Assignment topic
How are the interactions between Odysseus and Polyphemus depicted in Book 9 of Homer’s Odyssey, lines 252-505, and what does this suggest about these character’s attributes, values, skills and social status in the world of the Odyssey?
Assignment description
This assignment is a 750-word document analysis, which is divided into two parts.
Part a): A 500-word detailed analysis of the interaction between Odysseus and Polyphemus, focusing on what they say to each other, and how they behave. Pay close attention to the textual detail when developing your arguments.
The set lines for your analysis are Homer, Odyssey Book 9.252–505. Please use the Emily Wilson translation, available here
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. (If you prefer to read this document online, it is also accessible through PerusallLinks to an external site.). While this may seem like a lot to read, the Odyssey is epic poetry and so the lines are very short. This episode is full of lively dialogue and dramatic action, so it is also a lot of fun to read. In this scene, Odysseus and his crew have entered the cave of the cyclops Polyphemus uninvited. Once Polyphemus returns home to his cave, the action begins!
Part b): A 250-word summarising evaluation of an academic text. This text, ‘Back in the Cave of the Cyclops’, is available here
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. (Again, if you prefer to read this document online, it is also accessible through Perusall
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).
For Part b) you must identify three key ideas (the scholar’s main arguments), and evaluate their effectiveness at analysing the episode in Polyphemus’s cave. You must make an explicit connection between each key idea you identify and the specific line or lines from the Odyssey that supports this key idea.
Citing the texts, formatting the bibliography
For Part a) 500-word analysis of the passage from the Odyssey.
You will need to provide in-text citations each time you refer to, paraphrase or quote from Homer’s Odyssey. These should be placed at the end of the relevant sentence, and will look like this (a sample sentence and a sample in-text citation):
Odysseus treats the cyclopes badly, blinding him in his only eye (Homer, Odyssey 9.256-60).
For Part b) 250-word summary and evaluation of the academic text.
You do not need to provide citations in Part b). This subject uses Chicago A (footnote style) for academic texts, and you will need to insert footnotes into Assignment 2, the research essay.
You will need to include a bibliography (reference list) that includes both the ancient text (Homer’s Odyssey) and the academic text.
Details on how to format the bibliography will be outlined in seminars, and are also available in the subject’s Style Guide (see the ‘Essay Resources’ page in Modules). The bibliography must be formatted according to Chicago A style. Details of this are also available in the Library’s Re:cite page.
We will be doing a sample document analysis in the Topic 1 seminars that follows the exact method required for this assignment, so you will have a chance to practice this task before you complete the assignment.
There is a 10% leeway up or down on the word count.
Note that the reference list entry is not included in the word count; neither are the in-text citations themselves. Direct quotations are, however, included in the word count and so should be kept to a minimum (paraphrasing of textual evidence is normally preferred).
The document analysis: why you are doing this task
This assignment is an exercise that will help you to develop your analytical and critical thinking skills, through a close reading of an ancient text. For ancient world subjects, reading, comprehending and interpreting texts from the ancient past in an effective and productive manner is vital. This is a skill that can be learnt and developed through tasks such as this document analysis.
You will learn to look closely at the words, the narrative patterns and strategies, the imagery and symbolism and the themes in these ancient texts. You will learn how to consider the texts, and their narrative elements and themes in the wider socio-cultural context of ancient Greece and/or Rome; this is important for determining what these texts can tell us about the ancient world.
You will also learn how to develop academic arguments from your reading of the ancient text, and how to use the text as evidence that supports your arguments. You will learn how to identify the key ideas in a piece of academic scholarship, and how they connect to the ancient text being analysed.
Finally, and possibly even more importantly, you will learn how to develop, clearly express and structure your ideas in written form. This is a skill that is not just relevant to ancient world studies or academia: it is a skill that is vital in the wider world outside of university.
