General Language Learning Resources

625 words to know

Italian version (English explanation and more resources here)

• Animali: il cane (dog), il gatto (cat), il pesce (fish), l’uccello (bird), la mucca (cow), il maiale (pig), il topo (mouse), il cavallo (horse), l’ala (wing), l’animale (animal), la zampa (paw)

• Mezzi di trasporto: il treno (train), l’aereo / l’aeroplano (plane), la macchina / l’auto / l’automobile (car), il camion (truck), la bici / la bicicletta (bicycle), il pullman / il bus (bus), la barca (boat), la nave (ship), la ruota (tire), il carburante (gasoline), il motore (engine), il biglietto (ticket), i mezzi di trasporto (transportation)

• Luoghi: la città (city), la casa (house), l’appartamento (apartment), la strada (street/road), l’aeroporto (airport), la stazione (train station), il ponte (bridge), l’albergo / l’hotel (hotel), il ristorante (restaurant), la fattoria (farm), il campo (court - sport), la scuola (school), l’ufficio (office), la stanza (room), la cittadina (town), l’università (university), il club (club), il bar (bar), il parco (park), il campeggio (camp), il negozio (store/shop), il teatro (theater), la biblioteca (library), l’ospedale (hospital), la chiesa (church), il mercato (market), la Nazione / il Paese (country (USA, France, etc.)), l’edificio (building), il terreno (ground), lo spazio (space (outer space)), la banca (bank), la posizione / il posto (location)

• Abbigliamento: il cappello (hat), il vestito (dress), il completo (suit), la gonna (skirt), la camicia (shirt), la maglietta (T-shirt), i pantaloni (trousers /pants), le scarpe (shoes), la tasca (pocket), il cappotto (coat), la macchia (stain), i vestiti / l’abbigliamento (clothing)

• Colori: il rosso (red), il verde (green), il blu (blue), l’azzurro (light blue), il giallo (yellow), il marrone (brown), il rosa (pink), l’arancione (orange), il nero (black), il bianco (white), il grigio (gray), il colore (color)

• Persone: il figlio (son), la figlia (daughter), la madre (mother), il padre (father), i genitori (parent (= mother/father)), il neonato (newborn) / il bambino (baby), l’uomo (man), la donna (woman), il fratello (brother), la sorella (sister), la famiglia (family), il nonno (grandfather), la nonna (grandmother), il marito (husband), la moglie (wife), il re (king), la regina (queen), il presidente (president), il vicino (neighbor), il ragazzo (boy), la ragazza (girl), il bambino (child (= boy/girl)) (la bambina, girl), l’adulto (adult (= man/woman)), l’essere umano / l’umano (human (≠ animal)), l’amico (friend), la vittima (victim), il giocatore (player), il tifoso / il fan /l’appassionato (fan), la folla (crowd), la persona (person), la gente / le persone (people)

• Lavoro: l’insegnante (teacher), lo studente (student), l’avvocato (lawyer), il medico (doctor), il paziente (patient), il cameriere (waiter), il segretario / la segretaria (secretary), il prete / il sacerdote (priest), il poliziotto (police man), la polizia (police), l’esercito (army), il soldato (soldier), l’artista (artist), l’autore (author), il manager / il dirigente (manager), il reporter / l’inviato (reporter), l’attore (actor), il lavoro (job)

• Società: la religione (religion), il paradiso (heaven), l’inferno (hell), la morte (death), la medicina (medicine), i soldi (money), il dollaro (dollar), la banconota ((dollar) bill), il matrimonio (marriage), il matrimonio / le nozze (wedding), la squadra (team), la razza (race (ethnicity)), il sesso / il rapporto sessuale (sex (the act)), il sesso (sex (gender)), l’omicidio / l’assassinio (murder), la prigione (prison), la tecnologia (technology), l’energia (energy), la guerra (war), la pace (peace), l’attacco (attack), l’elezione (election), la rivista (magazine), il quotidiano / il giornale (newspaper), il veleno (poison), la pistola (gun), lo sport (sport), la gara (sportiva) (race (sport)), fare esercizio (to exercise), l’esercizio (exercise), la palla (ball), il gioco (game), il prezzo (price), il contratto (contract), la droga (drug), il cartello (sign (traffic)), il simbolo (sign), la scienza (science), Dio (God)

