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//Penelope // by Dorothy Parker  Background Information – Odysseus (the myth)  -  Odysseus, a Greek general, is off fighting Troy for 10 years. He returns home after another 10 years due to many obstacles on the journey. Meanwhile, his wife, Penelope, stays home trying to fight off suitors who are trying to remarry her. She creates an excuse of making her father-in-law a shroud to delay this. Every day she wove, and every night she unwove is to prevent her from having to remarry. Upon Odysseus’ return home, he kills all the suitors and reclaims his kingdom and wife. o http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/bulf/bulf22.htm Interpretations  -  Dorothy Parker saw the role of the women in the Odysseus myth as being the stereotypical house wife and the archetype of a weak woman. It evokes the image of a woman sitting around moping, explaining how in the Odysseus time period women were more reliant on having a husband in their lives. o Society demanded Penelope to be remarried (insistence on the suitors remarrying Penelope) therefore agreeing with this archetypal view.  -  Nowadays, Feminist critics would disagree with this archetypal portrayal of women. They would consider women to be not only less reliant on her husband but also viewing women as man’s equal instead of simply the wife who cooks, cleans and sews waiting for him to return o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">“Brew my tea, and snip my thread/bleach the linen for my bed.” (line 8-9) <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">This is an example of how women were portrayed as the house wives. <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">http://www.articlemyriad.com/183.htm <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Analysis of Penelope <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> -  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Sound <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Rhyme Scheme is ABABC DEDEC <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The poem sounds has a flowing sound, similar to how she is rocking in a chair <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">§ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">“I shall sit at home, and rock;” (line 6) <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> -  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Structure <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">There are 10 lines, similar to how there were 10 years between the end of the war and the trip home <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">When is speaks of “him,” it’s indented at various intervals <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">§ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Referring to his various obstacles that he faces on his return home <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">When she speaks of herself and her chores the line lines straight up with the edge of the poem to signify the “list” of chores she must do everyday…this was what her life consisted of <span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msolist: Ignore;"> -   <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Sense <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">There is a shift between the first half and the second half of the poem <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">§ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The first half is flowing and smooth as she daydreams about Odysseus <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">§ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The second half is more stressed and structured similar to a check list, as she speaks of her daily routine. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings; msobidifontfamily: Wingdings; msofareastfontfamily: Wingdings; msolist: Ignore;">§ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The last line drifts back into a daze. <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">“…and snip my thread;” (line 8) refers to her undoing any work she’s done on her father-in-laws shroud. <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">“He shall ride the silver seas,” (line 4) refers to Odysseus’ journey home. <span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Courier New'; msolist: Ignore;">o <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">http://www.stanford.edu/~plomio/penelope.html