Compare and Contrast: Odysseus’s Rhetoricals
There are many different examples of Greek epic poetry, one of the most notable being “The Odyssey”, attributed to Homer. The epic hero of this poem is Odysseus, who has all of the characteristics of an epic hero, such as being of great national importance and being a strong male warrior. He is also able to deliver great rhetorics, or formal speeches. In “The Odyssey”, Odysseus gives two very different yet somewhat similar rhetorics in “Sailing from Troy” and “The Cyclops”. In contrast, these two rhetorics differ as they provide different amounts of information and show different levels of trust towards the target, treat the target of the rhetoric differently, and have different purposes, but by comparison, …show more content…
Meanwhile, in “The Cyclops”, Odysseus treats the Cyclops as inferior and uncivilized. This can be seen through Odysseus’s lack of trust towards him, as well as lines 211-213, where the text says “... here we stand, beholden for your help, or any gifts you give- as custom is to honor strangers”. Here, Odysseus seems to be teaching the Cyclops proper or civil ways, showing Odysseus deems him as uncivilized and ignorant. Finally, the purposes of these rhetorics are very different. To begin, the purpose of the rhetoric in “Sailing from Troy” is to get respect from Alcinous, the target of the rhetoric. This can be seen in lines 18-20, where the text states “Men hold me formidable for guile in peace and war: this fame has gone abroad to the sky’s rim”. This shows that Odysseus wants Alcinous to respect him for his great trickery, and the fame and praise he has received as a result. This rhetoric was also given as a response to a fairly posed question, which contributes to how Odysseus phrases his speech. Conversely, the purpose of the rhetoric from “The Cyclops” is to help him and his men escape. Odysseus tries to achieve this
There are many different examples of Greek epic poetry, one of the most notable being “The Odyssey”, attributed to Homer. The epic hero of this poem is Odysseus, who has all of the characteristics of an epic hero, such as being of great national importance and being a strong male warrior. He is also able to deliver great rhetorics, or formal speeches. In “The Odyssey”, Odysseus gives two very different yet somewhat similar rhetorics in “Sailing from Troy” and “The Cyclops”. In contrast, these two rhetorics differ as they provide different amounts of information and show different levels of trust towards the target, treat the target of the rhetoric differently, and have different purposes, but by comparison, …show more content…
Meanwhile, in “The Cyclops”, Odysseus treats the Cyclops as inferior and uncivilized. This can be seen through Odysseus’s lack of trust towards him, as well as lines 211-213, where the text says “... here we stand, beholden for your help, or any gifts you give- as custom is to honor strangers”. Here, Odysseus seems to be teaching the Cyclops proper or civil ways, showing Odysseus deems him as uncivilized and ignorant. Finally, the purposes of these rhetorics are very different. To begin, the purpose of the rhetoric in “Sailing from Troy” is to get respect from Alcinous, the target of the rhetoric. This can be seen in lines 18-20, where the text states “Men hold me formidable for guile in peace and war: this fame has gone abroad to the sky’s rim”. This shows that Odysseus wants Alcinous to respect him for his great trickery, and the fame and praise he has received as a result. This rhetoric was also given as a response to a fairly posed question, which contributes to how Odysseus phrases his speech. Conversely, the purpose of the rhetoric from “The Cyclops” is to help him and his men escape. Odysseus tries to achieve this