• Arte: la band / il gruppo (band), la canzone (song), gli strumenti (musicali) (instrument (musical)), la musica (music), il film (movie), l’arte (art)

• Bevande: il caffé (coffee), il té (tea), il vino (wine), la birra (beer), il succo (juice), l’acqua (water), il latte (milk), la bevanda (beverage)

• Alimenti: l’uovo (egg), il formaggio (cheese), il pane (bread), la zuppa (soup), la torta (cake), il pollo (chicken), il maiale / la carne suina (pork), il manzo / la carne bovina (beef), la mela (apple), la banana (banana), l’arancia (orange), il limone (lemon), il mais / il granoturco (corn), il riso (rice), l’olio (oil), il seme (seed), il coltello (knife), il cucchiaio (spoon), la forchetta (fork), il piatto (plate), la tazza (cup), la colazione (breakfast), il pranzo (lunch), la cena (dinner), lo zucchero (sugar), il sale (salt), la bottiglia (bottle), il cibo / gli alimenti (food)

• In casa: il tavolo (table), la sedia (chair), il letto (bed), il sogno (dream), la finestra (window), la porta (door), la camera da letto (bedroom), la cucina (kitchen), il bagno (bathroom), la matita (pencil), la penna (pen), la fotografia (photograph), il sapone (soap), il libro (book), la pagina (page), la chiave (key), la vernice (paint), la lettera (letter), l’appunto (note), il muro (wall), il foglio (paper), il pavimento (floor), il soffitto (ceiling), il tetto (roof), la piscina (pool), la serratura (lock), il telefono (telephone), il giardino (garden), il cortile (yard), l’ago (needle), la borsa (bag), la scatola (box), il regalo (gift), la carta / la tessera / il tesserino (card), l’anello (ring), l’attrezzo (tool)

• Elettronica: l’orologio (clock), la lampada (lamp), il ventilatore (fan), il (telefono) cellulare (cell phone), il network / il lavoro online (network),il computer (computer), il programma (program (computer)), il laptop / il portatile  /il computer portatile (laptop), lo schermo (screen), la fotocamera (camera), il televisore (television), la radio (radio), l’elettronica (electronics)

• Corpo: la testa (head), il collo (neck), la faccia (face), la barba (beard), i capelli (hair), l’occhio (eye), la bocca (mouth), il labbro (lip), il naso (nose), il dente (tooth), l’orecchio (ear), la lacrima (tear (drop)), la lingua (tongue), la schiena (back), il dito del piede (toe), il dito (finger), il piede (foot), la mano (hand), la gamba (leg), il braccio (arm), la spalla (shoulder), il cuore (heart), il sangue (blood), il cervello (brain), il ginocchio (knee), il sudore (sweat), la malattia (disease), l’osso (bone), la voce (voice), la pelle (skin), il corpo (body)

• Natura: il mare (sea), l’oceano (ocean), il fiume (river), la montagna (mountain), la pioggia (rain), la neve (snow), l’albero (tree), il sole (sun), la luna (moon), il mondo (world), la Terra (Earth), la foresta (forest), il cielo (sky), la pianta (plant), il vento (wind), il terreno (soil/earth), il fiore (flower), la valle (valley), la radice (root), il lago (lake), la stella (star), l’erba (grass), la foglia (leaf), l’aria (air), la sabbia (sand), la spiaggia (beach), l’onda (wave), il fuoco (fire), il ghiaccio (ice), l’isola (island), la collina (hill), il calore / il riscaldamento (heat), la natura (nature)

• Materiali: il vetro (glass), il metallo (metal), la plastica (plastic), il legno (wood), la pietra (stone), la roccia (huge stone), il diamante (diamond), l’argilla (clay), la polvere (dust), l’oro (gold), il rame (copper), l’argento (silver), il bronzo (bronze), il mattone (brick), il materiale (material)

• Matematica/Misure: metro (meter), centimetro (centimeter), chilogrammo (kilogram), pollice (inch), piede (foot), libbra (pound), metà (half), il cerchio (circle), il quadrato (square), la temperatura (temperature), la data (date), il peso (weight), il bordo (edge), l’angolo (corner)