This assignment is aligned with the following Intended Learning Outcomes for this subject:
Demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of ancient Greek and Roman mythical narratives and the primary sources for these narratives
Identify and critically engage with scholarship on classical mythology
The document analysis: what to do
In your critical analysis, consider and analyse how Odysseus and Polyphemus are characterised in this scene. Are they behaving in a manner that would be understood by an ancient Greek audience from the archaic period? Is Odysseus behaving like a standard ancient Greek hero? Is Polyphemus behaving like a standard ancient Greek monster? Are they each adhering to the ritualised forms of xenia? Remember (from Topic 1) that Odysseus is telling this tale to the guests assembled at the feast in King Alcinous’s palace on the island of Phaeacia. Is Odysseus a reliable narrator? Look back to the Topic 1 content for ideas about Odysseus as both hero and storyteller, which will give you some context for this analysis, and content of Topic 3, which provide background to the archaic period in Greece, on ancient Greek thinking about heroes, and on xenia, the ancient Greek concept of guest-friendship.
Note that these are just suggested prompts for your analysis, and you are not expected to include all of these themes in your analysis.
You are not expected to undertake any independent research for this assignment.
An essential first step is to make sure you understand what the question or set topic is asking you to do. Here you are being asked to:
1) critically analyse the episode, and the interaction between Odysseus and Polyphemus – do not rely on merely describing or summarising what they say and do, but look closely at their motivations to discern why each of them behaves in the way that they do, and what the author is hoping to achieve through this scene
2) consider this episode within the wider context of archaic Greece (when the Odyssey was first written down), and the social values and expectations that were present then – the concepts of xenia and heroism, of a civilised world (the Greeks/Greek speakers) verses a barbaric world (non-Greeks/non-Greek speakers), of the dangers of the unknown can all provide a further depth to your analysis (note that you do not need to include ALL of these things, but framing your analysis through one of these themes is advisable)
3) use the textual detail from Homer’s Odyssey as the evidence for your arguments and ideas – you do not need to use the academic text for your analysis in Part a)- this assignment is about your own interpretation of the scene.
4) when referring to the Odyssey, either through paraphrasing or brief direct quotations, you must cite the text properly. In this subject, ancient texts are always given in-text citations, as thus (this is a direct quotation from the text): ‘We were soon at the cave, but did not find/the Cyclops; he was pasturing his flocks’ (Homer, Odyssey 9.216-218). The in-text citation is placed within the sentence of your essay and includes the author’s name (Homer), the name of the text (Odyssey) the book number (9) and the line numbers (216-218).
What is a document analysis? What is a critical analysis?
First, note that this assignment is not a research essay. While your analysis will need to be analytical and suitably argumentative, and fully supported by the textual detail, you are not expected to develop and sustain a full academic argument as in a research essay. The only text you need to read and analyse here is the passage from the Odyssey for Part a), and the academic text for Part b).
Keep these two parts separate, and do not include the academic text in your analysis of the ancient text. No other academic scholarship is needed; no other ancient texts are needed.
If you are familiar with the Odyssey as a text, you may make reference to the wider epic poem, but only if it directly supports a point you are making.
How do I produce an analysis that is critical and not just descriptive?
Rather than just describe how Odysseus and Polyphemus are characterised, how they differ or are similar, and how wider themes play into this characterisation, for a critical analysis you need to analyse the significance (the WHY) of these elements to the episode. Why is Odysseus and his response to the world being portrayed in these ways? How are heroes meant to interact with monsters and behave in new lands? What does it mean if Odysseus acts in unexpected or problematic ways? Why were monsters thought of in the ways this scene indicates, and what might this tell us about ancient Greek thinking? Is it actually clear who is behaving appropriately (in terms of ancient Greek ideals) here? What does it mean that Odysseus is telling these stories to an audience? You do not necessarily have to include all of this thinking in the body of your assignment, but these sorts of questions can provide useful insights for your analysis.
To reiterate, we do not need background or contextual material. Do not simply describe or recount the episodes, or provide explanations of who the characters are, or merely outline what they do and say. Rather than detail what is going on in these passages, you need to consider WHY these things are included in the story. What is significant about how Odysseus treats Polyphemus and how Polyphemus reacts and treats Odysseus and his crew? What does this say about both characters; what does this say about what ancient Greek culture valued or believed in?
