The Odyssey: Book 18 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHCCIJKLDIMNJG JOPQCRSTUCVWXYJYZJCZ AA2IYJJCQJB2GLC2YGUD 2E2F2YYVYG2NCPYGH2I2 J2JI2K2JYL2M2YN2RI2O 2P2LYNQ2YR2I2I2YS2YJ S2CRRLJLD2GYS2T2CU2V 2I2GAS2W2I2IX2F2AY2Z 2YRA3A3I2UI2I2B3F2C3 D3JOYYYE3JD2YCF3YJNP R2NYI2G3G3I2F2R2RCRI 2YH3CNG3I3CYYNJOYYI2 G2NJJ3YIGRXF3G2YK3NS X2S2G3YG3G3G2F2RL3NY I2GG3X2K3YOAB2YG3CAY NI2M3K3GNCF3NN3G3YF3 YO3CYGCYYA3GI2I2P3E2 GF3GYYR2I2GK3AI2H3K3 AYG3G2YG2OOQ3G3JYAS2 S2I2B3YG3YN2R3S2YOG2 R2F3I2S3AJT3CF2G3N2U 3G3G2G2GOI2I2V3AI2JW 3J3YR2YI2G2XX3I2YY3S CH3G3YG2NYR2YG2I2OJA 3G2GK3Y3Z3A4| Now there came a certain common tramp who used to go begging all | A |
| over the city of Ithaca and was notorious as an incorrigible | B |
| glutton and drunkard This man had no strength nor stay in him but he | C |
| was a great hulking fellow to look at his real name the one his | D |
| mother gave him was Arnaeus but the young men of the place called | E |
| him Irus because he used to run errands for any one who would send | F |
| him As soon as he came he began to insult Ulysses and to try and | G |
| drive him out of his own house | H |
| Be off old man he cried from the doorway or you shall be | C |
| dragged out neck and heels Do you not see that they are all giving me | C |
| the wink and wanting me to turn you out by force only I do not | I |
| like to do so Get up then and go of yourself or we shall come to | J |
| blows | K |
| Ulysses frowned on him and said My friend I do you no manner of | L |
| harm people give you a great deal but I am not jealous There is | D |
| room enough in this doorway for the pair of us and you need not | I |
| grudge me things that are not yours to give You seem to be just | M |
| such another tramp as myself but perhaps the gods will give us better | N |
| luck by and by Do not however talk too much about fighting or you | J |
| will incense me and old though I am I shall cover your mouth and | G |
| chest with blood I shall have more peace to morrow if I do for you | J |
| will not come to the house of Ulysses any more | O |
| Irus was very angry and answered You filthy glutton you run on | P |
| trippingly like an old fish fag I have a good mind to lay both | Q |
| hands about you and knock your teeth out of your head like so many | C |
| boar's tusks Get ready therefore and let these people here stand by | R |
| and look on You will never be able to fight one who is so much | S |
| younger than yourself | T |
| Thus roundly did they rate one another on the smooth pavement in | U |
| front of the doorway and when Antinous saw what was going on he | C |
| laughed heartily and said to the others This is the finest sport | V |
| that you ever saw heaven never yet sent anything like it into this | W |
| house The stranger and Irus have quarreled and are going to fight | X |
| let us set them on to do so at once | Y |
| The suitors all came up laughing and gathered round the two | J |
| ragged tramps Listen to me said Antinous there are some goats' | Y |
| paunches down at the fire which we have filled with blood and fat | Z |
| and set aside for supper he who is victorious and proves himself to | J |
| be the better man shall have his pick of the lot he shall be free | C |
| of our table and we will not allow any other beggar about the house at | Z |
| all | A |
| The others all agreed but Ulysses to throw them off the scent | A2 |
| said Sirs an old man like myself worn out with suffering cannot | I |
| hold his own against a young one but my irrepressible belly urges | Y |
| me on though I know it can only end in my getting a drubbing You | J |
| must swear however that none of you will give me a foul blow to | J |
| favour Irus and secure him the victory | C |
| They swore as he told them and when they had completed their oath | Q |
| Telemachus put in a word and said Stranger if you have a mind to | J |
| settle with this fellow you need not be afraid of any one here | B2 |
| Whoever strikes you will have to fight more than one I am host and | G |
| the other chiefs Antinous and Eurymachus both of them men of | L |
| understanding are of the same mind as I am | C2 |
| Every one assented and Ulysses girded his old rags about his loins | Y |
| thus baring his stalwart thighs his broad chest and shoulders and | G |
| his mighty arms but Minerva came up to him and made his limbs even | U |
| stronger still The suitors were beyond measure astonished and one | D2 |
| would turn towards his neighbour saying The stranger has brought | E2 |
| such a thigh out of his old rags that there will soon be nothing | F2 |
| left of Irus | Y |
| Irus began to be very uneasy as he heard them but the servants | Y |
| girded him by force and brought him into the open part of the court | V |
| in such a fright that his limbs were all of a tremble Antinous | Y |
| scolded him and said You swaggering bully you ought never to have | G2 |
