Odyssey Lesson 21

Last updated over 1 year ago

5 questions

Note from the author:

Instructions

Required

1

RL.6.4

Required

1

RL.6.4

Required

1

RL.6.3

Required

1

RL.6.1

Required

1

RL.6.2

Library

Odyssey Lesson 21

Last updated over 1 year ago

5 questions

Note from the author:

from “Book 23” 
of Homer’s The Odyssey 
translated by Robert Fagles 

“Dear old nurse,” wary Penelope replied, 
“the gods have made you mad. They have that power, 
putting lunacy (1) into the clearest head around 
or setting a half-wit (2) on the path to sense. 
They’ve unhinged you (3), and you were once so sane. 
Why do you mock (4) me?—haven’t I wept enough?— 
telling such wild stories, interrupting my sleep, 
sweet sleep that held me, sealed my eyes just now. 
Not once have I slept so soundly since the day 
Odysseus sailed away to see that cursed city … 
Destroy, I call it—I hate to say its name! 
Now down you go. Back to your own quarters. 
If any other woman of mine had come to me, 
rousing me out of sleep with such a tale, 
I’d have her bundled back to her room in pain. 
It’s only your old gray head that spares you that!” 

1 lunacy: Craziness 
2 half-wit: A person with half of his or her senses; a foolish person 
3 unhinged you: Thrown you into confusion; made you crazy 
4 mock: Ridicule or tease 

Homer. “Book 23.” The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin, 1996, pp. 380–381.

Instructions

from “Book 23” 
of Homer’s The Odyssey 
translated by Robert Fagles 

“Dear old nurse,” wary Penelope replied, 
“the gods have made you mad. They have that power, 
putting lunacy (1) into the clearest head around 
or setting a half-wit (2) on the path to sense. 
They’ve unhinged you (3), and you were once so sane. 
Why do you mock (4) me?—haven’t I wept enough?— 
telling such wild stories, interrupting my sleep, 
sweet sleep that held me, sealed my eyes just now. 
Not once have I slept so soundly since the day 
Odysseus sailed away to see that cursed city … 
Destroy, I call it—I hate to say its name! 
Now down you go. Back to your own quarters. 
If any other woman of mine had come to me, 
rousing me out of sleep with such a tale, 
I’d have her bundled back to her room in pain. 
It’s only your old gray head that spares you that!” 

1 lunacy: Craziness 
2 half-wit: A person with half of his or her senses; a foolish person 
3 unhinged you: Thrown you into confusion; made you crazy 
4 mock: Ridicule or tease 

Homer. “Book 23.” The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin, 1996, pp. 380–381.

Required

1

RL.6.4

Required

1

RL.6.4

Required

1

RL.6.3

Required

1

RL.6.1

Required

1

RL.6.2

from “Book 23” 
of Homer’s The Odyssey 
translated by Robert Fagles 

“Dear old nurse,” wary Penelope replied, 
“the gods have made you mad. They have that power, 
putting lunacy (1) into the clearest head around 
or setting a half-wit (2) on the path to sense. 
They’ve unhinged you (3), and you were once so sane. 
Why do you mock (4) me?—haven’t I wept enough?— 
telling such wild stories, interrupting my sleep, 
sweet sleep that held me, sealed my eyes just now. 
Not once have I slept so soundly since the day 
Odysseus sailed away to see that cursed city … 
Destroy, I call it—I hate to say its name! 
Now down you go. Back to your own quarters. 
If any other woman of mine had come to me, 
rousing me out of sleep with such a tale, 
I’d have her bundled back to her room in pain. 
It’s only your old gray head that spares you that!” 

