
A Homeric Simile is an elaborate comparison developed over several lines, between something strange or unfamiliar to the audience to something more familiar to them. Identifying Homeric Similes. Using the chart below, identify the two things, one familiar and one unfamiliar, that Homer compares in each extended simile. The Odyssey: Homeric Similes
What are some epic similes in the Odyssey?
Feb 12, 2020 · A Homeric (or epic) simile is an elaborate comparison, developed over several lines between something strange or unfamiliar to the audience and something more familiar to them. For example, Homer compares the Cyclops eating the men to a “mountain lion devouring its prey, bones and all.” What is a simile in the Odyssey?
What are some examples of Homeric similes?
Jan 28, 2020 · Homeric simile, also called an epic simile is a detailed comparison in the form of a simile that is many lines in length. The word "Homeric" is based on the Greek author, Homer, who composed the two famous Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Many authors continue to use this type of simile in their writings.
Did Homer really write the Iliad and the Odyssey?
5 rows · Apr 24, 2020 · The Odyssey THE ODYSSEY, Book 5, Homeric Similes “A man surf-casting on a point of rock / ...
What are epic similes in book 21 of the Odyssey?
Mar 08, 2022 · Homeric simile is named after the author of the "Odyssey." Similes are comparisons of two things. It is a figure of speech used often in literature to add ornamentation to the more direct sentences of everyday speech. The simile links the target with what it is being compared to using words such as “as,” “like” and “than.”

What is a Homeric simile in The Odyssey Book 9?
Epic simile: "I drove my weight on it from above and bored it home as a shipwright bores his beam with a shipwrights drill that men below, whipping the strap back and forth, whirl and the drill keeps twisting faster, never stopping" (10.427-432).
Where are the epic similes in The Odyssey?
List of Epic Similes in The Odyssey. Similes are found throughout The Odyssey. Some are seen in the battle of the cyclops, others on the island of the Laestrygonians, and some in the despair of Penelope, Odysseus' wife, as she struggles to contain the suitors wanting her hand in marriage.Mar 21, 2022
Which is the best example of a Homeric simile?
“It's crackling roots blazed and hissed – as a blacksmith plunges a glowing ax or adze in an ice-cold bath and the metal screeches steam and its temper hardens – that's the iron's strength – so the eye of Cyclops sizzled round that stake.”Jan 4, 2012
What are two epic similes in The Odyssey?
Epic Simile: “The attackers struck like eagles, crook-clawed, hook-beaked, swooping down from a mountain ridge to harry smaller birds that skim across the flatland cringing under the clouds but the eagles plunge in fury, rip their lives out–hopeless, never a chance of flight or rescue–and people love the sport– so the ...Jun 6, 2009
What are Homeric or epic similes?
epic simile, also called Homeric simile, an extended simile often running to several lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration.
What are some similes in The Odyssey?
Simile Examples in The Odyssey:Book I. 🔒 1. "she flew away like a bird..." ... Book V. 🔒 1. "rising like a shield on the horizon..." ... Book VI. 🔒 2. "He looked like some lion..." ... Book IX. 🔒 1. "a hole in a ship's plank..." ... Book X. 🔒 1. "as calves break out and gambol round their mothers..." ... Book XI. 🔒 1. ... Book XVI. 🔒 1. ... Book XIX. 🔒 2.More items...
What is the Homeric simile in the test of the great bow?
Homeric simile-Like a musician, like a harper, when with a quiet hand upon his instrument he draws his thumb and forefinger a sweet new string upon a peg:so effortlessly Odysseus in one motion strung the bow.
What is an epic simile in the Odyssey Book 10?
Epic Simile- In Book 10 of The Odyssey, Odysseus' land on Circe's island. On that island Odysseus men encounter wolves and mountain lions who behave like domestic dogs. This is one of the many epic similes of The Odyssey.
What is an epic simile in the Odyssey Book 6?
