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Similes
Key Examples in The Odyssey
Book 10
Explanation and Analysis—Elpenor's Death:
In a darkly ironic passage, a member of Odysseus's crew dies under embarrassing and mundane circumstances:
There was a man, Elpenor [...]
He’d strayed from his mates in Circe’s magic halls
and keen for the cool night air,
sodden with wine he’d bedded down on her roofs.
But roused by the shouts and tread of marching men,
he leapt up with a start at dawn but still so dazed
he forgot to climb back down again by the long ladder —
headfirst from the roof he plunged, his neck snapped
from the backbone, his soul flew down to Death.
