JieyingXie

**"Homer-Erotic" by Chuck Rybak (2007)** //Jieying Xie// When I first heard the word "homoerotic" we were learning the Iliad in class, so naturally I heard "Homer-erotic," which,given the number of men stationed in one place for a decade with not much to do, made perfect sense to me.

Pleased with this sharp-edged word, I hoisted it like a javelin, pointed it at my friends, made jabs at parties hosted by smart people. "O, that's entirely Homer-erotic," I would say into the profound pauses I understood to be the requisite awe.

I patiently explained to my girlfriend how being Homer-erotic was different than being gay, which was a whole separate deal, and that this love was the epic love of friends, the bond beyond beers. This was marrow love, forearm-clasping love, I'd-play-on-your-team love.

Because theory is no good without pratice, I brought my spear to the bar where Bud Light camps outside the walls of Miller, where men, without irony, wear the jerseys and numbers of other men, just like the girls in high school who dated and fawned over the football players.

A man among men, I duly sacrificed hecatombs of peanuts and buffalo wings, watched giants gaze up at the Olympian big-screen and seize their neighbor's hands, "Brother, our team will not fail this dawn, and if they do, let the earth yawn and swallow me in shame."

Muses, who were the manly lords and officers? Dick, raider-of-refrigerators was there, and seated next to him was Frank, son of Ronald- they love the waitress with her tits that launched a thousand ships, but they'd been dishonored at home, where the slaves weren't as grateful as they should be.

I'm embarrassed to say when I first learned of my error, of "homoerotic" as reality, but let's just say that men had already packed and made it home from Troy while I was the last one standing, and not because I'd won the Homeric spelling bee.

Once it was gone I wanted my word back. I miss you Agamemnon, dick that you were. I miss the big cry baby, Achilles, as well. I miss the Homer-erotic annunciation of men who offend fickle gods and mispronounce all that they've heard with pride.

Now, I sit as quiet as a bowl in a china shop. I beg the gods for an escape goat because not knowing the score is cutting your nose, despite your face. Make no mistake- when you say it right, "homo" makes the men see red, ill-fated pigment of the imagination.

Way 1: First Impressions
My first impression of this poem is that the poet is telling a story about himself. It is a narrative poem. Firstly, sounds so similarly, the speaker misleads the word "homoerotic" to "Homer-erotic" (1, 3). While "homoerotic" refers to homosexuality and "Homer-erotic" may refers to the ancient Greek poet Homer's epic poem the "Iliad". However, the speaker actually understands the difference between the two words and explains to his girlfriend about them (13, 14, 15). Also, in order to practice "homoerotic" in reality, he went to the bar (19, 20). The next several lines explain he realizes what the fact of "homoerotic" is and the difference from his original understanding. At the last stanza, he makes a simile for himself, "sit as quiet as a bowl in a china shop" (49) because he feels so shy about his mistake. The last two lines concludes the reason why he would first thought "homoerotic" as a derogatory term because of the affix "homo".

I think this poem reveals that do not be so subjective about everything. In deep, it criticizes people who are really cynical. However, what I am still confused is what does "Homer-erotic" actually means in the poem and what the relation between the man and the bar is. I hope I can solve them in the following ways. 

Way 2: Engaging with the Text
Unfortunately, I cannot find an audio for it. There is no rhyme scheme in this poem. However, after I read it for times, I suddenly realized the word "Homer-erotic", sounds and spells similarly as "homoerotic", is the most important pronunciation detail. Other than meanings, the difference between these two words is the pause. "I would say into the profound pauses I understood to be the requisite awe" (11, 12). These two lines indicate the poet enjoys challenging people with this small difference. What is more, this poem is divided into nine stanzas with six lines each. Although there is not a rhyme pattern, all the nine stanzas go along with the development of the story. Some specific words like "once" (42) and "now" (49) also give readers a clear structure of the poem. Moreover, this poem uses some parallelisms to connect phrases and sentences. In line 17 and 18, the poet uses "marrow", "forearm-clasping" and "I'd-play-on-your-team" to describe "homer-erotic". In line 44 and 45, he uses two "miss" to present his repentance. In that way, the poem is more attracting and more systematical.

Way 3: A Point about Form and Its Relationship to Content
This is a narrative poetry. It has no rhyme scheme in the poem. There are nine stanzas with six lines each. However, the division of stanzas give a clear pace of the whole story. It explains how the speaker gets to know the word "homoerotic", relates it with "homer-erotic", challenges people with the pronunciation similarity and understands the fact of "homoerotic" in reality. Also, the repetition of "love" in line 17-18 emphasizes the difference between "homoerotic" and "homer-erotic". The speaker uses hyperbole device to describe the love being "homer-erotic". Another repetition appears in line 44-46. This repetition of "miss" is another emphasis of his regretful feeling .

