The Iliad – Essay Prompts



The Iliad – Essay Prompts

Your essay of 3 pages is due on Tuesday, December 3, 2012. You should submit a hard copy to me during class on that day plus use no later than midnight on December 3. The paper must follow MLA style and be in 12 point Times New Roman. You must make specific references to the text.

Option 1 – Using Aristotle’s Conception of the Tragic Hero, prove that Achilles fulfills his role in this epic as the hero. Use specific instances in the books that we have read.

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a good man of high status who displays a tragic flaw (pride or anger) and experiences a dramatic reversal (change in behavior – could be Achilles’ refusal to fight or his ruthlessness later in the epic) as well as an intense moment of recognition (Book 24).

For more information, go here…



Option 2 – The Greeks in their philosophy, literature, art, and architecture believed in the concept of maintaining balance. The plot of The Iliad hinges on a lack of balance (between Achilles and Agamemnon? Between Troy and the Greeks? Between mortals and gods?). In your essay, examine how and why Homer manipulates this concept of balance.

Option 3 - Homer balances the greatness of Achilles and Hector.  Despite it being a Greek epic, the reader has equal (almost greater) respect for the Trojan hero. Prove that Hector is a hero in his own right.

Option 4 – Anger is a major theme in the epic. Discuss how Homer develops this theme. Which characters exemplify anger? How and why do these characters change? What lessons do they learn? What is Homer’s point about anger?

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download