Friday, February 24, 2012

Poetic Studies Lesson 3 Part C: Ambiguous Subjects


Lesson Three C: Ambiguous Subjects

Materials needed: With Rough Gods

Read the following information and the poems and Dramatis Personae (Glossary) entries referenced within and answer the following questions:

Most of the poems in With Rough Gods consist of specific situations, referenced in Greek Mythology. However, in "Homer & Calliope" (1), "Chiron & Asclepius" (10), "Odysseus & Circe" (49), "Deucalion & Pyrrha" (55), "Baucis & Philemon" (58), and "Pyramus & Thisbe" (59) the poems are more-or-less separated from the assumed subject matter of their characters.

7: In "Homer & Calliope" (1), Homer doesn't address Calliope at all, but "Spring, the bringer of strife." Traditionally, however, epic poems began with a proem addressing Calliope, the muse of epic verse. Does this poem serve the same purpose? How is it effective or ineffective? What does this mean with regards to With Rough Gods as a whole?

8: What about these poems is created, influenced, or enhanced by their titles? What other titles could you give them? Justify your answers.

9: Do you find these poems more or less effective than the "more direct" poems in With Rough Gods? Why?

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