1 lunacy: Craziness 
2 half-wit: A person with half of his or her senses; a foolish person 
3 unhinged you: Thrown you into confusion; made you crazy 
4 mock: Ridicule or tease 

Homer. “Book 23.” The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin, 1996, pp. 380–381.

from “Book 23” 
of Homer’s The Odyssey 
translated by Robert Fagles 

“Dear old nurse,” wary Penelope replied, 
“the gods have made you mad. They have that power, 
putting lunacy (1) into the clearest head around 
or setting a half-wit (2) on the path to sense. 
They’ve unhinged you (3), and you were once so sane. 
Why do you mock (4) me?—haven’t I wept enough?— 
telling such wild stories, interrupting my sleep, 
sweet sleep that held me, sealed my eyes just now. 
Not once have I slept so soundly since the day 
Odysseus sailed away to see that cursed city … 
Destroy, I call it—I hate to say its name! 
Now down you go. Back to your own quarters. 
If any other woman of mine had come to me, 
rousing me out of sleep with such a tale, 
I’d have her bundled back to her room in pain. 
It’s only your old gray head that spares you that!” 

1 lunacy: Craziness 
2 half-wit: A person with half of his or her senses; a foolish person 
3 unhinged you: Thrown you into confusion; made you crazy 
4 mock: Ridicule or tease 

Homer. “Book 23.” The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles. Penguin, 1996, pp. 380–381.

This item has two parts. Answer PART A; then answer PART B.
Read these lines from the passage.

“‘Dear old nurse,’ wary Penelope replied, ‘the gods have made you mad. They have that power, putting lunacy into the clearest head around or setting a half-wit on the path to sense.’”

PART A: What does lunacy mean?

craziness

anger

common sense

arrogance

PART B: Based on these lines, readers can infer that Penelope believes what about her nurse?

She is acting out of resentment.

She is trying to control Penelope.

She is thinking logically.

She is behaving foolishly.

This item has two parts. Answer PART A; then answer PART B.
PART A: How does Penelope respond at first to news that Odysseus has returned?

with confusion and mistrust

with happiness and joy

with sadness and disappointment

with anger and frustration

PART B: Which piece of evidence best supports this idea?

“They’ve unhinged you, and you were once so sane.”

“haven’t I wept enough?”

“Not once have I slept so soundly”

“I’d have her bundled back to her room in pain.”

Which is the best summary of this passage?

Penelope is upset when she realizes that her nurse, who has been with her for years, has suddenly lost her mind and her common sense.

In Ancient Greece, people believed that the Gods had the power to control people’s lives and their destinies.

Penelope has finally been having the best sleep she has had in years when her nurse wakes her up to tease her with a false story about her husband.

Penelope’s nurse wakes her with the news that Odysseus has returned home; Penelope does not believe it and accuses her of teasing her.

This item has two parts. Answer PART A; then answer PART B. 
Read these lines from the passage. 

“‘Dear old nurse,’ wary Penelope replied, ‘the gods have made you mad. They have that power, putting lunacy into the clearest head around or setting a half-wit on the path to sense.’”

PART A: What does lunacy mean?

craziness

anger

common sense

arrogance

PART B: Based on these lines, readers can infer that Penelope believes what about her nurse?

She is acting out of resentment.

She is trying to control Penelope.

She is thinking logically.

She is behaving foolishly.

This item has two parts. Answer PART A; then answer PART B. 
PART A: How does Penelope respond at first to news that Odysseus has returned?

with confusion and mistrust

with happiness and joy

with sadness and disappointment

with anger and frustration

PART B: Which piece of evidence best supports this idea?

“They’ve unhinged you, and you were once so sane.”

“haven’t I wept enough?”

“Not once have I slept so soundly”

“I’d have her bundled back to her room in pain.”

Which is the best summary of this passage?

Penelope is upset when she realizes that her nurse, who has been with her for years, has suddenly lost her mind and her common sense.

In Ancient Greece, people believed that the Gods had the power to control people’s lives and their destinies.

Penelope has finally been having the best sleep she has had in years when her nurse wakes her up to tease her with a false story about her husband.

Penelope’s nurse wakes her with the news that Odysseus has returned home; Penelope does not believe it and accuses her of teasing her.

Odyssey Lesson 21

Odyssey Lesson 21

PART B: Based on these lines, readers can infer that Penelope believes what about her nurse?

This item has two parts. Answer PART A; then answer PART B. PART A: How does Penelope respond at first to news that Odysseus has returned?

PART B: Which piece of evidence best supports this idea?

Which is the best summary of this passage?

This item has two parts. Answer PART A; then answer PART B.
PART A: How does Penelope respond at first to news that Odysseus has returned?