Comparison Studies Lesson 1: Informational Mythology

Lesson One: Informational Mythology

Materials needed: With Rough Gods and access to Wikipedia.

Read and paraphrase the poems "Semele & Zeus" (13), "Ariadne & Dionysus" (28), and "Tiresias & Oedipus" (37) from With Rough Gods.

Read and paraphrase the Dramatis Personae (glossary) entries for Zeus (79), Dionysus (67), and Tiresias (78) from With Rough Gods.

Read and briefly summarize the Wikipedia entries for Zeus, Dionysus, and Tiresias.

Answer the following questions:

1: What aspects of the mythological characters are focused on in Palmer's Dramatis Personae (glossary) entries? How do these aspects relate to the encyclopedic Wikipedia entries?

2: How do these specific aspects work to enhance the meaning of the poems in which these characters appear?

3: If you were writing the Dramatis Personae (glossary) section of With Rough Gods, what information would you include about these three mythological characters that Palmer did not include? What would be your justification?

Comparison Studies Lesson 2: Extending Lesson 1

Lesson Two: Extending Lesson One: Informational Mythology

Materials needed: With Rough Gods and access to Wikipedia and other linked documents.
Optional materials: Mythology by Edith Hamilton and/or Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin,

Repeat the steps for Lesson One: Informational Mythology with any poem from With Rough Gods, looking up both mythological characters in the Dramatis Personae (glossary) section and also on Wikipedia and then answering questions 1, 2, and 3.

Optional: Instead of using the Wikipedia entries, read the characters' stories in Evslin or Hamilton's books.

Comparison Studies Lesson 3: Glossary Weight

Lesson Three: Glossary Weight

Materials needed: With Rough Gods


Read the following information and the relevant poems and Dramatis Personae (Glossary) entries:

Apollo appears in four poems: "Apollo & Dionysus" (15), "Apollo & Eros" (16), "Apollo & Daphne" (17), and "Apollo & Amalthea" (18) yet the Dramatis Personae (Glossary) entry for Apollo (63) is only three lines long. The Dramatis Personae (Glossary) entry for Zeus is (79) is slightly longer at four lines, though Zeus appears only in three poems: "Cronus & Zeus" (5), "Semele & Zeus" (13), and "Danaë & Zeus" (33). Conversely, Tiresias (78), whose Dramatis Personae (Glossary) entry is 14 lines long appears only in two poems: "Tiresias & Oedipus" (37) and "Tiresias & Creon" (38). Helen (69) also has a 14-line Dramatis Personae (Glossary) entry despite only appearing in two poems: "Helen & Paris" (45) and "Helen & Menelaus" (52).

Answer the following questions:

1: What does the apparent emphasis on humanity over deities, at least in the Dramatis Personae (Glossary) section, say about With Rough Gods as a book about or based upon Greek mythology?

2: Does this apparent emphasis hold true for the entire Dramatis Personae (Glossary) section? For the entire book? Why or why not?

3: What entries in the Dramatis Personae (Glossary) section would you rewrite? Provide examples of your revisions.