• Nomi vari: la mappa (map), il punto (dot), la consonante (consonant), la vocale (vowel), la luce (light), il suono (sound), il silenzio (silence), il rumore (noise), il buio (darkness), sì (yes), no (no), il pezzo (piece), il dolore (pain), l’infortunio (injury), il buco (hole), l’immagine (image), il motivo / la fantasia / il disegno (pattern), il nome (noun), il verbo (verb), l’aggettivo (adjective)

• Direzioni: sommità (top), fondo (bottom), lato (side), davanti (front), dietro (back), fuori (outside), dentro (inside), sopra (up), sotto (down), sinistra (left), destra (right), dritto (straight), nord (north), sud (south), est (east), ovest (west), la direzione (direction)

• Stagioni: l’estate (Summer), la primavera (Spring), l’inverno (Winter), l’autunno (Fall), la stagione (season)

• Numeri: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 30, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42, 50, 51, 52, 60, 61, 62, 70, 71, 72, 80, 81, 82, 90, 91, 92, 100, 101, 102, 110, 111, 1000, 1001, 10000, 100000, milione (million), bilione (billion), primo (1st), secondo (2nd), terzo (3rd), quarto (4th), quinto (5th), il numero (number) [ HERE ]

• Mesi: gennaio (January), febbraio (February), marzo (March), aprile (April), maggio (May), giugno (June), luglio (July), agosto (August), settembre (September), ottobre (October), novembre (November), dicembre (December)

• Giorni della settimana: lunedì (Monday), martedì (Tuesday), mercoledì (Wednesday), giovedì (Thursday), venerdì (Friday), sabato (Saturday), domenica (Sunday)

• Tempo: l’anno (year), il mese (month), la settimana (week), il giorno (day), l’ora (hour), il minuto (minute), il secondo (second), la mattina / il mattino (morning), il pomeriggio (afternoon), la sera (evening), la notte (night), il tempo (time)

• Verbi: lavorare (work), giocare / suonare / recitare (play), camminare (walk), correre (run), guidare (drive), volare (fly), nuotare (swim), andare (go), fermarsi (stop), seguire (follow), pensare (think) parlare / dire (speak/say), mangiare (eat), bere (drink), uccidere (kill), morire (die), sorridere (smile), ridere (laugh), piangere (cry), comprare (buy), pagare (pay), vendere (sell), sparare (shoot(a gun)), imparare (learn), saltare (jump), odorare (smell), sentire (hear (a sound)), ascoltare (listen (music)), assaggiare (taste), toccare (touch), vedere (see (a bird)), guardare (watch (TV)), baciare (kiss), bruciare (burn), sciogliere (melt), scavare (dig), esplodere (explode), sedere/ sedersi (sit), stare in piedi (stand), amare (love), odiare (hate), passare / oltrepassare (pass by), tagliare (cut), combattere (fight), distendersi (lie down), ballare (dance), dormire (sleep), svegliarsi (wake up), cantare (sing), contare (count), sposare / sposarsi (marry), pregare (pray), vincere (win), (perdere (lose), mescolare (mix/stir), piegare (bend), lavare (wash), cucinare (cook), aprire (open), chiudere (close), scrivere (write), chiamare (call), girare (turn), costruire (build), insegnare (teach), crescere (grow), disegnare (draw), nutrire (feed), prendere / prendere al volo / afferrare (catch), lanciare (throw), pulire (clean), trovare (find), cadere (fall), spingere (push), tirare (pull), portare /trasportare (carry), rompere (break), indossare (wear), appendere (hang), tremare (shake), firmare (sign), battere / picchiare (beat), sollevare (lift)

• Aggettivi: lungo (long), corto (short (long)), alto (tall), basso (short (vs tall)), largo (wide), stretto (narrow), grande (big/large), piccolo (small/little), lento (slow), veloce (fast), caldo /bollente (hot), freddo (cold), caldo / tiepido (warm), fresco (cool), nuovo (new), vecchio (old (new)), giovane (young), vecchio / anziano (old (young)), buono (good), cattivo (bad), bagnato (wet), asciutto (dry), malato (sick), sano (healthy), rumoroso (loud), tranquillo / calmo / silenzioso (quiet), felice (happy), triste (sad), bello (beautiful), brutto (ugly), sordo (deaf), cieco (blind), carino (nice), meschino / cattivo (mean), ricco (rich), povero (poor), spesso (thick), sottile (thin), caro / costoso (expensive), economico / conveniente (cheap), piatto (flat), curvo (curved), maschile (male), femminile (female), stretto /aderente (tight), largo / allentato (loose), alto (high), basso (low), morbido (soft), duro (hard), profondo (deep), superficiale (shallow), pulito (clean), sporco (dirty), forte (strong), debole (weak), morto (dead), vivo (alive), pesante (heavy), leggero (light (heavy)), scuro (dark), chiaro (light (dark)), nucleare (nuclear), famoso (famous)

• Pronomi: (I) io, (you) tu, (he/she/it) lui / egli (m.), lei / ella (f.), esso (n.) (we) noi (you) voi (they) loro / essi (m.), loro / esse (f.), loro / essi (n.)

