Question: What is the genre of The Odyssey? Is it simply an epic poem? The first novel? A collection of myths? A fable or allegory? Or a composite genre, some combination of these?
Answer: Many would believe that The Odyssey would only be classified as an epic poem genre book due to simply the format which is written as a poem. First and foremost, it is clear that the book is written after the book, The Illiad. The Odyssey’s plot deals with what happened post-war in which The Illiad was about Odysseus’s Trojan War. Although both books are in a poem format, as you continue to read throughout and within, you realize that the content makes it more than a poem. The book consists of Greek gods and goddesses in which it is clear that there is greek mythology throughout the entire book. Being those Greek gods and goddesses are not factual, many would also say that this is a fable.
Although both books are in a poem format, as you continue to read throughout and within, you realize that the content makes it more than a poem. The book consists of Greek gods and goddesses in which it is clear that there is greek mythology throughout the entire book. Being those Greek gods and goddesses are not factual, many would also say that this is a fable. This can only be an allegory based genre being that it is a story being told by the protagonist, Odysseus himself of what happened post-war. Throughout the entire poem, there are hidden meanings behind each line any poem does.
The Odyssey is clearly classified as a composite genre book being that it consists of multiple genres; a mix of mythology, epic poetry, fable, allegory, quests and much more.
I agree! Although it is in poem format, when reading it it came off as just a prose book. Usually when reading poetry the rhyme scheme makes it a lot harder to digest. Maybe in the original Greek it was more poetic but in this translation it definitely seemed as more of a combination.