| been born at all if you are afraid of such an old broken down creature | N |
| as this tramp is I say therefore and it shall surely be if he | C |
| beats you and proves himself the better man I shall pack you off on | P |
| board ship to the mainland and send you to king Echetus who kills | Y |
| every one that comes near him He will cut off your nose and ears and | G |
| draw out your entrails for the dogs to eat | H2 |
| This frightened Irus still more but they brought him into the | I2 |
| middle of the court and the two men raised their hands to fight Then | J2 |
| Ulysses considered whether he should let drive so hard at him as to | J |
| make an end of him then and there or whether he should give him a | I2 |
| lighter blow that should only knock him down in the end he deemed | K2 |
| it best to give the lighter blow for fear the Achaeans should begin to | J |
| suspect who he was Then they began to fight and Irus hit Ulysses | Y |
| on the right shoulder but Ulysses gave Irus a blow on the neck | L2 |
| under the ear that broke in the bones of his skull and the blood came | M2 |
| gushing out of his mouth he fell groaning in the dust gnashing his | Y |
| teeth and kicking on the ground but the suitors threw up their | N2 |
| hands and nearly died of laughter as Ulysses caught hold of him by | R |
| the foot and dragged him into the outer court as far as the | I2 |
| gate house There he propped him up against the wall and put his staff | O2 |
| in his hands Sit here said he and keep the dogs and pigs off | P2 |
| you are a pitiful creature and if you try to make yourself king of | L |
| the beggars any more you shall fare still worse | Y |
| Then he threw his dirty old wallet all tattered and torn over | N |
| his shoulder with the cord by which it hung and went back to sit down | Q2 |
| upon the threshold but the suitors went within the cloisters | Y |
| laughing and saluting him May Jove and all the other gods said | R2 |
| they 'grant you whatever you want for having put an end to the | I2 |
| importunity of this insatiable tramp We will take him over to the | I2 |
| mainland presently to king Echetus who kills every one that comes | Y |
| near him | S2 |
| Ulysses hailed this as of good omen and Antinous set a great goat's | Y |
| paunch before him filled with blood and fat Amphinomus took two | J |
| loaves out of the bread basket and brought them to him pledging him | S2 |
| as he did so in a golden goblet of wine Good luck to you he | C |
| said father stranger you are very badly off at present but I | R |
| hope you will have better times by and by | R |
| To this Ulysses answered Amphinomus you seem to be a man of | L |
| good understanding as indeed you may well be seeing whose son you | J |
| are I have heard your father well spoken of he is Nisus of | L |
| Dulichium a man both brave and wealthy They tell me you are his son | D2 |
| and you appear to be a considerable person listen therefore and | G |
| take heed to what I am saying Man is the vainest of all creatures | Y |
| that have their being upon earth As long as heaven vouchsafes him | S2 |
| health and strength he thinks that he shall come to no harm | T2 |
| hereafter and even when the blessed gods bring sorrow upon him he | C |
| bears it as he needs must and makes the best of it for God | U2 |
| Almighty gives men their daily minds day by day I know all about | V2 |
| it for I was a rich man once and did much wrong in the | I2 |
| stubbornness of my pride and in the confidence that my father and | G |
| my brothers would support me therefore let a man fear God in all | A |
| things always and take the good that heaven may see fit to send him | S2 |
| without vainglory Consider the infamy of what these suitors are | W2 |
| doing see how they are wasting the estate and doing dishonour to the | I2 |
| wife of one who is certain to return some day and that too not | I |
| long hence Nay he will be here soon may heaven send you home | X2 |
| quietly first that you may not meet with him in the day of his coming | F2 |
| for once he is here the suitors and he will not part bloodlessly | A |
| With these words he made a drink offering and when he had drunk | Y2 |
| he put the gold cup again into the hands of Amphinomus who walked | Z2 |
| away serious and bowing his head for he foreboded evil But even so | Y |
| he did not escape destruction for Minerva had doomed him fall by | R |
| the hand of Telemachus So he took his seat again at the place from | A3 |
| which he had come | A3 |
| Then Minerva put it into the mind of Penelope to show herself to the | I2 |
| suitors that she might make them still more enamoured of her and win | U |
| still further honour from her son and husband So she feigned a | I2 |
| mocking laugh and said Eurynome I have changed my and have a | I2 |
