Comparative Literature: “The Odyssey” and “The Aeneid” Essay

The Odyssey and The Aeneid are some of the main epics created by the western civilizations. Virgil wrote his Aeneid as a sure reproduction of Homer’s Odyssey’s, which was geared toward glorifying Rome. Therefore, the 2 epics have a lot in frequent. Nonetheless, since the two works were written by two completely different people in two totally different epochs, there are fairly many variations.

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Speaking of similarities, it is attainable to think of some adventures of the two primary characters, descriptions of wars, descriptions of other characters, main concepts, and motifs. One of those similarities can also be the ending of the epics. The two major characters should defeat their beloved’s suitors. Odyssey has to punish his spouse’s suitors for ending his lengthy trip (Homer Book XXII). At the same time, Aeneas has to defeat Turnus and win the guts of his spouse to be (Virgil Book XII). Both heroes handle to defeat their enemies and obtain their major objectives and their major locations, i.e., their homeland.

As for the differences, the types of the 2 works differ. Even though Virgil’s work was primarily based on Homer’s work, the epics are characterized by completely different styles. The two poets pertained to totally different epochs and different cultural backgrounds, which influenced their styles. At that, Virgil exploits more complicated imagery and literary gadgets. Homer’s epic is quite easy in relation to literary tools, e.g., metaphors, allusions, etc. Virgil’s epic can also be more didactic than Homer’s work. Homer tells a story of a hero’s adventures whereas Virgil glorifies hero who is a representative of a great state and may be considered the embodiment of the state.

On steadiness, it’s attainable to state that the two epics share plenty of options as Virgil’s work is a sure type of duplicate of Homer’s masterpiece. However, the 2 works are quite different as they were written in different epochs and totally different cultural backgrounds.

Works Cited

Homer. “The Odyssey.” The Internet Classics Archive. 2009.

Virgil. “The Aeneid.” The Internet Classics Archive. 2009.

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