The Modern Writing Of "Homer"

The Illiad and the Odyssey is a monumental work in western literary history, ushering people into a magnificent world of art. Reading the epic enable us to experience the glorious histroy of human exploration and enquiry. The book has permanently provided inspiration for the writers to come, who rewrite the story by means of parady, copying and intertextuality, thus bringing the work under various perspectives of interpretation. What's more, the rewriting of The Illiad and the Odyssey has given new life to the book. Based on the previous studies on The Illiad and the Odyssey, this thesis attempts to interpret it withing three dimensions: 1) the rewriting of The Illiad and the Odyssey in modern times; 2) the significance of Ulysses for modern times and 3) an interpretation of The Song of Troy in the modern spirit.The present study consists of five parts, the first of which reviews the critical history of The Illiad and the Odyssey and tries to present the theoretical framework of the study: the perspective, the new findings and the academic values of the enquiry.The first chapter, after mapping the intertextuality theory, tries to examines The Illiad and the Odyssey in the intertextuality context, clarify the rewriting of the epic in different ages.The second chapter, from Homer's Ulysses to Joyce's Ulysses, there was a trendency of vulgarization in heroes. The colour of heroes has faded, the spirit of heroes has gone away, the soul of heroes has deteriorated. It will reveal the survival crisis of modern westerners and their spirit wilderness, search for the reasons of heroes vulgarization as its general idea in this article, then to pursuit the methods of"saving"through these aspects finally.The third chapter analyzes the military elements in The Illiad and the Odyssey and The Song of Troy in a comparative way. One the one hand, this chapter interprets the military factors in the modern spirit by dividing the characters into several groups according to their military ideology. On the other hand, this chapter will disclose the military tactics reflected in the warfare in reference to modern military theories. These tactics, it is found, embody humanist concern for the contemporary time.The final part of this thesis draws a conclusion that the repeated re-writing of The Illiad and the Odyssey in different ages has reflected a deep transformation of Zeitgeist and aesthetics since the birth of the great book. Besides, the ideaological dipiction of warfare gives voice to the Zeitgeist as well as the historical sence and humanist concern.