The narrator

When we read The Canterbury Tales, we often focus on the outrageous characters that Chaucer has created.  But we do not hear directly from them: there's an intermediary--the narrator--who first reports on what they look and sound like and who, later, is responsible for transmitting the pilgrims' tales to us.  What do you make of this narrator?  Where does he fit into the social scheme of the "General Prologue."  And how does he operate as a narrator--as an observer and recorder?  Do we have any reason to be concerned about the authenticity of his records?  And what do you think of his perspective?

Class and Rank and Social Positioning

Chaucer's pilgrims are a motley crew, coming from a number of ranks in medieval society.  If you select this line of discussion, I'd like you to comment on how Chaucer suggests rank (or how the pilgrims themselves suggest their social position).  How do you know who is high and who low?  Who's a poser and who's the real thing?  Alternatively, you may comment more broadly on the social vision that you see at work so far in The Canterbury Tales.

Attire

In the "General Prologue," Chaucer's narrator is very concerned with what his pilgrims are wearing.  Select one pilgrim (or maybe for the sake of contrast two), and discuss in a short post how the pilgrim is dressed and what, in turn, attire tells about this character.  Alternatively, you might speak broadly about the role of clothing in the "GP."

Excellent Dante Site

http://www.worldofdante.org/

  

http://www.skidmore.edu/academics/classics/courses/metrica/traditio.html 

We'll be speaking on Friday about the metrical structure (read: organization of syllables) of the Homeric epics.  They are written in a meter called "dactylic hexameter."  I'll be offering a thorough explanation of what this odd sounding phrase means on Friday, but I wanted to offer the above link for those of you who are either 1. interested in the issue prior to class or 2. want to remind yourself what it means later in the semester.  

Odyssey: from Odysseus' Journey to an Epic Word

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary ( http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=odyssey ) the word odyssey in its current use of "long, adventurous journey" in 1889. The word that refers to Odysseus' journey has now become a word to define an epic journey. For instance the book/film 2001: A Space Odyssey uses odyssey in it title because the odyssey has been transformed just being the epic journey of Odyssey to a word that define an epic adventure. 2001: A Space Odyssey is just one small example of how this classic book has shaped even our classics. How else has the Odyssey shaped our Western culture?

Italo Calvino on "The Classics"

The Italian journalist, critic, and fiction writer Italo Calvino wrote a famous essay called "Why Read the Classics."  In it, Calvino offers a number of pithy observations about why read and what it means to read books that have been dubbed "classics" by past generations.  Here are few examples:
--"Every reading of a classic is in fact a rereading."
--"A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say."
A longer list of snippets from the essay can be found here:
http://des.emory.edu/mfp/calvino/calclassics.html

In comments for this thread, I'd like to hear you reflect on what you think a "classic" IS or SHOULD BE.  If you don't much like the term, tell us why.  I'm also interested in hearing responses to Calvino's claims.  Do most people arrive at some (if not, all) of the classics already knowing the story (thus making even the first reading something like re-reading)?  Is the sense of inexhaustiblity central to your understanding of a "classic"?

Initial Impressions: Athena, Penelope, Telemachus

I'd like to use this thread to discuss your initial impressions of three characters: Athena, Penelope, and Telemachus.  How does Homer present them?  What does he emphasize about them?  I recognize that we discussed these matters already briefly in class, but there is more surely to say.  Consider, for example, their handling (or lack thereof) of the suitors?  What seems to be the text's attitude toward these characters? Are they presented in a way that is sympathetic?

Imagining Homer

We'll talk next week about the composition of The Odyssey and the meaning of historical discoveries and linguistic theories for the question of the epic poem's authorship.  For now, though, I want you to reflect on conventions that have developed in the depiction of the blind bard named Homer.  After reviewing the images that I've posted below, reflect on what these images tell us about the conception of Homer (who is he, what is like, what is valuable for) that lies behind the artistic rendering of him.  What do you think about this conception?  Does it suit the book you've been reading?

The famous marble bust of Homer held by the British Museum (made by a Roman artist):

More information here: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/gr/m/marble_portrait_bust_of_homer.aspx

An outdoor bronze statue of the blind poet and his student guide at the University of Virginia:

And Rembrandt's "Aristotle with a Bust of Homer":

More information is available here:http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/110001844