Well, school OFFICIALLY started a day ago, so in honor of that, I want to post one of the very first pieces of writing that I ever wrote for high school. At the time of this post, this piece is 4 years old! Originally titled Eurymakhos' Soliloquy, this is a piece that I wrote for an Odyssey unit that I did for my Honors English I class. This soliloquy is written from the perspective of Eurymakhos, the second-in-command of the suitors after the head suitor Antínoös was killed by Odysseus. I was bound by the canon of The Odyssey, so unfortunately the deep reflections that Eurymakhos goes through do not change his outcome (i.e. getting brutally murdered by Odysseus) but similar to Scar's Soliloquy, it enabled me to write from the perspective of the villain (as a way to humanize the antagonist) before he meets his grisly and macabre end.
Who is this man? This man before me?
Sprung up out of the ground as though he is a tree…
Claiming boldly that he is that Odysseus.
His intent to murder seems quite serious.
He struck my comrade down so easily, that fellow Antínoös,
As though help aided him from above, in the form of Lord Zeus.
But look! He’s staring at me now!
Determined to stick an arrow in my gullet, and having my lover Melántho clean my corpse.
His actions are... understandable.
This outcome was not unforeseeable.
Slaying his goats, killing his swine…
Plundering his house, drinking his wine
Should vengeance not have been expected?
If Ithaca’s finest had conspired to ruin him?
I never believed that Odysseus would come home.
I assumed him lost or killed, maybe went to Rome
But yet here he is…standing before me,
With his son beside him, ready to kill.
I never meant to have my life end in blood.
I am the oldest, the first of a new brood.
Why did I live my life so recklessly?
During this period of 20 years,
I could have been the voice of reason and clarity.
Now it is too late, and death is at my door.
Here comes Odysseus...
I am not ready to die.
Losing to a beggar, hitting someone with a stool,
My pride and honor has been lost
In these last moments of my life, how can I reclaim it?
I cannot part from this world in such shame.
See now he has aimed his bow, choosing a target,
My chance is gone…But wait… a new thought has dawned!
Oh Odysseus come here and see!
A soul willing to meet a just reward.
I may die and it is all well deserved.
But if I kiss fate with courage,
Muses will sing of my just death.
But ha! Who cares a thing for honor these days?
I lost it long ago, when I squandered his livestock and seduced his maids.
There might still be an escape!
Is this my sword which I see before me? Right here at my belt?
Ready to be drawn, my own deliverance at hand?
This blade can bring about the end as quick as it began.
Wretched soul that I am, I’m sure to land on Hades’ shore.
But why not make Odysseus fight a little, and let him earn his kill.
To end my life, he needs to be a man of great skill
So farewell Eurymakhos, you have had a good run!
Fight with all you have and don’t stop, till you’re done!
No comments:
Post a Comment