Answer:
I agree. Withered, "as though swept by fire," and "once so attractive" create a despairing tone.
Answer:
The Epic Cycle was a collection of Ancient Greek epic poems, composed in dactylic hexameter ... Unlike the Iliad and the Odyssey, the cyclic epics survive only in fragments and summaries from Late Antiquity and the Byzantine period. ... developed during the Greek Dark Age, which was based in part on localised hero cults.
Barren seems like the best work for stark.
Proper: King Midas Common: class play story
