Of Homer’s two epic poems, the Odyssey has always been more popular than the Iliad, perhaps because it includes more features of mythology that are accessible toreaders. Its subject (to use Maynard Mack’s categories) is “life-as-spectacle,”for readers, diverted by its various incidents, observe its hero Odysseusprimarily from without; the tragic Iliad, however, presents “life-as-experience”: readers are asked to identify with the mind of Achilles, whose motivations render him a not particularly likable hero. In addition, the Iliad, more than the Odyssey, suggests the complexity of thegods’ involvement in human actions, and to the extent that modern readers findthis complexity a needless complication, the Iliad is less satisfying than the Odyssey, with its simpler scheme of divine justice. Finally, sincethe Iliad presents a historically verifiable action, Troy’s siege, the poem raises historical questions that are absent from the Odyssey’s blithely imaginative world.
1. The author uses Mack’s “categories” most probably in order to
(A) argue that the Iliad should replace the Odysseyas the more popular poem
(B) indicate Mack’s importance as acommentator on the Iliad and the Odyssey
(C) suggest one way in which the Iliad and the Odyssey can be distinguished
(D) point out some of the difficulties faced by readers of the Iliad and theOdyssey
(E) demonstrate that the Iliad and the Odyssey can best be distinguished by comparing their respective heroes
2. The author suggests that the variety of incidents in the Odyssey is likely to deter the reader from
(A) concentrating on the poem’s mythological features
(B) concentrating on the psychologicalstates of the poem’s central character
(C) accepting the explanation that have been offered for the poem’s popularity
(D) accepting the poem’s scheme of divine justice
(E) accepting Maynard Mack’s theory that the poem’s subject is “life-as-spectacle”
3. The passage is primarily concerned with
(A) distinguishing arguments
(B) applying classifications
(C) initiating a debate
(D) resolving a dispute
(E) developing a contrast
4. It can be inferred from the passage that a reader of the Iliad is likely tohave trouble identifying with the poem’s hero for which of the following reasons?
(A) The hero is eventually revealed to be unheroic.
(B) The hero can be observed by the reader only from without.
(C) The hero’s psychology is not historically verifiable.
(D) The hero’s emotions often do not seem appealing to the reader.
(E) The hero’s emotions are not sufficiently various to engage the reader’s attention.
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