| fancy to show myself to the suitors although I detest them I should | B3 |
| like also to give my son a hint that he had better not have anything | F2 |
| more to do with them They speak fairly enough but they mean | C3 |
| mischief | D3 |
| My dear child answered Eurynome all that you have said is true | J |
| go and tell your son about it but first wash yourself and anoint your | O |
| face Do not go about with your cheeks all covered with tears it is | Y |
| not right that you should grieve so incessantly for Telemachus | Y |
| whom you always prayed that you might live to see with a beard is | Y |
| already grown up | E3 |
| I know Eurynome replied Penelope that you mean well but do | J |
| not try and persuade me to wash and to anoint myself for heaven | D2 |
| robbed me of all my beauty on the day my husband sailed nevertheless | Y |
| tell Autonoe and Hippodamia that I want them They must be with me | C |
| when I am in the cloister I am not going among the men alone it | F3 |
| would not be proper for me to do so | Y |
| On this the old woman went out of the room to bid the maids go to | J |
| their mistress In the meantime Minerva bethought her of another | N |
| matter and sent Penelope off into a sweet slumber so she lay down on | P |
| her couch and her limbs became heavy with sleep Then the goddess shed | R2 |
| grace and beauty over her that all the Achaeans might admire her | N |
| She washed her face with the ambrosial loveliness that Venus wears | Y |
| when she goes dancing with the Graces she made her taller and of a | I2 |
| more commanding figure while as for her complexion it was whiter than | G3 |
| sawn ivory When Minerva had done all this she went away whereon | G3 |
| the maids came in from the women's room and woke Penelope with the | I2 |
| sound of their talking | F2 |
| What an exquisitely delicious sleep I have been having said | R2 |
| she as she passed her hands over her face in spite of all my | R |
| misery I wish Diana would let me die so sweetly now at this very | C |
| moment that I might no longer waste in despair for the loss of my | R |
| dear husband who possessed every kind of good quality and was the | I2 |
| most distinguished man among the Achaeans | Y |
| With these words she came down from her upper room not alone but | H3 |
| attended by two of her maidens and when she reached the suitors she | C |
| stood by one of the bearing posts supporting the roof of the cloister | N |
| holding a veil before her face and with a staid maid servant on | G3 |
| either side of her As they beheld her the suitors were so overpowered | I3 |
| and became so desperately enamoured of her that each one prayed he | C |
| might win her for his own bed fellow | Y |
| Telemachus said she addressing her son I fear you are no | Y |
| longer so discreet and well conducted as you used to be When you were | N |
| younger you had a greater sense of propriety now however that you | J |
| are grown up though a stranger to look at you would take you for | O |
| the son of a well to do father as far as size and good looks go | Y |
| your conduct is by no means what it should be What is all this | Y |
| disturbance that has been going on and how came you to allow a | I2 |
| stranger to be so disgracefully ill treated What would have | G2 |
| happened if he had suffered serious injury while a suppliant in our | N |
| house Surely this would have been very discreditable to you | J |
| I am not surprised my dear mother at your displeasure replied | J3 |
| Telemachus I understand all about it and know when things are not as | Y |
| they should be which I could not do when I was younger I cannot | I |
| however behave with perfect propriety at all times First one and | G |
| then another of these wicked people here keeps driving me out of my | R |
| mind and I have no one to stand by me After all however this fight | X |
| between Irus and the stranger did not turn out as the suitors meant it | F3 |
| to do for the stranger got the best of it I wish Father Jove | G2 |
| Minerva and Apollo would break the neck of every one of these | Y |
| wooers of yours some inside the house and some out and I wish they | K3 |
| might all be as limp as Irus is over yonder in the gate of the outer | N |
| court See how he nods his head like a drunken man he has had such | S |
| a thrashing that he cannot stand on his feet nor get back to his home | X2 |
| wherever that may be for has no strength left in him | S2 |
| Thus did they converse Eurymachus then came up and said Queen | G3 |
| Penelope daughter of Icarius if all the Achaeans in Iasian Argos | Y |
| could see you at this moment you would have still more suitors in | G3 |
| your house by tomorrow morning for you are the most admirable woman | G3 |
| in the whole world both as regards personal beauty and strength of | G2 |
| understanding | F2 |
| To this Penelope replied Eurymachus heaven robbed me of all my | R |
