Human psyche Essay Example for Free

Human psyche endeavorThe urge to compete is a large part of the human psyche. When this sense of competitiveness is taken to the extreme, a war may erupt. Through out(a) the narration of humanity wars have been waged, even earlier the advent of writing, when poets where thither to capture their essence. The epic poem The Iliad by homer describes a war that took place almost ii thousand, seven hundred years ago. The Greek lodge in which Homer lived was considered more violent than either in existence today. This gave him all(a)(prenominal) the inspiration needed to create an epic war poem. By revealing to the lector the futility and horror of war, Homers Iliad offers an excellent critique of society, more specifically the fragility of human civilization and the brutality of human nature, when under the extreme pressures of combat. This masterful piece of literature, although written in many centuries ago, has much acumen on ancient Greek society that can still be app lied, with a modern twist, to todays world.The port Homer used in his epic poem was unconventional and highly successful. Compared to many other novels or poem of its time, as well as most modern pieces of literature, The Iliad is much longer. This both helps and hinders the texts ability to require the messages and meanings of war. In order to capture and preserve the audiences interest during such a long poem, Homer took the ratifier on adventures beyond the Trojan battle field and into the life of each individual solider. By doing this, the proofreader feels drawn into the story and shares the horrors and futility the Greeks faced during the Trojan War. A large part of Homers work is dedicated to war and battle scenes. The main reason for this is because many believed Greek society, which took place seven hundred years before Christ, was brutally violent. Fighting was an everyday occurrence and brought honour among the warriors. The Greek gods did not dissipate the violent so ciety in fact they encouraged it by demanding animal sacrifices as part of daily rituals. It is this bloodlust, along with Homers master style, that has made The Iliad popular and highly influential to this day.War stories depict, through their pictural imagery, the horrors and tragedies taking place during a battle and The Iliad is no exception. The Iliad is most effective at portraying the futility and horrors of war passim the text with all the gory details. Homer does an excellent job at capturing the realism of each battle scene in over five thousand lines of prose, nearly one third of the poem. As critic Martin Muller points out in Fighting in the Iliad the poet and his audience like such battle scenes and their periodic occurrence require no greater motivation then bar-room brawls in a Western. The following quote illustrates Homers ability to evoke graphic images during a battleThe shaft pierced the tight belts twisted thongs,piercing the blazoned plates, piercing the gua rdhe wore to shield his loins and block the spears,his best defense-the shaft pierced even this,the tip of the weapon eat the mans flesh,and dark blood came spurting from the wound. (pg149, p2)This quote gives the reader a clear image of what is happening as the shaft wounds the unfortunate soldier. Homer also adds to the horrors of the war by telling us about the history of each individual solider before their death. With about two hundred and fifty names in the text, all with individual stories behind their life or death, the story may become murky but never unemotional. Many times a character will be introduced only to be killed off at heart the same chapter. This adds to the death, destruction and ultimately the horror of the war the Greeks and the Trojans are fighting.As well as reminding the reader of the horrors of war, Homer tells of the futility of fighting such a bloody battle. The sense of frustration and futility of the war is clearly position as the Greeks fight the Trojans for more than nine years on end. With war comes death, a fact that resounds throughout the IliadWhile Euchenor knew that boarding the ships for Troymeant certain death his father told him sotime and again the smashed old prophet said thathed die in his own halls of a fatal plagueor go with the ships and die at Trojan hands. (pg362, p3)In this quote, describing the life of a solider before he is killed, we attend that his efforts during the war appear pointless. He could have met a similar dishonourable death by staying domicil and enjoying his life. Death represents the futility of fighting a war because it is the only guaranteed result. Monarch Notes tells that since death is a constant bearing in life we may better see how men value their lives when they are close to that presence. Homer does an excellent job of bringing the reader down to the battle so that the futility of war can be closely felt.