Paper details:

Your response will be given on the back page of the exam and should be able to fit on an 8 ½ – 11in. sheet of paper. A passing essay will answer all parts of the question. A good essay will offer helpful examples from lecture and reading to bolster your point.

1. Modern scholars debate whether or not the Iliad was composed by a single author. Regardless of the manner of its composition (or compilation), however, we have a rough idea of the time period in which the poem took its final form. Briefly explain when the poem was composed—not just an exact date, but explain the historical circumstances in which the poem was composed. Does the society of the mortal characters of the poem reflect that of a particular period in Greek history? If so, which? Or is the issue more complicated than that? If so, how?

2. Many modern scholars, believing that the Iliad was a compilation of many poems composed by authors in disparate regions of Greece over the course of centuries. I have argued in this class that we should emphasize the unity of the poem. Is the poem actually about something? What are the main themes of the poem? Does the author of the poem seem to have a central point to make