The Odyssey: Book 1 Poem Rhyme Scheme

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Tell me o muse of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide	A
after he had sacked the famous town of Troy Many cities did he visit	B
and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was	C
acquainted moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save	D
his own life and bring his men safely home but do what he might he	E
could not save his men for they perished through their own sheer	F
folly in eating the cattle of the Sun god Hyperion so the god	G
prevented them from ever reaching home Tell me too about all	H
these things O daughter of Jove from whatsoever source you may	I
know them	J
So now all who escaped death in battle or by shipwreck had got	K
safely home except Ulysses and he though he was longing to return to	L
his wife and country was detained by the goddess Calypso who had got	K
him into a large cave and wanted to marry him But as years went by	M
there came a time when the gods settled that he should go back to	L
Ithaca even then however when he was among his own people his	N
troubles were not yet over nevertheless all the gods had now begun to	L
pity him except Neptune who still persecuted him without ceasing	O
and would not let him get home	P
Now Neptune had gone off to the Ethiopians who are at the world's	Q
end and lie in two halves the one looking West and the other East	R
He had gone there to accept a hecatomb of sheep and oxen and was	C
enjoying himself at his festival but the other gods met in the	S
house of Olympian Jove and the sire of gods and men spoke first At	T
that moment he was thinking of Aegisthus who had been killed by	M
Agamemnon's son Orestes so he said to the other gods	U
See now how men lay blame upon us gods for what is after all	H
nothing but their own folly Look at Aegisthus he must needs make	V
love to Agamemnon's wife unrighteously and then kill Agamemnon though	W
he knew it would be the death of him for I sent Mercury to warn him	X
not to do either of these things inasmuch as Orestes would be sure to	L
take his revenge when he grew up and wanted to return home Mercury	E
told him this in all good will but he would not listen and now he has	Y
paid for everything in full	Z
Then Minerva said Father son of Saturn King of kings it	A2
served Aegisthus right and so it would any one else who does as he	E
did but Aegisthus is neither here nor there it is for Ulysses that	T
my heart bleeds when I think of his sufferings in that lonely	E
sea girt island far away poor man from all his friends It is an	B2
island covered with forest in the very middle of the sea and a	S
goddess lives there daughter of the magician Atlas who looks after	C2
the bottom of the ocean and carries the great columns that keep	D2
heaven and earth asunder This daughter of Atlas has got hold of	E2
poor unhappy Ulysses and keeps trying by every kind of blandishment	F2
to make him forget his home so that he is tired of life and thinks	G2
of nothing but how he may once more see the smoke of his own chimneys	H2
You sir take no heed of this and yet when Ulysses was before Troy	I2
did he not propitiate you with many a burnt sacrifice Why then should	J2
you keep on being so angry with him	X
And Jove said My child what are you talking about How can I	M
forget Ulysses than whom there is no more capable man on earth nor	K2
more liberal in his offerings to the immortal gods that live in	L2
heaven Bear in mind however that Neptune is still furious with	M2
Ulysses for having blinded an eye of Polyphemus king of the	S
Cyclopes Polyphemus is son to Neptune by the nymph Thoosa daughter	C2
to the sea king Phorcys therefore though he will not kill Ulysses	H2
outright he torments him by preventing him from getting home	P
Still let us lay our heads together and see how we can help him to	L
return Neptune will then be pacified for if we are all of a mind	N2
he can hardly stand out against us	O2
And Minerva said Father son of Saturn King of kings if then	P2
the gods now mean that Ulysses should get home we should first send	Q2
Mercury to the Ogygian island to tell Calypso that we have made up our	C2
minds and that he is to return In the meantime I will go to Ithaca	S
to put heart into Ulysses' son Telemachus I will embolden him to call	H
the Achaeans in assembly and speak out to the suitors of his mother	C2
Penelope who persist in eating up any number of his sheep and oxen I	M
will also conduct him to Sparta and to Pylos to see if he can hear	R2
anything about the return of his dear father for this will make	V
people speak well of him	X
So saying she bound on her glittering golden sandals	S2
imperishable with which she can fly like the wind over land or sea	E
she grasped the redoubtable bronze shod spear so stout and sturdy and	T2
strong wherewith she quells the ranks of heroes who have displeased	U2
her and down she darted from the topmost summits of Olympus	O2
whereon forthwith she was in Ithaca at the gateway of Ulysses' house	V2
disguised as a visitor Mentes chief of the Taphians and she held	W2
a bronze spear in her hand There she found the lordly suitors	X2
seated on hides of the oxen which they had killed and eaten and	T2
playing draughts in front of the house Men servants and pages were	C2
bustling about to wait upon them some mixing wine with water in the	S
mixing bowls some cleaning down the tables with wet sponges and	T2
laying them out again and some cutting up great quantities of meat	Y2
Telemachus saw her long before any one else did He was sitting	O
moodily among the suitors thinking about his brave father and how	Z2
he would send them flying out of the house if he were to come to	L
his own again and be honoured as in days gone by Thus brooding as	Y
he sat among them he caught sight of Minerva and went straight to the	S
gate for he was vexed that a stranger should be kept waiting for	K2
admittance He took her right hand in his own and bade her give him	X
her spear Welcome said he to our house and when you have	A3
partaken of food you shall tell us what you have come for	K2
He led the way as he spoke and Minerva followed him When they were	C2
within he took her spear and set it in the spear stand against a	S
strong bearing post along with the many other spears of his unhappy	E
father and he conducted her to a richly decorated seat under which he	E
threw a cloth of damask There was a footstool also for her feet	Y2
and he set another seat near her for himself away from the suitors	X2
that she might not be annoyed while eating by their noise and	T2
insolence and that he might ask her more freely about his father	C2
A maid servant then brought them water in a beautiful golden ewer	C2
and poured it into a silver basin for them to wash their hands and	T2
she drew a clean table beside them An upper servant brought them	J
bread and offered them many good things of what there was in the	S
house the carver fetched them plates of all manner of meats and set	B3
cups of gold by their side and a man servant brought them wine and	T2
poured it out for them	J
Then the suitors came in and took their places on the benches and	T2
seats Forthwith men servants poured water over their hands maids	C3
went round with the bread baskets pages filled the mixing bowls	D3
with wine and water and they laid their hands upon the good things	E3
that were before them As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink	F3
they wanted music and dancing which are the crowning embellishments	E3
of a banquet so a servant brought a lyre to Phemius whom they	I
compelled perforce to sing to them As soon as he touched his lyre and	T2
began to sing Telemachus spoke low to Minerva with his head close	E3
to hers that no man might hear	R2
I hope sir said he that you will not be offended with what I	M
am going to say Singing comes cheap to those who do not pay for it	A2
and all this is done at the cost of one whose bones lie rotting in	L2
some wilderness or grinding to powder in the surf If these men were	C2
to see my father come back to Ithaca they would pray for	K2

Homer

The Odyssey: Book 1 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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