Way 4: Unpacking an Instance of Figurative Language
The poem contains some figurative language. "Like a javelin, pointed it at my friends," (8) is a simile here. It establishes a comparison between two things: javelin and the word "Homer-erotic". They are clarified by the line "pleased with this sharp-edged word, I hoisted it" (7). It indicates the speaker took this "sharp-edged" word "homer-erotic" as a "javelin" and pointed it at his friends. This is literally impossible, so this comparison helps me to connect them together. The verb "pointed" is also visualized helping me imagines the above simile well. As the speaker actually knew the difference between "homoerotic" and "homer-erotic" and intentionally said it "into the profound pauses" (11), he found his friends, even those smart people, would get confused with this pronunciation difference. It reveals that people are so sensitive about "homoerotic", so the speaker's little joke "made jabs at parties" (9). 

Way 4: Unpacking an Instance of Figurative Language
"Now, I sit as quiet as a bowl in a china shop" (49) is also a simile here. It established a comparison between two things: bowl and "I". The bowl is an item without life. So, the speaker uses the adjective "quiet" to describe the bowl's status in the china shop. As a bowl is quite, the speaker wants to take himself as this quite thing without any words to explain his mistake. This comparison indicates the speaker felt so shy about his mistake after he saw what "homoerotic" actually is in reality. Different from his confidence of "homoerotic" in the previous lines where he not only joked his smart friend but also explained to his girlfriend, this time he found his practice failed with his original theory. This comparison also helps me to understand the poem better. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way 4: Unpacking an Instance of Figurative Language
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">"Brother, our team will not fail this dawn, and if they do, let the earth yawn and swallow me in shame." (28-30) is primarily an image because it appeals to the senses of sight and touch. As defined in Dictionary.com, the word "yawn" means "to open the mouth somewhat involuntarily with a prolonged, deep inhalation and sighing or heavy exhalation, as from drowsiness or boredom". If the sun "yawn[s]", it indicates it would be bored. However, this is also impossible. So it reveals the man's confidence in his team. Also, the word "swallow" appeals to the sense of touch. The man made himself as a "bet". If his team lost, he would be "swallow[ed]". It further reflects his strong confidence. On the surface, it seems this image is not relevant with the speaker. However, in deep, it can be assumed as a reason why the speaker found he wrong. The man, who he thought "homoerotic" before, was acting as a normal person.

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way 5: Analyzing the Setting
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; msofontkerning: 0pt;">I choose the setting "the bar where Bud Light/ camps outside the walls of Miller." (20-21) this is where the speaker wants to practice his identification of "homoerotic". Because "theory is no good without practice." (18) The speaker went to the bar to find such homoerotic. On the surface, the reason why he chooses the bar other than other places is because bars are often filled with free atmosphere. So he thinks he can find those homoerotic there. The speaker also uses a simile that the men in the bar "just like the girls in high school who dated and fawned over the football player." (23-24) to describe those "homoerotic" as he thought before. The word "irony" (21) further indicates the speaker actually looks down on such "homoerotic". Moreover, this setting reveals many other people's thought of the bar like the speaker's: chaos, roaring and with homoerotic everywhere. Culturally, as this poem was completed in 2007, it reflects a modern society. People become richer and have more freedom than before. This serves a condition why the speaker would choose the bar to practice his theory. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">

Way 6: Identifying and Analyzing Point of View
<span style="text-align: left; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; msofontkerning: 0pt;">The poem is written in the first-person point of view. A narrative in the first-person point of view is told by a narrator who refers to the protagonist as "I" in the poem. From the first-person point of view, we can get direct access to what is going on in the protagonist's mind. In "Homer-erotic", the protagonist is never named. There are a lot of descriptions about what happened in the protagonist's mind. For example, the 7th stanza describe the protagonist is embarrassed of his error. However, with first-person point of view, we are limited to know what other characters are thinking. The protagonist "explained to [his] my girlfriend how/ being Homer-erotic was different/ than being gay." (13-15) We cannot get access to what his girlfriend is thinking about his explanation.

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way 7: Analyzing Complexity, Ambiguity, & Difficulty
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; msofareastfontfamily: 宋体mso-ansi-language;">The most difficult parts in this poem are various allusions. As this poem compares "homoerotic" to "homer-erotic", I should know what "homer-erotic" stands for. For example, the poem uses "Agamemnon" in line 44 and "Achilles" in line 45. I understand they might be related to the speaker's repentance about his mistake of "homer-erotic". But I am not familiar with the Trojan War and Homer's epic poem the "Iliad". As myth stories, these allusions require readers to obtain some background information about these figures. Also, I am confused who the poem is written for. As I read through the whole poem, it seems this is a monologue because it states clear development of the story. However, in the last four lines, the poem is changed into a second-person subject. Does that mean it also refers to someone who has the similar experience as the speaker?

