Question

More than anything, "Perseus" shares with readers the inner struggle of a hero who finds that he is perhaps more like his bloodthirsty enemy than he realized. Trace the tone conveyed throughout the poem. How does the tone of the poem help readers better understand Perseus's conflict? How does the poet's choice of words and phrases, in both their denotative and connotative meanings, support this tone and help readers compare and contrast both sides of a hero? Support your writing with specific examples from the text.

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

1. The poem has a raviso tone. This allows the reader to understand that the act of killing takes away the heroism of an individual. That's because Perseus is a hero and is angry after killing Medusa, wanting to kill more people. However, his heroic nature shows that this feeling is wrong and that is why he gets angry, transmitting that irritation to the tone of the poem.

2. The choice of phrases and words for how Perseus was committed to his mission to destroy a dangerous monster, but later his thoughts proved to be conflicting and more accelerated, as this responsibility went up to his head and showed that he had the power to kill , just like Medusa. An example of this conflict, can be seen with the use of oxymoron "serpents torpidly astir."