I knew it would be hard, but I didn’t know it would be this hard. I kicked the leaves in front of me as I walked the familiar paths that encircled the neighborhood where I used to live. My iced fingers fisted inside wool pockets as a crisp autumn wind passed over me. The air…
Author: Bex
Blindness in Oedipus the King
The exchange between Oedipus and Tiresias in lines 299-462 of Oedipus the King reveals several comparisons that center on a theme of blindness. It is evident in the world and also through the text that there can be varying degrees of blindness, or visual impairment. Words to describe one’s vision often involve ideas of light,…
Disguise and Identity in The Odyssey
Throughout the numerous adventures annotated in Homer’s The Odyssey, one theme pertaining to the main character and hero, Odysseus, stands out prominently within the text. It is the concept of disguise, a feature that marks Odysseus’ famous journey from Kalypso’s island all the way to the last moment of his homecoming. This theme is driven…
A Quick Thought about Hesiod’s Works and Days
In the leading paragraphs of Hesiod’s Works and Days, the author presents a situation of discord within his family; a conflict between himself (Hesiod) and his brother, Perses. By opening the narrative for the audience in medias res, Hesiod indicates that both parties have already spent a considerable amount of time justifying their arguments. While…
Symbolism in Oedipus the King
With an applause, the satisfied viewers steadily rose to their feet and turned toward the great stone doorways at the Theater of Dionysus. The rumble of voices grew louder as the crowd’s thoughts shifted from their inward pensiveness toward outward discussion. “Oh the wretched manner in which he suffered!” One Athenian would say. “The fates…
Hand, Why Do you Tremble?
Hand, why do you tremble?Why do you draw back, hesitate?For months you have assembledThis jigsaw of truth. Piece by piece.Can’t you lay them out and place them downBefore those who first evoked such fear?And what of fear? What calls it up? They are not hearers, but sneerers and willFind a way to break apart the…
Perspective in Euripides’ Medea
Throughout the first half of Medea, Euripides presents the audience with an ambiguous understanding of whose actions are justified within the familial dispute between Medea and Jason. While the chorus agrees that Jason was wrong in his action toward his family, the nurse’s concern about Medea’s emotional stability—“her savage mood and the willful ways of…
Coming-of-Age in The Odyssey of Homer, Book I
In the first book of Homer’s The Odyssey, it is evident to the audience that Telemachos, the son of Odysseus, does not embody the necessary characteristics of a man—courage, fierceness, and strength to stand against the impostors in his home. He lacks even the strength to stand up to his own mother, aspects which all…
My Ghost Opens the Gate
My ghost opens the gateAnd I walk through.I glance up and smile,“That’s very kind of you.” He leads me down a hallErected in my past;Dark then eerie light,We reach the end at last. There’s a thick closed door,And I jiggle the knob.“It’s open!” I start,And he gives me a nod. I turn it real quickLike…
To My Family
Won’t you speak to me?You didn’t speak to us.I couldn’t then, can’t you see?You’ve changed too much.We cannot speak. No, I haven’t changed at all.All I am is all I’ve been.All I want is all I wanted —To talk of more than just what’s wrong With me, with others, or with my God;To feel refreshed…