Also, there is an ambiguity in line 28-30 "Brother, our team will not fail this dawn, and if they do, let the earth yawn and swallow me in shame." This is what the man said in the bars. On one side, this can be taken as a normal lifestyle. The man, like every other man, is enthusiastic about sports. He cares nothing about the atmosphere in the bar. For such reasons, I assume that is the reason why the speaker found he was wrong because this man, who he thought as a "homoerotic", was as normal as other men. On the other side, this sentence can be understand as a way to show his close relationship with Frank, who seated next to him. As the man "seize their neighbor's hands" and called Frank "brother", it shows their relationship was really close. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> .

<span style="text-align: center; display: block; font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; msospacerun: yes;">

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way 8: Considering Canonicity
<span style="text-align: left; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Aesthetically, this piece of work uses many figurative languages, such as images, similes. It is a narrative poem written in the first-person point of view. The narrator is never named in the poem. From the first-person point of view, readers can get direct access to what is going on in the narrator's mind. However, readers are limited to know what happened in other characters' minds. The poem also portrays other characters as well, such as the narrator's girlfriend, his classmates, the men he has met in the bars. These characters' actions also served as information to portray the narrator's personality. Culturally, as this poem was completed in 2007, it reflects a modern society. People become richer and have more freedom than before. This serves a condition why the narrator would like to make jokes with "homoerotic" and "homer-erotic" on his friends and practice his theory in the bar. Even this is a so bored jokes, he would like to make it because there is nothing more he needs to do. He can only spare such free time on such boring jokes. Also, from what the speaker thought "homoerotic" was, it reveals a common sense shared among modern people's perspective: they look down on "homoerotic". And when he found "homoerotic" actually stand for and felt shy about his mistake, it criticizes those people, who shared the same view as the speaker, not to be so cynical. For the aesthetical and cultural reasons, I believe this poem could be included in the canon too.

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way 9: Biographical Context
<span style="text-align: left; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">In my understanding, this is a narrative poem which is written in the first-person point of view. The speaker talks about his own story of the mixture with "homer-erotic" and "homoerotic". He understands the difference between these two words but still enjoys making jokes of them. Also, he practiced his theory of "homoerotic" at bars and found his mistake at last. However, I did not quite understand why the speaker regards the people around him would make the same mistakes as he does when he joked his smart friends at bars. With the help of the biography of the author Chuck Rybak, my question towards this issue has become clear. Chuck Rybak grew up in Buffalo, New York. He earned his PhD degree in literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati in 2003. (Rybak "Purple Heart") Rybak is now a professor of English in University of Wisconsin College-Washington County. As this poem was completed in 2007, it was not long after his graduation. Thus, I can assume that this poem is talking about life in recent years. Also, as a professor at university, Rybak have more chances to talk with students. Students are a group of people who always have modern ideas. Some of them may even share the similar perspective to look down on "homoerotic" as the speaker in the poem does. For such reasons, this poem might be based on students and their modern life.

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Way 10: Historical and Cultural Contexts
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Historical and cultural contexts explain the background information of the literature and help readers to understand the intention of some specific details. In this poem, the speaker uses some Greek figures to symbolize his feelings. As I was not familiar with the Greek myth figures, I have searched historical context on the web. After reviewing the Greek mythology in Wikipedia, I get to know who “Agamemnon” (Rybak 44) is and who “Achilles” (Rybak 45) is. Agamemnon, who was "the commander of the Achaeans in the ensuing Trojan War" ("Agamemnon"), was a clever man who always avoided dangerous affairs. Achilles was the hero of the Trojan Wars and the "central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad" ("Achilles"). Homer's "Iliad" is about the quarrel between the two figures. The Trojan War had lasted for ten years and was caused by stealing the most beautiful woman, Helen. So in the first stanza, the speaker describes "Homer-erotic" as "given the number of men stationed in one place for a decade with not much to do" (Rybak 4-5). As stated by Dué "by highlighting the mortality of the hero and the death of warriors at the peak of their youth and beauty, the laments, imagery, and similes of Homeric epic mourn both side equally." ( Dué 230) For such reason, the speaker would explain to his girlfriend that "homer-erotic" was "the epic love of friends" (Rybak 16). That is also why the speaker would miss the two important figures after he realized his mistake to look down on "homoerotic".

