Essay on "Petronius and Anti-Heroic Epic"
Essay 4 pages (1962 words) Sources: 3
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Encolpius suggests that a reader might "be surprised that Ulysses' nurse recognized his scar…after twenty years" because it sounds like an implausible and melodramatic plot device -- but he then validates Homer's plausibility by noting that he was recognized similarly, except it was not a scar but his "lower parts" that identified him. The outrageous joking here cannot help but make the reader feel that Homeric epic is being subverted by Hollywood-style "dick jokes."In conclusion, Petronius relies on his reader to have a knowledge of the epic mode and its traditional heroism, in order to subvert that epic mode with anti-heroic themes and subjects. The most common method by which Petronius achieves this is through sexual joking: ultimately the Satyricon is a kind of sexual love-story, or at least has at its heart a small-scale love-triangle between Encolpius, Ascyltus, and Giton. These kind of sexual relationships are not absent in epic storytelling, but they are seen as contrary to the heroism of epic. Achilles' sulking over Briseis, Odysseus delayed by Calypso or Circe, and Aeneas' brief encounter with Dido are all seen as errors on their part, obstacles to the heroic quest. It might also be worth noting that in all of these cases the sexual relationships are with women. By contrast, the sexual triangle of the Satyricon is meant to seem comic because epic plot devices, names, and literary allusions are all employed to make the sexual element the hero's purpose rather than his obstacle -- even the wrath of the gods is reimagined in a burlesque sexual light by Petronius, by utilizing Priapus where Homer or Vergil would employ a more powerful divine antagonist. Because traditional epic sees th
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Works Cited
Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles with introduction by B.M.W. Knox. New York: Penguin, 1991. Print.
Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles, with introduction and notes by B.M.W. Knox. New York: Penguin, 1997. Print.
Petronius. The Satyricon. Trans. with introduction and notes by Patricia G. Walsh. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print. READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Petronius and Anti-Heroic Epic" Assignment:
“The person EN did good job on the last paper. For the bibliography please use Petronius, The Satyricon, Translation, Introduction, and Notes P.G Walsh 1997 Oxford University Press.
It needs to be a persuasive or argument style essay on why The Satyricon is a Anti-Heroic Epic. Focus on the characters Encolpius, Ascyltus and Gito. You can reference the other characters to support the argument but focus on these three.
You can make references to Homer's The Odyssey but please cite in MLA the version you pulled it from. I'd really only like The Satyricon and Odyssey referenced.
How to Reference "Petronius and Anti-Heroic Epic" Essay in a Bibliography
“Petronius and Anti-Heroic Epic.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2013, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/petronius-satyricon-argument-anti-heroic/8853478. Accessed 28 Sep 2024.
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