• Alex came to talk to me about his paper. As we were talking, I realized somethings I've tried to make clear need to be repeated and underlined and emphasized:
• This paper is ALL ABOUT the passage you choose. That passage should be very short, a page at most, maybe 15 lines.
  
• The paper must focus on the passage.
• To do that, at its core, this paper should be a list of things that are in the passage, and each of those things should be Homeric, and each of those things should have a short list of parallels from elsewhere in Homer to show that each is Homeric.
• That list and the short lists that justify each item on that list are the most important thing in this paper.
• That list should take up most or all of the paper.
• If you like, you can even hand it in as a list, like this one that you are reading, with bullet points and sub-bullet points. But the standard format is paragraphs of explanation, and that will be fine too.
• That would be a good paper.
• To make the paper better, you could explain how each item on the list contribute to larger themes in Homer, but very briefly, in one sentence, not a paragraph.
• To make the paper better, you might notice what is NOT in the passage but is in the other parallel passages you cite.
• To make it even better, you might include counter-evidence: parallels that show that HOmer doesn't always do what is done in that passage, or that all authors do it, so it's not particularly Homeric after all, maybe.
  
• Do not write a long introduction that is general and not specific to the passage: just start with a short explanation of where the passage occurs, why it is interesting or significant, what drew you to it and then dive into your list.
• The whole idea behind this paper is to explain what makes Homer Homeric via explication of one passage. It has no further goal, and so you should make your paper do that.
• Amos asks if I have a suggested structure for the essays.
• I have two ideas that I think would work well.
• 1. A traditional paper that starts out "The passage quoted above (put the whole passage on the first page: but it doesn't count for length toward your 4 pages) is Homeric..." Next paragraph "One Homeric aspect is .... We know that is Homeric, because it also occurs at (put in parallels here). This aspect ties in to the major theme of (nobility, guest-friendship, etc.: fill in the blank however you think appropriate) by .... (at most one sentence about this aspect more generally here)." Next paragraph "Another Homeric aspect is ....." Next paragraph "Another HOmeric aspect is ...." End with "Those (number here) aspects of this passage demonstrate that the passage is Homeric. If space allowed, I'd like to further explore ..."
• NOTE WELL: don't use those exact words: it will be a boring paper and won't be in your own words. Rephrase what I said to make it YOUR paper in YOUR words, and more polished.
• 2. A list with bullets:
• Passage: Book X lines xyz-qwe.
• HOmeric traits of passage:
• First aspect
• Parallels to first aspect
• Observations about first aspect
• 2nd aspect
• parallels
• observations
• ...
• Conclusion: those aspects are the aspect of the passage that struck me as typical of Homer. One aspect that seems more unique is .... OR If space allowed, I would explore ...." OR something else that you are interested in and think is connected to your passage.
• NOTE WELL: This list format is best for those of you who have way too much to say and need a way to pack it all in. Those of you who are having a hard time finding enough material to talk about need to pick another passage OR think harder, and probably should not use the list format.
• Julia wants to know if the paper should be written with a thesis?
• The thesis should be "This passage has traits that make it typically and identifiably Homeric" followed by those traits and proof that they are HOmeric.
• If you have some further thesis, great, but do not let it overshadow the thesis above.
• Ethan wants to know if he can use both Iliad and Odyssey for the paper.
• YES, very much so. So glad you asked.
• Griffin wants to know what kind of points he can write about in the paper.
• You can write about phrases and words: it there's an epithet, that's HOmeric. If there is a line that occurs again elsewhere, that's Homeric. If there's an item, say an "ashen spear" or a "scepter that will never grow leaves again," that's Homeric.
• Characters: if there's a character who fits a certain description (there just to die by Achilles' spear: a support character for a main character: a wife: a concubine) and there are others in the epics like them, that's Homeric.
• Types of scenes: when they strip armor, when they eat, when they fight, when they look out over the battlefield, when they greet each other, when they set sail, when they sit down, when they beg for mercy: all of those are Homeric, because they occur more than once, happen a certain way, are described a certain way, have a certain sequence, etc.
• and much more besides.
• Braden wants to know if the paper should have one topic or can he use more thn one Homeric theme.
• IT should focus on one very short passage: at most a page long. Maybe 15 lines.
• So no, it should have several topics, several themes, but all should relate directly to the passage.
• And you should not spend a lot of time talking about those topics or themes. You should identify them and give parallels and spend a sentence at most describing them and how they fit into the epics.
• Another point: here's a recipe for the work needed to do this paper well:
  
• There are four tasks here:
• 1. Pick a passage that suits this assignment, one that has "Homeric" things in it.
• 2. Identify those Homeric things.
• 3. Find other passages that have the same Homeric things.
• 4. Write it. Do this using some of the other passages from #3 as evidence for the claim that each thing in #2 is Homeric and conclude that the passage in #1 is Homeric.
  

MIDTERM QUESTIONS

• Otto asks what exactly we have to know for the short ID's about characters for the midterm.
• I've listed things on the midterm from last year. A Short ID is a standard kind of question on exams. It asks you to list the most relevant and important facts or aspects of the thing. It is impossible to give an exact list, because different things need different answers. But the idea is to give about 3 different important relevant things. For characters, what is the most important thing they do? if they have a particular role (doctor, leader, archer), what is it? If they have a sponsor god, who is that? etc.
•