Analysis of Similes in the Illiad
In the Iliad, Homer finds a great tool in the simile. Just by opening the book in a random place the reader is undoubtedly faced with one, or within a few pages. Homer seems to use everyday activities, at least for the audience, his fellow Greeks, in these similes nearly exclusively. When one is confronted with a situation that is familiar, one is more likely to put aside contemplating the topic and simply inject those known feelings. This would definitely be an effective tactic when used upon the people of Homer's day. From the heroic efforts in the Iliad itself it is clear that the populace of his time were highly emotional creatures, and higher brain activity seems to be in short, and in Odysseus' case, valuable, order. It is also wise to remember that history is written by the winners. In the Iliad, there seems to be relatively little storyline from the Trojan's side. We are regaled with story upon story of the Greeks, their heroes, and their exploits, while the Trojan's are conspicuously quiet, sans Hector of course. It could almost be assumed that throughout time most of the knowledge of the battle from the Trojan side had been lost.
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Some common words found in the essay are:
King Agamemnon, Iliad Homer, Polypoetes Leonteus, Trojan Greek, Shortly Agamemnon, Book Five, Simoeisius Ajax, Five Diomedes, Six Paris, Ten Nestor, greek army, bunched knots, consistently portrayed, hollow cave, animals book, frightened fawns, using similes, polypoetes leonteus, evidence homer, tree wood,
Approximate Word count = 2011
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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