Period 4, Michael Carleo, ENG 4 HNR

"I AM" Poem



I am



Odysseus

The Technician of Tactics

Son of Anticlea and of King Laertes of Ithaca, Husband of Penelope, and Father of Telemachus

Who likes being king of Ithaca, Tactics, Puzzles, and Deceiving

Who loved Helen of Troy, but loves Penelope

Who fears nothing

Who wishes to make Ithaca wealthy

Who admires Sisyphus and his cleverness

Who needs money to make Ithaca wealthy and to have companionship

Who aspires to make Ithaca wealthy, to loneliness, and to move from matter to spirit

Period 4, Michael Carleo, Eng 4 HNR

1)

During the excerpt of Book 1 from the Iliad, Achilles show anger very much to the people he came in contact with. Although Achilles’ anger showed that he was powerful and strong, he actually showed his insecurities of being threatened by another warrior, like Agamemnon. The response to his anger was either detrimental to Achilles by instigating it, or beneficial to stop him from being angry. When Achilles came in contact with Agamemnon, he was always enraged when he saw him. From lines 175 to 202, Achilles expressed his anger stating that no Greek would listen to Agamemnon, and that only they would listen to him. He also expressed how could they listen to him and not Achilles. Agamemnon’s responded by saying if Achilles really thinks that, then think that because soon enough the Greeks will follow him. He doesn’t need Achilles, and he thinks nothing of him. This is significant because by responding like that to Achilles, this made Achilles angrier, and this was detrimental to Achilles. When the gods sent down Athena, Achilles was angry and asked why would they send her down, he doesn’t need any help. Athena responded by saying that you must stop now and not hurt him, because Hera loves you both. She said that you could say whatever you want to him, but just don’t hurt him. Like a child to a parent, Achilles obeyed Athena and didn’t do anything to harm Agamemnon. This is significant because he actually listened to Athena instead of just getting angrier when he was talking to Agamemnon. This was very beneficial to Achilles. When Achilles came in contact with Nestor, he expressed his anger toward Agamemnon still. Nestor, being an elder, responded by saying just stop this nonsense and stop this fighting. Peace is what he wanted. He also said to Achilles, that he doesn’t need to be afraid of losing his dignity of a warrior because “no one can match the honors dealt a king, a sceptered king to whom great Zeus gives glory.” This is significant because Nestor addressed Achilles insecurities about the situation, and it was beneficial to Achilles. Unfortunately, Achilles didn’t listen to him and just kept ranting at Agamemnon. Even though Achilles showed much strength and passion in his anger, he really showed his weakness and insecurities in his anger. The responses by each of the people Achilles came in contact with gave a different result. The first response showed the detrimental result and the last two responses tried showing the beneficial result of that anger Achilles showed.

Period 4, Michael Carleo, Eng 4 HNR

Page 231 #1 and 6

1) I understood the poem "He is More Than a Hero" the best for many reasons. The title of this poem helped me understand it the best unlike the other two because it was actually like a title instead of a line in the poem or an ode to a god. Also the content in the poem supports the title like in lines 3 through 8, "he who listens intimately to the sweet murmur of your voice, the enticing laughter that makes my own heart beat fast." This explains how important this person is to Sappho. As it goes on in the poem, it says that when Sappho sees this person, Sappho is star struck, almost to the point of death. The other two poems were too confusing to me because of the line setup and also the content within them. I also got lost going through the others until i read them 3 or 4 times. I understood this one the first time i read it.

6) These poems would do justice to a R&B singer like Beyonce or KC and JoJo. The reason why these poems fit their genre is because when each of these singers sing, they do it with such passion and believe in what they actually sing. Sappho does the same thing in poetry like the hero poem. Beyonce and KC and JoJo also have a lot of deeper meaning in their songs like Beyonce's "Dangerously In Love" and KC and JoJo's "All My Life". These songs can relate to the hero poem again and also to "To Aphrodite of the Flowers, at Knossos" because they speak about one person, god in Sappho's case, and how much they care and wait for that person.