Homeric Simile "And out he stalked as a mountain lion exultant in his power stride through the wind and rain and and his eyes blaze as he charges sheep or oxen or chases wild deer but his hunger drives him on to go for flocks even to raid the best-defended homestead."
What is an epic simile in The Odyssey Part 1?
Epic Simile. The following example of an epic simile comes from Homer's The Odyssey, as translated by Robert Fitzgerald. The simile is an extended comparison between the way the sea pulls Odysseus out of the rocks and the way a fisherman pulls an octopus out of its lair.
What Homeric simile is used to describe the cries of Odysseus and Telemachus?
To what are Odysseus' and Telemachus' cries compared in the epic simile in lines 1063-1065? The cries of Odysseus and Telemachus are compared to those of a hawk that has lost its nestlings to a farmer.
What is an epic simile in The Odyssey Book 5?
"A man surf-casting on a point of rock / for bass or mackerel, whipping his long rod / to drop the singer and the beat far out, / will hook of fish and rip it from the surface / to dangle wriggling through the air: so these /were borne aloft in spasms toward the cliff."
What is an epic simile example?
Following are examples of epic similes in The Odyssey. Epic Simile: “…its crackling roots blazed and hissed – as a blacksmith plunges a glowing ax or adze in an ice-cold bath and the metal screeches steam and its temper hardens – that's the iron's strength – so the eye of Cyclops sizzled round that stake.”
What is an example a simile?
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things in an interesting way. An example of a simile is: She is as innocent as an angel. An example of a metaphor is: She is an angel.
What is a reverse simile?
Foley. These "reverse similes," as I shall call them, seem to suggest. both a sense of identity between people in different social and sexual. roles and a loss of stability, an inversion of the normal.
What is an extended simile poem?
Extended Simile. A simile that extends several lines or even the full length of the poem that expresses the author's feeling and thoughts to the audience.
How long is an epic simile?
The epic simile is a figurative device first popularized by Homer in his epics. It is a comparison that may be as long as a dozen lines.
What do you understand by Homeric simile?
Homeric simile, also called an epic simile is a detailed comparison in the form of a simile that is many lines in length. The word "Homeric" is based on the Greek author, Homer, who composed the two famous Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Many authors continue to use this type of simile in their writings.
What is an epic simile in the Iliad?
As we have seen in this lesson, an epic simile is an extended simile that compares similar objects using 'like' or 'as' over several lines. Because epic poems were originally shared orally, The Iliad uses the epic simile to help enhance visualization of the reader or listener.
What is Homer's simile?
However, Homer's similes emphasize the ceremonial nature of the epic and the universal significance of the story by using references from everyday areas of human life. So striking is his use of epic similes that they are often referred to as Homeric similes.
What book does Odysseus tell the story of how he blinded the Cyclops
After festivities at the palace of Alcinous in Book 9 , Odysseus tells the story of how he blinded the Cyclops. Homer compares the sound that the pierced eye made to the sound of cooling a new-made weapon in water: "As a blacksmith plunges an axe or hatchet into cold water to temper it -- for it is this that gives strength to the iron -- and it makes a great hiss as he does so, even thus did the Cyclops' eye hiss round the beam of olive wood." Here, Homer can show off his mixed-bag knowledge of trades.
What happened in Book 4 of The Odyssey?
In Book 4 of "The Odyssey," the suitors who have been occupying Odysseus’ house during his absence learn of Telemachus’ voyage, and they prepare an ambush for his return. A servant overhears their plans and tells them to Penelope. She becomes so sick with worry about the fate of her son that her mind turns wildly until she exhausts herself: "Like a lioness caught in the toils with huntsmen hemming her in on every side she thought and thought till she sank into a slumber, and lay on her bed bereft of thought and motion." Homer is comparing Penelope's frenetic thoughts to those of a lion surrounded by hunters.
Where is Emily Valentine?
Based in Montreal, Emily Valentine has been editing academic papers and writing short stories since 2001. She is a contributing writer to Synonym.com, and various other websites. She holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Toronto.
