Flashback and Point of View in the Odyssey
Books II - VIII of The Odyssey
Reading all 24 books of the The Odyssey would likely take you many months. Some scholars devote their entire lives to the examination of this work because of its importance to the study of classical Greece. Because of this, you will read only excerpts from the epic. In this interactivity, find out what happens in Books II through VIII. Click on each of the tabs to learn about the content of each book, and prepare yourself to read Book IX. Click the player button to begin
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Flashback in The Odyssey
Flashback is a popular story-telling technique used by writers. With flashback, the story is interrupted and the reader is taken back into the past. In other words, the story is not told in chronological order; events are told out of order. A writer often uses flashback to provide important exposition, or background information, for the reader to better understand the story. In The Odyssey, Homer uses flashback to tell the reader of most of Odysseus' adventures. Since the epic begins in medias res, or in the middle, Homer has to go back and fill in the background for his audience.
Book 9 of The Odyssey
Now, read Book IX of The Odyssey by Homer. Make sure to use your active reading strategies with any unfamiliar vocabulary words. While you read, take specific notes about the different events that Odysseus encounters after he leaves Troy. Does the way in which the story is being told change now that Odysseus is telling it in flashback?
Point of View
In your study of short stories, you learned about the different points of view that authors use to tell their stories. Sometimes the author will use a narrator who is a character in the story. Other times the narrator will be someone removed from the story. One of the most interesting things about The Odyssey is that the point of view changes. In the first eight books of the epic, the narrator is third-person omniscient. In Book IX, the point of view switches to the first person because Odysseus recounts some of his adventures after the Trojan War. You should take a few moments to consider how a story may be different depending on who is telling it. Do you think Odysseus would be tempted to make his exploits seems a little grander or describe himself as a stronger or smarter person?
Flashback and Point of View in The Odyssey Review
Review your knowledge of flashback and point of view in The Odyssey in this non-graded activity. Read the directions associated with each question and select the correct answer or answers. Then, click SUBMIT to check your responses. Click the player button to get started.