Literary Device of the Week: The Epic

Epic: poetic poem,heroes,heroic, great event etc.

9. Invocation to the muse or other deity.

Examples:

Page 2 Line 45

" Hear me, Silverbow, Protector of Chryse, Lord of Holy Cilla, Master of Tenedos, And Sminthian God of Plague!"

Page 3 Line 82

"Achilles, beloved of Zeus..."

15. Use of patronymics.

Examples:

Page 9 Line 280

"And Aegeus's son,Theseus....."

Page 4 Line 108
"Atreus' son, the warlord Agamenon,..."

Page 3 Line 77

"Calchas,son of Thestor,bird-reader supreme..."

16. Long,formal speeches by important characters.

Examples:

Page 9 Line 269

"It's a sad day for Greece,a sad day.

Priam and Priam's sons would be happy indeed,

And the rest of the Trojans too,glad in their hearts,

If they learned all this about you two fighting,

Our two best men in council and in the battle.

Now you two listen to me,both of you. You are both

Younger than I am, and I've associated with men

Better than you,and they didn't treat me lightly.

I've never seen men like those,and never will,

The likes of Peirithous and Dyras, a shepherd to his people,

Caineus and Exadius and godlike Polyphemus,

And Aegeus' son, Theseus, who could have passed for a god,

The strongest men who ever lived on earth,the strongest,

And they fought with the strongest,with wild things

From the mountains, and beat the daylights out of them.

I was their companion, although I came from Pylos,

From the end of the earth-they sent for me themselves.

And I held my own fighting with them. You couldn't find

A mortal on earth who could fight with them now.

And when I talked in council,they took my advice.

So should you two now: taking advice is a good thing.

Agamenon,for all your nobility,don't take his girl.

Leave her be: the army originally gave her to him as a prize.

Nor should you, son of Peleus,want to lock horns with a king.

A scepter-holding king has honor beyond the rest men,

Power and glory given by Zeus himself.

You are stronger,and it is a goddess who bore you.

But he is more powerful,since he rules over more.

Son of Atreus, cease your anger. And I appeal

Personally to Achilles to control his temper, since he is,

For all Greeks, a mighty bulwark in this evil war."