Demodocus sings to Odysseus, King Alcinous, and other people in the king’s home. He sings about Troy and the situation revolving around the Trojan Horse. He goes on to sing about the great Odysseus and compares him to a “god of war on attack”. This makes Odysseus cry, which seems to me happens quite often. It was said that he would sob every day when he was trapped by the goddess, Calypso. The book even describes his weeping as that of a woman’s, one who has lost her husband and has experienced heartbreak. This makes me think Odysseus is somewhat over sensitive to things. But it may only be because he misses his home and family so much that he is much more emotional than usual and is going through heartbreak himself. He may also be more emotional being reminded of the war because he had lost so many men and it was a tragic experience leading to his capturing by Calypso.
No one noticed Odysseus’ crying but Alcinous. This leads me to believe Alcinous is a very kind, generous man. But I also question the king because if he was truly very kind, why has he not sent Odysseus on his way home yet? It seems that Odysseus has been begging Alcinous and Arete since the minute he has entered their home to be sent home. Alcinous promised Odysseus that he would get a crew to bring him back to his own home and family. But before that happens, it seems Odysseus has to spend time talking to everyone, feasting, watching them run and play sports, and later on be interrogated with many questions about himself. It makes me question why Alcinous did not just prepare a sea crew and send Odysseus home the morning after he showed up at his doorstep. It also confuses me because Alcinous makes Demodocus stop singing because it is making Odysseus emotional, which shows he seems to care about this poor, heartbroken man, yet he takes his time in sending him home. Maybe this is because he doesn’t want Odysseus to leave because he thinks he’d be a good husband to his daughter, Nausicca. But he does promise to eventually send Odysseus on a ship home.