The poet of the Odyssey devotes a full three books (Books 6-8) to his hero’s encounter with the Phaiakian people, but despite the brilliance of the episode it is not immediately clear why such a prolonged episode stands between the first introduction of the hero (Book 5) and his own narration of his adventures (Books 9-12). Write an essay of at least on Books 6-8 of Homer’s Odyssey, exploring what the poet accomplishes in depicting Odysseus’s interactions with the Phaiakian people. Issues that you may wish to address include: Characterization and role of Phaiakian characters such as Nausikaa, Alkinoös, and Arete; characterization of the Phaiakians as a people and civilization; the words and actions of Odysseus himself; the themes and content of songs sung by the Phaiakian poet Demodokos; narrative devices such as foreshadowing or flashback.
