A throrough analysis of Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles (2011), Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls (2018) and Nathalie Haynes’ A Thousand Ships (2019) as rewritings of Homer's Iliad, in...Show moreA throrough analysis of Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles (2011), Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls (2018) and Nathalie Haynes’ A Thousand Ships (2019) as rewritings of Homer's Iliad, in order to establish their influence as contemporary rewritings on our (newfound) interpretation of Homer's Iliad.Show less
This study explores the influence of Homer’s Odyssey on the medieval Breton lay Sir Orfeo, written by an unknown author. By examining the similarities between the two works, comparing research on...Show moreThis study explores the influence of Homer’s Odyssey on the medieval Breton lay Sir Orfeo, written by an unknown author. By examining the similarities between the two works, comparing research on the time of writing for Sir Orfeo, and determining the ways in which Homer’s Odyssey circulated during this period, this paper aims to add to existing research on the work, and open up the discussion of other possible sources than those that have been examined before. The results revealed that while the Odyssey and Sir Orfeo indeed share many similarities, a direct link between the two works is unlikely: Homer was not considered a reliable storyteller during the time Sir Orfeo was written and his works were not popularized or translated yet. It is possible that Sir Orfeo, instead, was influenced by Dictys’ Ephemeris Belli Troiani, but there is a greater likelihood that the shared themes were part of the imaginative framework of late medieval England.Show less
This thesis identifies a gap in existing research and reflects on the position of translations, comics, graphic novels and classics in the literary canon. By taking Homer's Odyssey as an example,...Show moreThis thesis identifies a gap in existing research and reflects on the position of translations, comics, graphic novels and classics in the literary canon. By taking Homer's Odyssey as an example, this thesis demonstrates both the didactic and the literary quality of the graphic novel, which have been and still are undervalued by academics. Furthermore, this thesis explores the nature of (intersemiotic) translation, by studying the transition from Homer's epic to Gareth Hinds' graphic novel.Show less
This thesis sets out to discover how Achilles is portrayed in modern literature, more specifically in the way his duality (mortal and divine) is depicted, in comparison to Homer’s epic. This will...Show moreThis thesis sets out to discover how Achilles is portrayed in modern literature, more specifically in the way his duality (mortal and divine) is depicted, in comparison to Homer’s epic. This will be done by close-reading Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles (2011), Elizabeth Cook’s Achilles (2001), and Wolfgang Petersen’s film Troy (2004). In analysing these texts, I will focus on moments which spark an emotional reaction from Achilles. By comparing the moments from the three contemporary texts both to each other and in relation to the Iliad, in the translation made by Robert Fagles in 1990, I wish to explore in what way Achilles’ divinity and humanity is depicted. This will be done by using the methodological frameworks of intertextuality and the notion of adaptation and appropriation.Show less