** go check @sayitalianohome to find more vocabularies’ and grammar posts

i’ve compiled a huge google drive folder of anarchist, socialist, feminist, anti-colonial, anti-imperial books+ essays, crip + disability theory, queer theory, critical race theory, film theory, transnational + diaspora trauma study essays, and writings that combine all of the above

some essays i’ve got from school, most of the books and some essays r from beautiful people on the internet

to be updated as often as i get more shit. which is fairly often~

Black Feminism & Abolition

if you want to actually engage with intersectional feminism & what abolition really means, this is your homework:

Angela Davis - “Are Prisons Obsolete?”

Ruth Wilson Gilmore - “Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California”

Angela Davis - “Abolition Democracy”

Angela Davis - “Freedom is a Constant Struggle”

“If They Come in the Morning… Voices of Resistance”

Carole Boyce Davies - “Left of Karl Marx: The Political Life of Black Communist Claudia Jones”

Safiya Bukhari - “The War Before”

Patrice Douglass - “Black Feminist Theory for the Dead and Dying”

Patrice Douglass & Frank B Wilderson - “The Violence of Presence: Metaphysics in a Blackened World”

“Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect?”

Evelyn Hammond - “Black (W)holes and the Geometry of Black Female Sexuality”

Sadiya Hartman - “Seduction and the Ruses of Power”

Sadiya Hartman - “Lose Your Mother: A Journey Along the Atlantic Slave Route”

Audre Lorde - “Sister Outsider”

Audre Lorde - “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”

bell hooks - “The Oppositional Gaze: Black Female Spectators”

Michelle S Jacobs - “Black Women’s Invisible Struggle Against Police Violence”

Claudia Rankine - Citizen

Assata Shakur - “Women in Prison: How We Are”

Assata Shakur - “Assata: An Autobiography”

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor - “How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective”

Zoe Samudzi & William C Anderson - “As Black As Resistance: Finding the Conditions for Liberation”

this is a curated list of texts that i find the most helpful for illustrating why we all should also be abolitionists. the bolded are the ones i’ve found the most helpful thus far. & reminder to buy the books when you can, preferably from independent / leftist / black-owned bookstores… and see what you can find at your local library! keep these works in circulation!

King Lear Masterpost

"An Excellent Thing in Woman": Virgo and Viragos in "King Lear" (1998)

Costume Design and Execution of King Lear by William Shakespeare (2010)

Depiction and Function of Madness in Elizabethan and Jacobean Literature (2019)

"Documents in Madness": Reading Madness and Gender in Shakespeare's Tragedies and Early Modern Culture (1991)

Edmund's Redemption in King Lear (1975)

Elements in the Composition of "King Lear" (1933)

Humans And Animals In King Lear (2018)

In Defense of Goneril and Regan (1970)

"King Lear" and Chaos (1991)

"King Lear" and Negation (1990)

Performing Australian Identity: Gendering "King Lear" (2005)

"Service" in King Lear (1958)

See What Breeds about Her Heart: "King Lear", Feminism, and Performance (2004)

“Struck with Her Tongue”: Speech, Gender, and Power in King Lear (2015)

"The Darke and Vicious Place": The Dread of the Vagina in "King Lear" (1999)

The Emotional Landscape of King Lear (1988)

The Emotive use of Animal Imagery in "King Lear" (1962)

The Mirror and the Feather: Tragedy and Animal Voice in "King Lear" (2013)

This is a compiled list of some of my favorite pieces of short horror fiction, ranging from classics to modern-day horror, and includes links to where the full story can be read for free. Please be aware that any of these stories may contain subject matter you find disturbing, offensive, or otherwise distressing. Exercise caution when reading. Image art is from Scarecrow: Year One.