| beauty whether of face or figure when the Argives set sail for Troy | L3 |
| and my dear husband with them If he were to return and look after | N |
| my affairs I should both be more respected and show a better presence | Y |
| to the world As it is I am oppressed with care and with the | I2 |
| afflictions which heaven has seen fit to heap upon me My husband | G |
| foresaw it all and when he was leaving home he took my right wrist in | G3 |
| his hand 'Wife 'he said 'we shall not all of us come safe home | X2 |
| from Troy for the Trojans fight well both with bow and spear They | K3 |
| are excellent also at fighting from chariots and nothing decides | Y |
| the issue of a fight sooner than this I know not therefore | O |
| whether heaven will send me back to you or whether I may not fall | A |
| over there at Troy In the meantime do you look after things here | B2 |
| Take care of my father and mother as at present and even more so | Y |
| during my absence but when you see our son growing a beard then | G3 |
| marry whom you will and leave this your present home This is what he | C |
| said and now it is all coming true A night will come when I shall | A |
| have to yield myself to a marriage which I detest for Jove has | Y |
| taken from me all hope of happiness This further grief moreover | N |
| cuts me to the very heart You suitors are not wooing me after the | I2 |
| custom of my country When men are courting a woman who they think | M3 |
| will be a good wife to them and who is of noble birth and when they | K3 |
| are each trying to win her for himself they usually bring oxen and | G |
| sheep to feast the friends of the lady and they make her | N |
| magnificent presents instead of eating up other people's property | C |
| without paying for it | F3 |
| This was what she said and Ulysses was glad when he heard her | N |
| trying to get presents out of the suitors and flattering them with | N3 |
| fair words which he knew she did not mean | G3 |
| Then Antinous said Queen Penelope daughter of Icarius take as | Y |
| many presents as you please from any one who will give them to you it | F3 |
| is not well to refuse a present but we will not go about our business | Y |
| nor stir from where we are till you have married the best man among | O3 |
| us whoever he may be | C |
| The others applauded what Antinous had said and each one sent his | Y |
| servant to bring his present Antinous's man returned with a large and | G |
| lovely dress most exquisitely embroidered It had twelve beautifully | C |
| made brooch pins of pure gold with which to fasten it Eurymachus | Y |
| immediately brought her a magnificent chain of gold and amber beads | Y |
| that gleamed like sunlight Eurydamas's two men returned with some | A3 |
| earrings fashioned into three brilliant pendants which glistened | G |
| most beautifully while king Pisander son of Polyctor gave her a | I2 |
| necklace of the rarest workmanship and every one else brought her a | I2 |
| beautiful present of some kind | P3 |
| Then the queen went back to her room upstairs and her maids brought | E2 |
| the presents after her Meanwhile the suitors took to singing and | G |
| dancing and stayed till evening came They danced and sang till it | F3 |
| grew dark they then brought in three braziers to give light and | G |
| piled them up with chopped firewood very and dry and they lit torches | Y |
| from them which the maids held up turn and turn about Then Ulysses | Y |
| said | R2 |
| Maids servants of Ulysses who has so long been absent go to the | I2 |
| queen inside the house sit with her and amuse her or spin and | G |
| pick wool I will hold the light for all these people They may stay | K3 |
| till morning but shall not beat me for I can stand a great deal | A |
| The maids looked at one another and laughed while pretty Melantho | I2 |
| began to gibe at him contemptuously She was daughter to Dolius but | H3 |
| had been brought up by Penelope who used to give her toys to play | K3 |
| with and looked after her when she was a child but in spite of all | A |
| this she showed no consideration for the sorrows of her mistress | Y |
| and used to misconduct herself with Eurymachus with whom she was in | G3 |
| love | G2 |
| Poor wretch said she are you gone clean out of your mind Go | Y |
| and sleep in some smithy or place of public gossips instead of | G2 |
| chattering here Are you not ashamed of opening your mouth before your | O |
| betters so many of them too Has the wine been getting into your | O |
| head or do you always babble in this way You seem to have lost | Q3 |
| your wits because you beat the tramp Irus take care that a better man | G3 |
| than he does not come and cudgel you about the head till he pack you | J |
| bleeding out of the house | Y |
| Vixen replied Ulysses scowling at her I will go and tell | A |
