#madeline miller crit

[parcai]

hmm as much as i liked tsoa tho, some logic def went on the back burner when miller adapted the fall of troy to be mostly abt love and less abt other greek themes

like one thing that made me v confused was how apollo gently flicks patroclus off the wall he's climbing moments before his death the first time, and then patroclus the narrator just says he must've been demented when he climbed it again and apollo was less understanding and threw him down lmfao

like wdym u were demented idk abt u but if a god flicked me off a wall, i would only climb it again if i did not care if i died, which patroclus clearly did 💀💀💀

in homer's iliad however this makes more sense, as it boils down to the age old greek moral of hubris, and patroclus is not so meek and humble as he is in tsoa, and by reclimbing in the iliad it is a direct example of comparing oneself to the greek gods, believing yourself to be a worthy opponent and just as special, neglecting to heed achilles' sage warning to get in and get out and instead pursuing glory and mindless vengeance, and that ultimately is one of the main contributors to his death 🤔

#hmm #patrochilles #the iliad #patroclus #apollo #achilles #k #greek mythology #it is 12am i think i should let this story rest but unfortunately grief makes people mad so 🙄 #madeline miller crit

[catalists]

tagged in a get-to-know-you meme by @saturdaysky​, thank you!

Last Song: My brother sent me the acoustic version of Weapon by Against the Current the other day and I’ve been listening to that a lot.

Last Movie: Uh, fuck. I have no idea. Possibly nothing since I watched “The Old Guard” this previous summer?

Currently Reading:

Like @saturdaysky and for the same reason (a crit role AU I am writing bits of, mostly saved in a document titled “Essek the Eighth”), I am rereading parts of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

I’m also reading Harrow the Ninth, which has been a struggle to get through the beginning part for me; I’m hoping I’ll hit a tipping point soon!

I’m ALSO reading Circe by Madeline Miller and will probably be done with that in the last day or so.

I finished rereading but still have out Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, also for Crit Role AU purposes

Currently Watching: Critical Role, of course. Also, Undeadwood, but I’m reluctant for it to end so I’m putting off finishing episode 4.

What is anti-poetry to you: The “not like other girls” of the poetry world! What bullshit! It’s poetry by people who are either too narrowly read to understand how expansive the definition of poetry is, or who never gave up on the idea that they were really, really special. Every bit of ‘anti-poetry’ I’ve ever read is functionally poetry, and often less interesting poetry than the poetry that just called itself the name. If you have to invent a word to tell everyone you’re breaking boundaries in a literary medium, you clearly aren’t breaking enough boundaries.

Currently craving: I would love more free time, if the universe is offering. But also I would like more orange juice, which I will get up and retrieve for myself shortly.

Tagging: @marsastronomica and @ayzenigma if you’re interested and haven’t done it yet, or anyone else who thinks this looks like fun.

#about me #tag meme

[parcai]

i think it just ultimately boils down to the fact that the trojan war is perhaps one of the most rich and intricate stories in all of greek mythology, and miller's retelling was basically just gay boys go brr lol

which isn't bad per se, as i did v much enjoy the prose and patrochilles was without a doubt my favorite part (and also the only well developed, prominent part 💀) but it does mean it's an extremely simplistic one note retelling of the trojan war that suffocates all the beautiful nuance and complexities that originally made it compelling, and thus the overarching retelling is a shallow shell of its predecessors.

furthermore, it's kind of embarrassing how people laud her skill with her craft when she could only truly maintain one aspect of her story from start to finish in its full strength, and no semblance of a driving plot or morals or point of view or literally anything else came to fruition.

#if u want a nice tragic romance w some poet level lines u will have a good time #but do not expect more than that <3 #tsoa #patrochilles #madeline miller crit #k #mkay i'm done now lol bye 👋

[parcai]

nobody in the tsoa fandom talks abt it but hector's death was actually really sad, and if i were achilles i would've killed him too but also hector is one of the nicest characters in the iliad, like this man just loves his wife and wants to live, and miller oversimplified the war and created distinct heroes and villains in that regard 😔

#hector #tsoa #achilles #madeline miller crit #k #the iliad

[parcai]

another thing that does not make sense is thetis' distaste for achilles lying with a man

i have already briefly spoke of the demonization of women in tsoa, but jesus christ this came from absolutely fucking nowhere

#tsoa #madeline miller crit #k #patroclus #achilles #thetis #patrochilles

[parcai]

I am loving your tsoa takes. I've had the same issues with the book

yeah like don't get me wrong i thoroughly enjoyed it and have not stopped thinking of it the past few days

but anybody who's even slightly familiar w other retellings of the trojan war, esp. the infamous iliad, is going to have some logic issues w it lol

#anon #answered #tsoa #the iliad #madeline miller crit