PSYCHOLOGICAL: tense, dread-inducing horror that preys upon the human psyche and aims to frighten on a mental or emotional level. 

“The Frolic” by Thomas Ligotti, 1989

“Button, Button” by Richard Matheson, 1970

“89.1 FM” by Jimmy Juliano, 2015

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1892

“Death at 421 Stockholm Street“ by C.K. Walker, 2016

“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin, 1973

“An Empty Prison” by Matt Dymerski, 2018

“A Suspicious Gift” by Algernon Blackwood, 1906

CURSED: stories concerning characters afflicted with a curse, either by procuring a plagued object or as punishment for their own nefarious actions.

“How Spoilers Bleed” by Clive Barker, 1991

“A Warning to the Curious” by M.R. James, 1925

“each thing i show you is a piece of my death” by Stephen J. Barringer and Gemma Files, 2010

“The Road Virus Heads North” by Stephen King, 1999

“Ring Once for Death” by Robert Arthur, 1954

“The Mary Hillenbrand Cassette“ by Jimmy Juliano, 2016

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs, 1902

MONSTERS: tales of ghouls, creeps, and everything in between.

“The Curse of Yig” by H.P. Lovecraft and Zealia Bishop, 1929 

“The Oddkids” by S.M. Piper, 2015

“Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” by Richard Matheson

“The Graveyard Rats” by Henry Kuttner, 1936

“Tall Man” by C.K. Walker, 2016 

“The Quest for Blank Claveringi“ by Patricia Highsmith, 1967

“The Showers” by Dylan Sindelar, 2012

CLASSICS: terrifying fiction written by innovators of literary horror. 

“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, 1843

“The Interlopers” by Saki, 1919 

“The Statement of Randolph Carter“ by H.P. Lovecraft, 1920

“The Damned Thing” by Ambrose Pierce, 1893

“The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving, 1820 

“August Heat” by W.F. Harvey, 1910

“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe, 1843

SUPERNATURAL: stories varying from spooky to sober, featuring lurking specters, wandering souls, and those haunted by ghosts and grief. 

“Nora’s Visitor” by Russell R. James, 2011

“The Pale Man” by Julius Long, 1934

“A Collapse of Horses” by Brian Evenson, 2013

“The Jigsaw Puzzle” by J.B. Stamper, 1977 

“The Mayor Will Make A Brief Statement and then Take Questions” by David Nickle, 2013

“The Night Wire” by H.F. Arnold, 1926 

“Postcards from Natalie” by Carrie Laben, 2016

UNSETTLING: fiction that explores particularly disturbing topics, such as mutilation, violence, and body horror. Not recommended for readers who may be offended or upset by graphic content.  

“Survivor Type” by Stephen King, 1982

“I’m On My Deathbed So I’m Coming Clean…” by M.J. Pack, 2018

“In the Hills, the Cities” by Clive Barker, 1984

“The New Fish” by T.W. Grim, 2013

“The Screwfly Solution” by Racoona Sheldon, 1977

“In the Darkness of the Fields” by Ho_Jun, 2015 

“The October Game” by Ray Bradbury, 1948

“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison, 1967 

HAPPY READING, HORROR FANS!

Dark Academia Books for Students of Politics and International Relations:

I mean, heck, I am no expert but my need to see this niche ass post is a lot so here goes.

The Prince: Machiavelli- do I NEED to explain this one. Its a seminal text in politics and political philosophy and when you listen to the ideas described in it they can sound a little crazy but once you read it you realise they are still crazy but grounded in something very real. Also its short as heck and an easy read.

Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace- Hans J Morgenthau. I had to pick this one up for my coursework last semester and I thought it would be a snooze fest but no. I was drawn in and I haven’t finished it since but I do plan to get back to it at my leisure.

The End of History and the Last Man: Francis Fukuyama- YES, I fundamentally disagree with Fukuyama on so many points. YES, it is still one of my favourite books of all time. it is a very riveting discussion of political philosophy, history and international relations. If you are interested in any of those topics, pick it up. You won’t regret it.

How Democracy Ends: David Runciman- captivatingly written, great arguments, and a very unique voice. Super relevant in today’s international political atmosphere and if you are interested in studying the rise of right wing authoritarian governments across the globe, this is a great place to start.

