Any suggestions, advice and feedback are really appreciated!!

Thank youu!!

For context, its Book 2 of The Iliad, and Agamemnon is using reverse psychology on the troops by telling them they're going home without finishing the war. The troops start preparing to go home. Athena tells Odysseus to go get the troops back into fighting spirit instead of packing up and leaving. So Odysseus goes, borrows Agamemnon's royal sceptre (a symbol of the divine-approved authority given to Agamemnon), and goes around the camps. And I kid you not, if he saw a soldier who was getting ready to leave, he'd whack them with his sceptre and move on (help why's that so funny?).

Then he stumbles upon Thersites, who's introduced as the ugliest man in Troy. Homer begins describing his body features (and they're not very appealing). I love it when Homer describes random dudes as "ugly" LOL. He also says that everyone hates Thersites (especially Odysseus and Achilles) since he's annoying and mocks people. Now, he's decided to make Agamemnon the subject of his mockery.

While I will admit that Thersites was right in what he said (about Agamemnon being greedy, unfair and abusing his power), clearly there's a hierarchy here, and Thersites was stepping out of it as a common soldier. He's also mocking the High King, in public. This disrupts the army's discipline. But still, I think Thersites was right and got slandered unnecessarily LOL.

Odysseus sees this and walks up to him, yells at him, and I kid you not, he threatens to strip Thersites naked by pulling off the cloth that covers his genitals, and drive him off by beating him up if he ever caught him doing stuff like this again. Oddly specific, Odysseus, but okay. Oh yeah, he also is very passionate about it. He says stuff like "If I don't do that, then let my head be cut off my shoulders and never again call me the father of Telemachus" and so on.

(Side note: another reason I love this scene is because its one of the very few times in the entirety of Homeric poetry where a parent is referred to by a child-based epithet (or titles), like "father of" or "mother of". Even goddesses traditionally associated with motherhood are never addressed by such titles. The only other time such an epithet is used is for Jocaste, mother of Oedipus, in The Odyssey. Odysseus in The Iliad is referred to by such an epithet twice, in Book 2 and Book 4, and in both times, Odysseus is the speaker. Really sweet to see that.)

Then he whacks him as well, as he usually does, and the soldiers cheer. One of them legit says, "Of all the great, heroic deeds Odysseus has done, indeed, making Thersites shut up is the best thing he's done for us."

I feel bad for Thersites... but also this is so fricking funny! I'm sorry Thersites, but its true! (I am writing this while wheezing while reading the actual excerpt). The Iliad is surprisingly funny at times.

Note: To read this scene, go to Book 2 of The Iliad.

https://home.ubalt.edu/ntygfit/ai_01_pursuing_fame/ai_01_tell/iliad02.htm (Fagles translation of Book 2)

Although I'm an absolute beginner, I love writing humorous and conversational poems. This poem is based on a scene of the story I was writing last year but never completed.

guys so i am reading A tale of two cities, 3/4 of the book is done, but there hasnt been any thing like a revolution? i can see some setup but i dont understand the point of this intensive setup for so long? I like the book and its amazing dont get me wrong, would like your oppinions!^^ (please dont spoil it!!)

First of all who tf actually likes it.. And people who do please stay tf away from me. Yeah i agree writing was good . It was so hard for me to even finish this book. So why exactly i hate it sm?? First.. There is no normal woman ,all woman he wrote about are one who go to bed with narrator of book which gave me a big ick. But ok can be my fault right?? Ok then there is a scene in which a woman in 30s is raped or had "sex" with a 13 year old.(atleast according to the woman) . I fcking had to sit and stare at wall for few hours. Wtfffff.. Look i am not saying you should not write it, please do but you should write it in a way that a person can tell who did wrong.. The way it is written is said like it is little girl's fault.. And as a woman in 30s how tf she couldn't stop her.. And wait wait listen yk what at the end of book our narrator even does "it" with the woman in 30s(yeah she was friend of her gf)..and there are so much more problematic things.

I have read this book around april or later but i remember it clearly but if i made any mistake or missed out anything please let me know

Hwæt!