Assignment Objectives and Learning Outcomes
The objective of this assignment is to develop your skills at reading an ancient text closely, attending to the stylistic conventions, the imagery and the narrative devices of the author, as well as the characters and episodes from ancient Greek myth. We want to see your analysis of both the story and the way in which it is told, drawn closely from your reading of, and thinking about, the two passages.
The aim here is for you to interact directly with an ancient text, developing a ‘feel’ for how both these texts, and the ancient world in general, differ from our own contemporary world and cultural products. Through this interaction, you will develop skills such as the ability to read a text closely, and interpret the author’s meaning or intention as suggested by the text itself. This is a skill you will carry on into the research essay and the take home exam for this subject, and it is a crucial one for all disciplines that use primary source material (including artefacts, art and other material culture, as well as texts), such as history, geography and literature studies.
Document Analysis Assessment Criteria
Concision: This task tests your ability to provide clear analysis of the material within a very strict word limit.
Prioritising the most important points: This task does not ask you to be comprehensive (to say everything it is possible to say about the specified lines). Rather, you should identify what you think are the main elements in the passage that illustrate the topic of this analysis, and focus on those. Your ability to identify the most significant differences is part of what is being tested in this exercise.
Explicit use of the primary source: Your analysis must directly employ appropriate lines from the set passage to explain and support the points you make. (In many cases, given the word limit, this evidence might be more efficiently paraphrased than given as direct quotations).
Clarity of expression and presentation. As with all assignments for this course, the Document Analysis is an exercise in the clear communication of complex ideas and arguments. These need to be expressed in clear and correct English and presented in a manner that directly conveys your meaning. We recommend a basic essay structure (introduction, body of main points, conclusion). However, given the word limit the introduction can be one/a few sentences stating your contention, and the conclusion can be similarly brief.
Ancient world subjects do not use marking rubrics. While this may make things seem complicated, it allows for a wider range of possible responses to our assignments, in terms of your interpretation and use of the ancient evidence. Some standard expectations do exist, mainly in terms of developing clear and well-supported arguments, the use of correct citation methods, a reference list and appropriate source material, and the structure of your work.
Developing clear and well-supported arguments: the content and the evidence provided
While this is not a research essay, you are still expected to develop an argument around your main idea, and support this with direct reference to the extracts from Homer’s Odyssey. The Odyssey is your evidence: how well you use the evidence to support your arguments is a significant factor in how we assess your work. You must use the text from the passages very directly in support of your arguments, either through paraphrasing or direct quotations of words or short phrases. In a short assignment like this one, avoid long passages of directly quoted text. We need to see your arguments, in your own words.
Structuring the Analysis
Although this is not a research essay, stick to an ‘essay-style’ structure.
For Part a), the 500-word analysis of the passage from Homer’s Odyssey, provide the following: a very brief introduction, your main body paragraphs, a very brief conclusion.
a. Introduction
This should be around 10% of the overall word count. For this assignment, briefly introduce the topic and the thematic focus, and provide a short statement about your main contention.
b. Main body paragraphs
For a short assignment like this one, you still need to organise your main ideas into suitable paragraphs; one paragraph for each main argument you are making. The conventions of research essays—signposting and linking statements to provide cohesion and clarity, for instance—still apply here. Just remember that you only have 500 words to make your case in Part a), so a very close focus on your arguments and the texts is needed. Review and edit for unnecessary or extraneous material and stay on-topic.
c. Conclusion
As with the introduction, this assignment only needs a very brief conclusion: a summation of your main argument, perhaps with some appropriate rhetorical flourish to finish up!
For Part b), a 250-word summarising evaluation of the academic text, provide the following: bullet points identifying the three key ideas you have drawn from the text; a concise and clear evaluation of each of these ideas; an explicit statement about the line or lines in the Odyssey that support each key idea.
Citations and reference list (sometimes called a ‘bibliography’).
For this assignment, your bibliography will include two sub-headings:
Ancient Sources (or primary sources)
List Homer’s Odyssey under this heading.
Academic Sources (or secondary scholarship)
List the academic text under this heading.
One important point to note is that Homer is the author, and the reference list entry must be formatted to indicate this. The translator, while important, is not the author.