Thomas Hobbes: Leviathan- another one that I just feel like i don’t need to explain. Again haven’t read it fully yet, but its quite chill inducing and the basis for most of the contemporary discussion on state, liberalism, authoritarianism, rights and so forth. 

These were just my recommendations, and I by no means claim that they cover the entire gamut of the field. In fact, I would consider myself a noob still where texts relating to politics or IR are concerned, so feel free to give your recommendations and opinions as well!  

THE ILIAD: FOR DUMMIES ☀️ MASTERPOST

just kidding you're not a dummy, you're some hot stuff right there! i will be going through the entire iliad and giving you a general overview, some interesting plot points, additional context, and some other analysis tools to better help you understand the epic!

This post will serve as a table of contents (at the end) to my Iliad posts and a general overview that I will be constantly updating! I am using the Richmond Lattimore translation of the Iliad, alongside my companion book by Malcom M. Wilcock

Before we get into analyzing the actual Iliad, we need to get into some essential questions and context about the book

WHAT IS THE ILIAD:

The Iliad was written by Homer (this is actually debated but we can get into that later) around 750 and 550 B.C.E.

At its core, the story is about heros and humans. It's an Iron Age poem about an event, the Trojan War, that was supposed to have taken place in the Bronze age. The Iliad is considered to be a poem comprised of multiple books, 24 to be exact

This story is only a few days of the tenth and final year of the Greek siege against the city of Troy- this means it relies on the audience already knowing most of the basic details about the Trojan war and the gods themselves (don't sorry, I will provide this for you as we go along)

WHO IS HOMER:

The age old question: who the fuck is Homer?

Literally nothing is known about this dude except that he wrote (or was credited with writing) the Odyssey and the Iliad

People have referenced his writings for EONS. Archilochus, Alcman, Tyrtaeus, Callinus, and even Sappho have referenced the poems of Homer in their own works. These also were popular in fine art in the late 7th century B.C.E.

There is a general consensus that Homer was from Ionia- a territory in western Anatolia or modern day Turkey that was populated by Greeks who spoke the Ionian dialect, aka the birthplace of Greek philosophy. Want more info on Ionia? Click Here!

His descendants were called the Homerids/Homeridae

There is scholarly debate on if he even wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey, or if he only wrote one, etc etc etc. This is due to some very specific differences in the structure of the words used (like the use of short vowels, and the seemingly unimportant semivowel of the digamma being missing from the epics...yeah it's a lot)

The poems were reproduced ORALLY. This means that the poems were passed down by word of mouth, which if I were to sit and listen to this entire book via a guy singing at me...idk man I think I would leave

All of this to say, we really don't know who Homer is. There's a lot more information about what he could have looked like, if he really did write the Iliad, and a million other things, but I've already talked your ear off and we haven't even gotten into the book yet. If you want more information about Homer, check out my sources at the end of the post!

WAS THE CITY OF TROY REAL:

Yeah. There were nine layers exposed at the site of where Troy was expected to be, and nearly fifty sublayers at the mound of Hisarlik

Troy was a vassal state: meaning it had an obligation to a superior state, which happened to be the Hittite Empire

Troy had a lot more allies than original fighters in the city, meaning they had many language barriers- making the army harder to control than the unified Greek enemy.

THE STYLE OF THE ILIAD:

Cause - Effect - Solution

The poem is concluded with a mirror image of its beginning: an old man ventures to the camp of his enemy in order to ransom his child

The poem foreshadows the death of Achilles in MULTIPLE passages! He knows he is destined to die young if he fights at Troy, and the demise of his lover (don't fight me on this) Patroclus gives us an even more extended foreshadowing of the grief that is to come

When Achilles dies, Thetis (his mom) takes his body from the pyre and takes him to a place called the White Island. It's not clear whether he is immortalized BUT the reference to Achilles funeral in the Odyssey states that Achilles is cremated and his bones are placed in a golden urn along those of Patroclus, and the urn is entombed under a prominent mound (tsoa fans...you're welcome)

This isn't really necessary knowledge but moreso something I think is cool: the backstory from the Iliad of an abducted bride also appears in the Sanskirt epic Ramayana (circa 4th century B.C.E.)

okay now here is the ACTUAL important stuff

Humanity is the center of the universe in the Iliad. Humans motivations and concerns generate action in the poem, while the gods are often reduced to the role of enablers or spectators

