The epic has inspired many writers. These books take Homer’s Odyssey as a springboard to expand on the myths, offering additional perspectives, especially from female characters and taking the story to new and imagined worlds.
The Purdue University Fort Wayne Department of Theatre
On this week’s episode of WBOI Presents, we are featuring a radio play performance of Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad.
The Penelopiad retells The Odyssey from the points of view of Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, and her handmaidens. Residing in Hades for eternity, the thirteen female spirits reminisce on their lives in Ithaca before and after the Trojan War’s end.
In this radio play performance, the Greek chorus of handmaidens continually interrupts Penelope’s narrative to express their views on events. Using a different genre for each chorus, the maids’ interludes make for a lively aural experience that include a jump-rope rhyme, a lament, an idyll, a ballad, a lecture, a court trial, and several types of songs.