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Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Book 7
Explanation and Analysis—Deadly Dance:
Throughout the Iliad, Homer depicts war as a source of suffering—but also as a source of pride and pleasure. In Book 7, Hector evinces this latter view by metaphorically comparing war to a dance:
War—I know it well, and the butchery of men.
Well I know, shift to the left, shift to the right
my tough tanned shield. That’s what the real drill,
defensive fighting means to me. I know it all,
how to charge in the rush of plunging horses—
I know how to stand and fight to the finish,
twist and lunge in the War-god’s deadly dance.
In this metaphor, Homer compares war to a dance that people can learn and take pride in. Hector admits that, for him, fighting is most of all about movements and mastery.
To a modern reader—for whom Hector comes off as one of the more sympathetic and honorable warriors in the poem—it can almost seem surprising that he's the character to speak these lines. Homer generally characterizes Hector as a measured leader and devoted family man who fights not out of rage or bloodlust, but because he feels a duty to defend his city and protect his people to the extent that he can. Although he's a brave, seasoned warrior, Hector's civilized values gives him a more ambivalent perspective on war than most of the other heroes.
In this passage, however, Hector describes war with a sort of pride and pleasure. The dance metaphor shows that even he can revel in the thrill of fighting and thereby distance himself from the act of killing. This reveals the central role that fighting plays in the men's self-understanding. While the war brings destruction and suffering, it also brings warriors something to learn—not to mention the chance to win valor and admiration. Throughout the Iliad, the narrator explores the warriors' contradictory relationship to the war. It's brutal, yet it gives them a kind of joy.
Related Themes:
Book 16
Explanation and Analysis—Patroclus and the Sea:
In Book 16, during Patroclus's rampage, Homer details many of his clashes and kills. In one of these scenes, he uses imagery and a simile to liken Patroclus to a fisherman. In another, he uses another sea-related metaphor to describe the movements of one of Patroclus's victims.
Towards the middle of the book, Homer describes Patroclus pulling the Trojan warrior Thestor out of his chariot as though he were pulling a fish out of the sea:
Patroclus rising beside him stabbed his right jawbone,
ramming the spearhead square between his teeth so hard
he hooked him by that spearhead over the chariot-rail,
hoisted, dragged the Trojan out as an angler perched
on a jutting rock ledge drags some fish from the sea,
some noble catch, with line and glittering bronze hook.
So with the spear Patroclus gaffed him off his car,
his mouth gaping round the glittering point
and flipped him down facefirst,
dead as he fell, his life breath blown away.
In this extended simile, Homer compares Thestor to a gaping fish on a hook and Patroclus to a fisherman delighted by his catch. Before Thestor is dead, the simile has already taken away his humanity. Additionally, the simile gives insight into the duality of war, as it highlights both Thestor's fear and Patroclus's adeptness and thrill. While war on the one hand gives warriors something to excel at, it also brings degradation and suffering.
Later in Book 16, Patroclus mocks one of his victims with a fishing metaphor as he falls from his chariot:
Look what a springy man, a nimble, flashy tumbler!
Just think what he’d do at sea where the fish swarm—
why, the man could glut a fleet, diving for oysters!
Plunging overboard, even in choppy, heaving seas,
just as he dives to ground from his war-car now.
In this scene, Patroclus has just killed Hector's driver Cebriones by smashing his face in with a jagged stone. This makes Cebriones fall from the chariot "like a diver." Having already degraded his victim with this violent death, Patroclus further degrades him by delightedly mocking him for his fall with the oyster-diver metaphor. Dwelling on this dishonorable behavior, Homer addresses Patroclus in the second-person: "and you taunted his corpse, Patroclus O my rider." In this moment, Homer seems to suggest that Patroclus has gone too far with his disrespect for the dead.
Related Themes:
