Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Shaw, Carl

Area of Concentration

Classics

Abstract

Most ancient epic poetry includes at least one invocation to the Muses. The first chapter of this thesis gives an overview of the Muses, divine inspiration, and their relationships with certain poets, namely Hesiod and Homer, as well as instances of direct address to the Muses. Narrowing down to specific facets of Homer’s writing, the second chapter looks at his use of apostrophe in the Iliad directed at characters, both god and mortal, as well as the audience. Following this analysis, my own creative work about relationships between gods and mortals is presented and discussed with respect to my study of ancient epic poetry, and where my writing techniques follow and differ from those examined previously.

Share

COinS