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way 11: Theoretical Application
Instead of noticing the protagonist in the poem, the feminist would pay more attention to the protagonist's girlfriend. She is never adopted as a character, but only serves as an object to listen her boyfriend's explanation on "homoerotic" and "homer-erotic". It seems her existence is less important than the protangonist and whoever else could also take that role. The poem is written in the first person point of view. From the first person PoV, readers get limit access to what happened in the speaker's girlfriend's mind. If I were able to get more about his girlfriend's thought after his explanation, I could understand "homer-erotic" better. Also, even the speaker was practicing his theory in the bars; he tended to practice on men only. The speaker mentioned "the girls in high school who dated and fawned over the football players" to describe the "homoerotic" men in the bars. Females were taken as a minority group in the modern society. Feminist would tend to use women's calm and intelligence to persuade the speaker not going to the bar to practice his wrong theory. Also, the female characters are inside the poem, not only the Trojan War was for the most beautiful woman Helen, but also the story in Homer's "Iliad" was caused by Achilles' female servant.

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Way 12: Another Theoretical Application
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The new historicism might focus on historical effects. Their reading of "Homer-erotic" might note that the protagonist's mixture of "homoerotic" to "homer-erotic" is rooted from Homer's epic poem the "Iliad". As interpreted in Way 10, "Iliad" is a poem based on the Trojan War. As the speaker is familiar with this story, he concludes "homer-erotic" is "given the number of men stationed in one place for a decade with not much to do" (4-5). Also, there are many sentences reveal the speaker's knowledge about the "Trojan War". He has explained the difference between the two words to his girlfriend and has joke his smart friends. They are all so sensitive about the word "homoerotic" because "'homo' makes the men see red, ill-fated pigment of the imagination" (53-54). However, without anyone points out his mistake about his theory of "homoerotic", he finally realized his mistake after going to the bars. This suggests that people sometimes are so obstinate about something just like those warriors spent ten years in the Trojan War. Besides the pronunciation similarity, the new historicism would see moral similarity between the two words as well.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif';">

<span style="font-family: 'Arial', 'sans-serif';">Way 13: Unifying Interpretation
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">My first impression about this poem is a narrative poem. The speaker is talking about his own experience. Because of the pronunciation similarity, he mixed up the two words “homoerotic” and “homer-erotic”. However, with such small difference, the speaker enjoyed making jokes to his smart friends. It is reflected in line 11 when he said “homer-erotic” into “the profound pauses”. While it seems he understood the differences between their meanings, so he would explain that to his girlfriend.. “Because theory is no good without practice” (19), the speaker went to the bar to look for “homoerotic”. However, when he discovered those men were not “homoerotic” as he thought before, he felt embarrassed of himself. I think this poem criticizes people who are so cynical about something.

After the whole semester project, my interpretation of this poem has enriched with the above 12 ways. Overall, this is a poem that criticizes people who are so cynical and so obstinate about something. At first, I believed besides pronunciation similarity, “homoerotic” and “homer-erotic” are two totally separate deals. However, after realizing the new historical criticism theory about the story of the Trojan War, I found there is also a moral connection between these two words. In way 10, I noticed the Trojan War had lasted for ten years and was cause by stealing the most beautiful woman, Helen. This is why the speaker said “Homer-erotic” would “given the number of men stationed in one place for a decade with not much to do” (4-5). Similarly, the word “homoerotic” makes so many people feel sensitive and even the speaker himself tended to practice his theory in the bars until his found the reality. The last line in the first stanza actually reveals this connection which “made perfect sense to me [the speaker]” (6). Aesthetically, this poem uses many similes and is written in the first-person point of view. From the first-person PoV, we get direct access to what happened in the narrator’s mind. However, at the same time, we are limited to know what is going on in other characters’ mind. For example, when the speaker explained to his girlfriend about the difference between “homoerotic” and “homer-erotic”, readers cannot know what his girlfriend thinks about his explanation. Moreover, from the fourth stanza to the sixth stanza, the poem takes place in a bar. It indicates in the speaker’s mind, bars are the places where full of homoerotic. He looks down on such places just like he discriminates “homoerotic”. Culturally, as this poem was completed in 2007, it reflects a common phenomenon in the modern society. People spend time on boring things because they get nothing more to do. Also, it indicates people discriminate minority group, such as homoerotic. They are so cynical and sensitive about “homo”, that “makes the men see red, ill-fated pigment of the imagination” (53-54). For such reasons, I believe this poem could be considered in the canon.

Works Cited and Consulted
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Rybak, Chuck. "Purple Heart." 94-95. US Air Force Academy English Department, 2008. __Academic Search Premier__. EBSCO. 24 July 2009 <[]>.

"Agamemnon." Wikipedia. 24 July 2009 <[]>.

"Achilles." Wikipedia. 24 July 2009 <[]>.

Dué, Casey. "Learning Lessons from the Trojan War: Briseis and the Theme of Force." __College Literature__ 34.2 (Spring 2007): 229-262. __MLA International Bibliography__. EBSCO. 28 July 2009 <[] >.