts: two preliminary essays, four Critical Contexts essays, at least ten Critical Readings, and a selection of Resources.

The opening piece in the present book is an interview with Barry Powell, a major translator of Homer’s Odyssey. While this poem has been translated a multitude of times and ways, this volume heavily emphasizes the issue of such. This interview is followed by a biography of Homer, written by Editor Robert C. Evans.

The Critical Contexts section includes four comprehensive essays to enrich the reader with a deeper view. The first, “The Renaissance Reception of Homer’s Odyssey: A Review Essay,” by Joyce Ahn, examines how The Odyssey was interpreted during the “Renaissance” or “Early Modern” period. The second essay, “Modern Translations of Homer’s Odyssey: A Survey of Introductions, Forewords, and Afterwords,” by Robert C. Evans, provides an overview of criticism. “Son of Pain: Trauma in the Odyssey,” by Nicolas Tredell is the third, which examines Homer’s poem in light of modern “trauma theory.” Finally, the fourth essay, “The Odyssey and Paradise Lost,” by Bruce Louden, involves comparison and contrast of the...