All 98 entries tagged Epic Tradition

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June 08, 2008

two parties

two parties, one Greek and the other Trojan,/both fighting for Helen (2.XX.ii).

One of the frequent allusions to the Trojan War, with 'Helen' here both evoking Helen of Troy and referring to St Lucia.


Amanda Hopkins : 08 Jun 2008 12:31 |  Tags:            |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

June 07, 2008

recognition

recognition (3.XXXII.i).

Recognition is a key theme of Homer’s Odyssey.


Amanda Hopkins : 07 Jun 2008 11:38 |  Tags:    |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

she fought her memory

she fought her//memory (3.XXXII.i).

Memory is a key element of classical epic, since the poems are intended as commemorations of past figures and events. In Omeros, characters, such as Achille and Dennis Plunkett, have a longing for communion with the past. Memory brings in the theme of nostalgia and the journey that the characters take in order to find their identity and feeling of home. Memory is also important in the Odyssey, and the loss of it threatens Odysseus from returning home.


Amanda Hopkins : 07 Jun 2008 09:18 |  Tags:             |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

June 06, 2008

Charing Cross

Charing Cross (1.XXXVIII.i).

Charing Cross is an interesting choice of underground station. For one, it is close to both Trafalgar Square (a symbol of England's old empire and its nationalism) and the National Gallery (which houses many great works of art from the history of the Western world), which the narrator goes on to visit. The underground system itself fits with the feeling of the chapter that London, whilst having a gorgeous, historical exterior, has a dirtier, polluted underbelly. Also, it means that the narrator must emerge into the light from underground which has many symbolic possibilities.


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jun 2008 15:15 |  Tags:           |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

June 05, 2008

archipelago

archipelago (3.XXXI.iii).

The word has two meanings:  1. a sea, or large expanse of water, in which there are many islands, and, by extension, a group or chain of islands; 2. the Ægean Sea (Bib:OED). The second meaning continues to link the poem to the Epic Tradition.


Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 15:49 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

sibyl

sibyl (2.XX.ii &c.).

Alternative spelling of sybil (q.v.); both variants are used in Omeros.


Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 15:20 |  Tags:   |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

black dog heel

The black dog did dog-dances//around him, yapping, crouching, entangling his heel (3.XXXI.ii).

One of several references to Achille’s heel. In the classical tradition, Achilles’ heel was often cited as the most vulnerable area of his body, and it was sometimes said that he died when it was wounded. The legend goes that Achilles’ goddess mother Thetis, afraid of losing her child to mortal death, dipped him in the River Styx when he was just a child. This rendered his body totally invulnerable, except a spot on his heel where Thetis had held him (Bib:23).


Amanda Hopkins : 05 Jun 2008 08:41 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

May 21, 2008

epic to epigram

a lost love narrowed from epic to epigram (4.XXXIV.i).

Perhaps a reference to the Great Plains and the Native Americans who populated them. The mid-nineteenth century acceleration of American expansion has effectively destroyed the epic landscape and Native American way of life – all that is left is a verse on a tombstone. Ironically, an epigram is typically witty, and is therefore an unsuitable legacy of the genocide of the Native American race.


Amanda Hopkins : 21 May 2008 14:16 |  Tags:             |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

July 09, 2007

laurel

laurel (7.LXIII.iii).

In classical times, a wreath of laurel was traditionally awarded as a token of victory or preeminence (Bib:COD). Here, in the phrase 'no other laurel but the laurier-cannelle's', Walcott suggests the victory of the native/natural elements of St Lucia. Laurel is also known as bay (Bib:OED) and sacred to Apollo (Bib:9), cf. various references to laurel trees and garlands in the Aeneid, e.g.: a laurel stands near the altar in Troy (3:667-9); the winners in the funeral games of Anchises are crowned with laurel (5:319, 694-5); Latinus' people, the Laurentines, are named for the laurel tree in the palace, which is dedicated to Apollo, and it is here that the first omen of Aeneas' arrival takes place (7:78-93).


Amanda Hopkins : 09 Jul 2007 16:10 |  Tags:     |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

hyphen stitched

her hyphen stitched its seam (7.LXIII.iii).

An idea common in epic texts, for example Penelope stitching her tapestry (The Odyssey) and Helen weaving her web (The Iliad). The creation of art by the characters parallels the creation of the text by Walcott. Here, the stitcher is the sea-swift, crossing the seas; the bird is presented as a 'hyphen' linking the continents, one of a variety of metaphorical references linking natural images with the practicalities of language, writing and typesetting used by Walcott (cf. e.g. 'asterisks of rain', 7.LXIV.i, and 'freshly written in sheets of exploding surf', 1.59.i).


Amanda Hopkins : 09 Jul 2007 16:07 |  Tags:          |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

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