Similes in the Odyssey: Books 5-7

The first 200 words of this essay...

Written hundreds of centuries ago, The Odyssey is perhaps the earliest piece of western literature in existence. In order to set a trend and to involve the audience, the writer; Homer, uses a range of literary techniques, including metaphors, imagery, long winded speeches and trials and tests of various characters. But the most effective device used by Homer is without doubt the simile.

At the start of Book 5, Homer compares the journey of Hermes; the messenger of the Gods, to a "shearwater/who along the deadly deep ways of the barren salt sea/goes hunting fish and sprays quick-beating wings in the salt brine". In this simile, Hermes is compared to a shearwater, and the hunting of fish is a reference to the news he will deliver to Kalypso. The fact that the fish have no control over their destiny runs in parallel with the destiny of Kalypso, who is forced to hand over the man she loves due to the will of the Olympians, not her own. This would have helped the Greek audiences understand the fate of Kalypso, by comparing it to a common image many of the Greeks would have witnessed.

Homer also uses