Robert Fizgerald My Father On His Shield

The Odyssey in Comparison With “My Father on His Shield” Often in literature, writers unintentionally create works that tie very well with one another. Two works that connect well are The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fizgerald, and “My Father on His Shield,” by Walt McDonald. While McDonald’s poem underscores the tone of mourning and sorrow by the main character, Homer’s work elucidates the tone of animosity and hurt. As previously stated, the tone of McDonald’s poem, “My Father on His Shield” is one of mourning and grief. The speaker of the poem is grieving his father who he lost to battle and experiences struggles in coping with it all. McDonald’s details about the sled mentioned in the poem reflect the closeness that was once there between the speaker and his father, in addition to the level of importance the speaker’s father had in his life. The use of diction by McDonald also emphasizes the speaker’s mourning, often accompanied by nostalgia, by implicating the repetition of the words “I remember” throughout the poem. This constant remembrance expresses the speaker’s difficulty coming to terms with his father’s death.
The main character, thus far, is named Telemakhos. The character’s father has been gone for many years without returning or sending any messages, causing the boy and his mother to wonder whether he has died, or if he is gone because he does not wish to return. By the use of detail, readers are able to find out that as a result of his father’s extended absence, a number of suitors have begun to take free reign over their home and all of their property, seeking to marry the possible widow. Homer uses diction in order to indicate the Telemoakhos’ animosity towards his