Friday, March 23, 2007

Standing the Test of Time

Do you think The Illiad and The Odyssey have been more or less influential throughout time than other great works of literature, including William Shakespeare's plays?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Shakespeare gets too much credit. The Odyssey and The Iliad HAVE been influential, yet Shakespeare still seems to get more credit. For example, the mythological things mentioned by Homer in The Odyssey have made more of an effect than people have realized. Example: Coach Vanatta just said hotter than Hades, which is the mythological Greek underworld.

*~Melana~* said...

I agree with Alexa, but then again I don't. Yes, Shakespeare is overrated, and yes, people do say phrases like Coach V. said. Look at everything other people say. Like there are tons of cute sayings that people constantly use from SHAKESPEAR'S plays. How often do you hear someone say "hotter than Hades"? There are lists of the ways Shakespear has influenced the modern life we live in but not many from author's like Homer. Why? People have forgotten them because they no longer care. I'm still stuck in the middle, though.
Melana

Jennifer said...

I think The Illiad and The Odyssey have been influential but it still gets less credit compared to Shakespeare. I think people are more interested in recent novels and literary works but you really need to take a look at the classics. Everybody knows that there is a movie about Romeo and Juliet but several people don't know that there is also a movie about The Odyssey. Some people just don't see how influential Homer's works really were.

ashley said...

Both works of literature were influential. Just because people say quotes or little sayings from both stories, doesn't mean that one is greater than the other. Everyone has a different lifestyle and no one lives them the same, therefore some stories may be more or less influential to YOUR life. Yes, Homer isn't as "popular" as Shakespeare but Shakespeare has written several amazing plays and why would you compare them? Shouldn't you compare literature that is written with the same topics? People write and believe differently so to some Homer may be influential, but others may look to Shakespeare.

ashley said...

Sorry, I forgot to write my name, so here it is.....Ashley.
-ashley-

Monica said...

I agree with Alexa that Shakespeare gets to much credit. The Odyssey and the Illiad have been very influential in peoples lives. The Odyssey and the Illiad may not have been as influential as some of Shakespeares work but it really depends on what you are comparing it to. The only reason Shakespeare gets more credit is because more people have heard about his works then they have about Homers.

Monica said...

Sorry I forgot my name
Monica

SoftballChic8 said...
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SoftballChic8 said...
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SoftballChic8 said...

I agree that Shakespeare does get to much credit, but I think it is because not many people have heard of the books The Illiad and The Odyssey. If they read it, I think the author for these books would get more credit.

Ana

Katelin said...
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Katelin said...

Personally, I have never even heard of the Illiad, but if it is being compared to The Odyssey, it must have been similarly influential. Parts of today's literature are similar to the past's in the way that they are often teaching lessons. Stories such as "Their Eyes Were Watching God" is even representative to The Odyssey, because of the morals being taught and the quest of love and life being sought.

~Katelin

robert said...

I think that both Homer and Shakespeare were influential in their times, but I beleive that their stories were written in periods that don't have that much in relation to each other. Also the stories were written for two different audiences. For example The Oddyssey was written to appeal to the ancient Greeks and their customs and traditions. Shakespeare, however, wrote many of his stories to appeal to the traditions of middle age England. Though it might seem like more people are familiar with Shakespeare I believe that the two writers and their works are uncomparable.
robert

presley said...

I agree with Robert. I think that Shakespeare and Homer are hard to compare because of the different time periods they wrote in. It is hard to compare two works of literature that are written for two different audiences. Both writers did influence today's literature, but they each contributed to it differently.
-Presley-

*~Melana~* said...

I beleive that you can compare two completely different plays or works of literature because of the way that they influence people. By the way what is the Illiad? I've never read so I can't say anything about that play or lieterature.
But I do agree with Ashley. Shakespeare is-was- an awesome author and writer. I still think that he gets to much credit though. I like some of his literature, but there are some of them that I couldn't stand to read.
Everyone has their own opinions and to that person their opinion will always be right.

patrick said...

I agree with Alexa. The Odyssey and The Illiad have been more influential than Shakespeare. For example from the Illiad and the Odyssey archeologist have found Troy, and have learned many important things that they thought only excisted 200 years later.

Anonymous said...

I think that both works are great. Shakespeare is a better known author and people give him more credit than what they should. The Odyssey and the Illiad both greatly describe alot of Greek mythology which can teach many people a lesson today
Brandon

seth said...

I agree with Jennifer. I think that Shakespear should get more credit for his work, because overtime it is more influentual than the Iliad and the Odyssey. In my opinion people today want to read new novels and stories, but it's nice to take a look at some classics. Seth