Looking at The Penelopiad CORAL ANN HOWELLS As the lights go down in the great church of St James‚ Piccadilly‚ a voice speaks eerily out of the darkness somewhere off to the side: ‘Now that I’m dead I know everything.’1 And then a single spotlight reveals centre stage a small grey-haired female figure robed in black sitting on a throne; she begins to speak. This is Margaret Atwood‚ doubly imaged here in performance as Penelope‚ for I am describing a staged reading of part of The Penelopiad by the writer
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character is reveal. In The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood‚ Penelope faces this exact scenario when she is left behind in Ithaca as Odysseus leaves to fight in the Trojan war‚ losing the only person she can trust. In the absence of Odysseus‚ Penelope’s complex character is revealed. Atwood effectively uses diction‚ point of view‚ syntax and tone to characterize Penelope as a skeptical‚ needy and loyal character. The first person perspective used by Margaret Atwood in The Penelopiad gives us valuable insight
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Queen Arete and her maids. In Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad the intended audience would be people that are probably already familiar and enjoy her work. This book would also appeal to people who have read the Odyssey as it gives another pe3rspective on Penelope and her maids that some people may find curious. Even so‚ the most
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The Penelopiad Essay"We had no voice‚ we had no name‚ we had no choice‚ we had one face." (p195)The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood is a contemporary twist to the ancient myth of Homer’s ’The Odyssey’. The novel is set in Ancient Greek society where particularly women and lower-classes were severely subjugated and silenced. Atwood critically evaluates this patriarchal world through eyes of women. The timeless story of Odysseus‚ overflowing with phallocentric ideals and the traditional patriarchal discourse
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recover something‚ some idea of himself perhaps‚ that had gone into loving Daisy” (1). But apart from Daisy being the ultimate prize in Gatsby’s dream‚ she doesn’t really seem to have any other importance in the novel. However‚ in the book The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood‚ Penelope is an important woman character‚ as well as the maids. Penelope and the maids are important woman characters in the novel as they are the narrators‚ they have a key role in the novel. Atwood lets us read about how they
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view and inject their own personal biases in the process often leaving the audience pondering what the truth is. Margaret Atwood addresses the issues of different perspectives telling different stories that are brought up by Homer’s Odyssey in The Penelopiad. The book illustrates just how different the same story can be told from different perspectives and the issues it may cause. The polarizing‚ bias and flawed
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hours the latest. 1. Discuss the theme of constructing a cultural context through the act of story-telling‚ which seems merely innocuous‚ not to mention‚ entertaining‚ yet which marks the hegemony of one over the other. Refer to Atwood’;s ";The Penelopiad"; and Barnes’s ’The Stowaway’ . Songs‚ the recounting of dreams and the news of ordeals in distant lands‚ the byzantine stratagems as narrated by Penelope‚ and the eligibility contest‚ the power struggles and the segregation of animals‚ not to mention
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In Greek mythology‚ gods are seen as mystical‚ all-knowing and almighty‚ but what if it is not always true? In the novella Penelopiad‚ by Margaret Atwood‚ Penelope‚ the wife of Odysseus‚ is in her grave while she is narrating what happened in her life. Atwood retells The Odyssey by Homer‚ from penelope’s point of view. In this section of the book‚ she is informing the readers about the characteristics of the gods and how their actions were not god like. She is using the chance to reveal the true
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definitely lots of interesting moment through the play that attract me a lot. Especially the interaction with audience‚ and watch somebody I know on the stage‚ which is always my dream. I thought I’m going to hate this stage before I watched it‚ since Penelopiad got really good stage‚ props and clothing. It’s amazing to see the stage when I first walk into the theater‚ Much Ado About Nothing got the best‚ most careful stage in all my theater
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Bibliography: Atwood‚ Margaret. The Penelopiad. New York: Canongate‚ 2005. Print. Lionsgate‚ 2005. DVD. Homer‚ and Richmond Alexander Lattimore. The Odyssey of Homer. New York: Harper & Row‚ 1967 Ackroyd‚ Peter‚ and Geoffrey Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales. New York: Viking‚ 2009 "Oh‚ Get a
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