comment on odysseus and the butterfly?

Question

Odysseus and the butterfly.

Brave Odysseus regarded sea
in each direction. Bright and blue, the bowl
of sky relaxed upon the hazy lost horizon.
Land lay long beyond the vanishing point
of vision everywhere. The prison
of Odysseus stretched far as eye
could see all tones of circling blue.
He floated on his back and stared
at empty heaven with a speechless pang
and raised a weary arm.

And then a tiny miracle unveiled
its wings for gaunt Odysseus.
A black and yellow butterfly alighted right
between his anguished eyes and rested for
a heartbeat, fanning dazzling wings.
Odysseus began to laugh in awe,
which sent the creature back along its flitting way.

He looked from where it came and laughed again,
and courage flooded back into his heart;
and thus he sang inside his soul,
“This butterfly means land is near.
I saw this very kind, the kind I played
with as a boy at home around the lemon trees,
the ones whose wings I spread from tip to tip,
black head and back and shoulders; yellow wing

the trailing edge trimmed solid black, the leading,
black and yellow patches. Such a one was he
who lit between my eyes just now. I saw
one once far out to sea a full day’s row
from shore. Poor, poor creature, so far away
from home. But you, lost and wandering,
have given this wayfaring stranger strength
to think the danger through. The water chills
my hands and feet unless I swim without
a rest, so now I must reset my course.”
pp.58-59 Odysseus-The Epic Myth of the Hero

http//:www.odysseusepicmythhero.com

thanks ari, your comments are very much appreciated. happy holidays!

Answer 1

The butterfly is enigmatic, means land is near and Odysseus began "to laugh in awe". I wonder what kind of laughter this is but it is filled with fear and hope. He had seen this kind of butterfly before, the "kind I played with as a boy at home around the lemon trees." The color, yellow, suggests a sense of hopeless struggle but the presence of the butterfly for a second only implies land is near. It could not have flown such long distance to sea, as far as where "Land lay long beyond the vanishing point of vision everywhere."
Marvelous narrative strategy by marc ladewig .

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