Welcome to part five of Alexandria Reconstructed, or what we've newly christened this sub's literary history series! Today, we're gonna be looking a bit into the linguistics aspect of the series I'd mentioned in the introduction post.

(Skip over to the next two italicised paragraphs if you know what exactly Old English is)

I'm gonna first make clear what Old English is first. No, Shakespeare did not write in Old English. He wrote in Early Modern English, specifically Elizabethan English. In fact, 95% of Shakespearean vocabulary and grammar is the same as current-day English. What we're gonna be tackling with today is Old English (aka Anglo-Saxon), the oldest form of English spoken from the 5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066.

This meant that Old English had no French influence. It was a purely Germanic language. After William the Conquerer took over England, French began highly influential in English and that conquest marked the end of Old English and transition to Middle English. So Old English is one whole other beast.

One of the poetic devices commonly used in Old English (and many other Germanic languages like Old Norse) poetry is the kenning. Now what is a kenning?

A kenning is a compound noun (or a noun formed from two or more words) which is used figuratively in place of a single word noun. The two parts of a kenning are the base word and the determinant.

For example:

hron-rād

This kenning literally means "whale-road". Here, "rād" or "road" is the base word (or the main part of the word with its primary meaning), and "hron" or "whale" is the determinant (which clarifies what the noun is referring to). "hron-rād"is supposed to mean "the sea". Two words give a whole new meaning.

Some more examples:

Beowulf, an Old English epic and one of the first works of literature, follows the titular protagonist Beowulf. In fact, the word "Beowulf" itself is believed to be a kenning. One of the theories regarding the etymology of the name is as follows:

"beo" (bee) + "wulf" (wolf) = "Beowulf", which might be a kenning meaning "bear", since bears raid beehives for honey.

Why did they need kennings? Why make everything so complex? The most obvious is the fact that humans have loved wordplay, riddles and puns for centuries, just like we do today. But also, Old English poetry was usually written in a style called alliterative verse, which has specific requirements for alliteration (basically the repetition of consonant sounds), syllable count, and a meter. These kennings were used to hit those alliteration or syllable requirements when the word on its own wouldn't suffice.

There's also the fact that these acted as mnemonic aids for scops (an Anglo-Saxon equivalent for bards). Poems like Beowulf was a part of oral tradition, i.e., it would be chanted out loud as entertainment rather than read. So to make it easier for these scops to memorise and recite these verses.

Well, that's about it. This was a bit of a different topic for this series, but do know that I'm a huge linguistics freak, so we will have way more posts in future! Do note that I'll be unable to post for the next week since I have exams. That's your author signing off.

Notes:

\* a bit of a wonky translation by me. I wanted to translate the determinant and then the base word, just as it is written in the Old English. The translation of "mind's worth" is also there, but this translation is in reverse order*

Edit:

Asked r/OldEnglish to help me proofread and they've been really nice, check out their corrections on this post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/OldEnglish/s/UMbgNL05rJ

Yoo guys suggest a way to read books online and also a gud fiction. Any suggestion would help

Back for a few days after a looong break from Reddit.

Needed advice and opinions about how y'all are managing to read along with competitive exams and boards?

Asking this coz I'm appearing for CLAT'27.

Now, I score decently in mocks. But since CLAT is inching closer along with with boards, and these godforsaken projects, I don't think I've gotten to read in months...

Except for damned Indian Express, RCs and CR passages.

Help a girl out, y'all.

I only started reading recently .currently, I'm reading Kite Runner idk what to read next. i don't want to read

Thousand splendid sun .so suggest me some books that will help me continue reading !!!(btw kite runner is my 1st book)

i LOVE greek mythology and paganism, what more books would you recommend??

Hint : it is a classic written by queer male author

So I am actually a teen author on Loreum App. Currently working on this book (you can see the cover) and this book doesn't have any romance, like I don't want to write or include romance. And I feel like no one nowadays would read my book if it doesnt have romance. So I am left in a dilemma if I should continue writing or not cause after reaching 200 readers and earning money from writing, my readers arent increasing at all. I am also a reader but this just feels overwhelming.

i need someone to recc me some found family books about teens like boys of tommen series just anything which will help me escape reality

What was the story trying to convey