INSTRUCTIONS
* ALTERNATE ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES
A literary handbook and a glossary of literary terms give the following definitions:
Theme: The central or dominating idea in a literary work….. In POETRY, FICTION and DRAMA it is the abstract concept which is made concrete through its representation in person, action, and IMAGE in the work. (Thrall and Hibbard, 486).
Motif is a term now applied to a frequently recurrent character, incident or concept in folklore or in literature. (Abrams, 51)
Write an essay (4 pages, double spaced, 11 or 12 point), on what you consider to be the major theme in the Odyssey of Homer and Inferno of Dante. Describe how this theme is introduced, developed and expressed and then pronounce an opinion, in conclusion, about how successful the authors were in putting it across.
Include in your essay a reference to at least one motif in each work, showing how it supports what you regard as the theme.
As an example: in the Odyssey a clear motif would seem to be the ever present watchfulness and intercession of the gods; for instance Athena in lives of those she especially loves: Odysseus and Telemachus.
In the Inferno, a constant motif might be the (need for) the help and company of a guide or mentor: Virgil, in Dante’s wanderings in the Underworld—to keep him from straying too far from his original purpose…
Works Cited:
Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Based on an earlier book (1941) by Dan S. Norton and Peters Rushton. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1957.
Thrall, William Flint and Addison Hibbard. A Handbook to Literature. Rev. and enlarged C. Hugh Holman. New York: Odyssey Press, 1960.