The style of the poem collaborates with the vision that the speciousness of this epic means that every thought and gesture, spear cast and threat, intimate conversation and lament CAN be recorded. It gives a consciousness behind the demands of the iliad that these interactions MUST be recorded, this attention to detail is another way of showing centrality and the worth of the human experience (Greek OR Trojan)

The Iliad is ultimately a poem about death, the chief elements that distinguish the mortals from gods are: Death shadows every action, and death is neither abhorred nor celebrated. Instead it crystalizes by means of this one theme, death in battle, the essence of what it means to be human (Life is a struggle each person will always lose, the question is how one acts with that knowledge)

Modern readers and analysis blogs will state that one's inner spirit is somehow the "real" self, however the Iliad assumes the opposite: The psykhai (soul, spirits) of dying heroes fly off to Hades while their autous ("selves") are left behind in the form of dead bodies

Glory is INCREDIBLY important in the iliad, why? If mortals could live forever (like gods) then glory would be useless. It's a commodity to be exchanged, and because of this it has an economic and symbolic reality

Companionship is incredibly important

Pity is also very important, it's the concluding note of the poem. Even the gods feel pity

THE GODS AND THE ILIAD:

The Iliad gains depth by the divine dimension shedding glory on the humans at Troy. The gods are so intensely concerned with warriors and their fates which elevates the mortals to a special plane

Mortals are only separated from gods because they grow old and die

The symbiotic bond of gods and mortals is always see-sawing between adoration and antagonism

Humans who get too close to the gods risk being struck down, case in point, Achilles. He's young, well-made, he's a warrior but also a singer/musician (the only hero to be seen doing such a thing), he looks and acts like Apollo. THEREFORE...it's no coincidence that Apollo is ultimately the god who slays Achilles, just as he did Patroclus

Poetry supplemented or even guided ancient Greek religious interpretation much more than the activity of priests due to the lack of any official religious text. This gave ancient Hellenism a very fluid nature

This was a long post, and it's only the first of many! I will continuously update this with more sources about the Iliad and answer any FAQs that come up! I love classic literature, and as a STEM student I need to entertain my passion somehow lol. There is a table of contents at the top of the post, as well as right here. This will be updated for each book of the Iliad I write about, as well as any supplemental posts I make about certain topics and themes as I go along. I am putting a LOT of work into this series of posts, so let me know your thoughts or anything you'd like me to change/add/etc! Happy reading!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

(This is empty because this is the only post...more posts coming soon)

Sources/Citations/Additional Material

Homer- Britannica

Homerids- Britannica

Who Is Homer- The British Museum (fuck the British Museum)

Ionia Information- World Encyclopedia

The Hittites- Britannica

Ramayana Overview- British Library

Overview of Greek Mythology- Theoi

The Iliad- Overview via Britannica

Thetis- World Encyclopedia

all duolingo irish tips and notes!

BASICS 1

BASICS 2

COMMON PHRASES

FOOD

PLURALS

ECLIPSES

LENITION

POSSESSIVE

VERBS: PRESENT TENSE 1

COLOURS

QUESTIONS

PREPOSITIONS 1

DATES/TIME

FAMILY

VERBS: PRESENT TENSE 2

PREPOSITIONS 2

GENITIVE

NEGATIVES

COMPARISON

PREPOSITIONS 3

PASSIVE

NUMBERS

FEELINGS/TRAITS

VERBS: PAST TENSE 1

CHARACTERISTICS

VERBS: PAST TENSE 2

VERBAL NOUNS

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

DIRECTIONS

SPORT

VERBS: FUTURE TENSE 1

IMPERATIVE

VERBS: IMPERFECT

VERBS: CONDITIONAL  

{screencaps by me, do not repost}

okay so anyone who watches formula 1, can you give me a website that I can watch the races for free? I just lost my subscription and I need somewhere to watch the races.

would be greatly appreciated!! you can message me privately if you don’t want to write publicly…

Notion Master Post ✨

I reached a personal goal with this blog so I decided to celebrate with this Master Post ✨

This is going to be a long post so I am putting it all under the cut. Notion is a free to students app that is used primarily for note taking but I can be used for so much more.

Below the cut is some resources I use to make my Notion pages useful and beautiful! I hope you enjoy and feel free to message me if you want any more information.

Keep reading