| Telemachus what you have been saying and he will have you torn limb | S2 |
| from limb | S2 |
| With these words he scared the women and they went off into the | I2 |
| body of the house They trembled all aver for they thought he would | B3 |
| do as he said But Ulysses took his stand near the burning braziers | Y |
| holding up torches and looking at the people brooding the while on | G3 |
| things that should surely come to pass | Y |
| But Minerva would not let the suitors for one moment cease their | N2 |
| insolence for she wanted Ulysses to become even more bitter against | R3 |
| them she therefore set Eurymachus son of Polybus on to gibe at him | S2 |
| which made the others laugh Listen to me said he you suitors | Y |
| of Queen Penelope that I may speak even as I am minded It is not for | O |
| nothing that this man has come to the house of Ulysses I believe | G2 |
| the light has not been coming from the torches but from his own head | R2 |
| for his hair is all gone every bit of it | F3 |
| Then turning to Ulysses he said Stranger will you work as a | I2 |
| servant if I send you to the wolds and see that you are well paid | S3 |
| Can you build a stone fence or plant trees I will have you fed all | A |
| the year round and will find you in shoes and clothing Will you | J |
| go then Not you for you have got into bad ways and do not want | T3 |
| to work you had rather fill your belly by going round the country | C |
| begging | F2 |
| Eurymachus answered Ulysses if you and I were to work one | G3 |
| against the other in early summer when the days are at their | N2 |
| longest give me a good scythe and take another yourself and let | U3 |
| us see which will fast the longer or mow the stronger from dawn | G3 |
| till dark when the mowing grass is about Or if you will plough | G2 |
| against me let us each take a yoke of tawny oxen well mated and of | G2 |
| great strength and endurance turn me into a four acre field and | G |
| see whether you or I can drive the straighter furrow If again war | O |
| were to break out this day give me a shield a couple of spears and a | I2 |
| helmet fitting well upon my temples you would find me foremost in the | I2 |
| fray and would cease your gibes about my belly You are insolent | V3 |
| and cruel and think yourself a great man because you live in a little | A |
| world ind that a bad one If Ulysses comes to his own again the | I2 |
| doors of his house are wide but you will find them narrow when you | J |
| try to fly through them | W3 |
| Eurymachus was furious at all this He scowled at him and cried | J3 |
| You wretch I will soon pay you out for daring to say such things | Y |
| to me and in public too Has the wine been getting into your head | R2 |
| or do you always babble in this way You seem to have lost your wits | Y |
| because you beat the tramp Irus With this he caught hold of a | I2 |
| footstool but Ulysses sought protection at the knees of Amphinomus of | G2 |
| Dulichium for he was afraid The stool hit the cupbearer on his right | X |
| hand and knocked him down the man fell with a cry flat on his back | X3 |
| and his wine jug fell ringing to the ground The suitors in the | I2 |
| covered cloister were now in an uproar and one would turn towards his | Y |
| neighbour saying I wish the stranger had gone somewhere else bad | Y3 |
| luck to hide for all the trouble he gives us We cannot permit such | S |
| disturbance about a beggar if such ill counsels are to prevail we | C |
| shall have no more pleasure at our banquet | H3 |
| On this Telemachus came forward and said Sirs are you mad Can | G3 |
| you not carry your meat and your liquor decently Some evil spirit has | Y |
| possessed you I do not wish to drive any of you away but you have | G2 |
| had your suppers and the sooner you all go home to bed the better | N |
| The suitors bit their lips and marvelled at the boldness of his | Y |
| speech but Amphinomus the son of Nisus who was son to Aretias said | R2 |
| Do not let us take offence it is reasonable so let us make no | Y |
| answer Neither let us do violence to the stranger nor to any of | G2 |
| Ulysses' servants Let the cupbearer go round with the | I2 |
| drink offerings that we may make them and go home to our rest As for | O |
| the stranger let us leave Telemachus to deal with him for it is to | J |
| his house that he has come | A3 |
| Thus did he speak and his saying pleased them well so Mulius of | G2 |
| Dulichium servant to Amphinomus mixed them a bowl of wine and | G |
| water and handed it round to each of them man by man whereon they | K3 |
| made their drink offerings to the blessed gods Then when they had | Y3 |
| made their drink offerings and had drunk each one as he was minded | Z3 |
| they took their several ways each of them to his own abode | A4 |
Homer
(1)
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