Nostos: the shape of a homecoming
The Odyssey is not a travel diary — it is a poem about a man trying to get home, and it begins, cleverly, almost at the end. The structure is the first thing to understand.
Part of your national curriculum
- Reading: Study setting, plot and characterisation, and the effects of these on the reader
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Study setting, plot and characterisation, and the effects of these on the reader
Key learning points
- • In medias res
- • Tests and the meaning of home
- • Penelope and the household
- • Recognition scenes
This lesson at a glance
- 26 minutes
- 19 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 19
Watch first
Nostos: the shape of a homecoming
Follow nostos: starting in the middle, islands as tests, and home as a kept-alive loyalty.
In a nutshell
Study setting, plot and characterisation, and the effects of these on the reader
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 19
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · In medias res
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 19
Learn
In medias res
The poem opens 'in the middle of things': Odysseus is already stranded, and the gods are deciding his fate. We do not meet the hero for several books. Starting near the end lets the poem build suspense — we hear his legend before we see the man, so he has to live up to his own reputation.
Reset break
Part 4 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 19
Learn
Tests and the meaning of home
Each island Odysseus reaches is a test: the Lotus-eaters offer forgetfulness, Circe offers comfort, the Cyclops offers death. The tests are not random — each asks whether he would rather stop than go home. A hero in this poem is someone who keeps choosing return over every tempting alternative.
Quick check
Part 6 of 19
Quick check
Part 7 of 19
Reset break
Part 8 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 19
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Penelope and the household
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 19
Learn
Penelope and the household
Half the poem stays in Ithaca with Penelope fending off suitors. Her storyline is not a subplot — it is the other half of homecoming. The poem argues that 'home' is a relationship kept alive by loyalty, not just a place; Penelope's weaving and unweaving is her version of Odysseus's endurance.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 19
Learn
Recognition scenes
The climax is not a battle but a series of recognitions — the nurse, the dog, the wife, the father. Each recognition is a test of identity and trust. The poem values being known over being powerful: the real homecoming is when someone sees who you truly are.
Reset break
Part 12 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 19
Quick check
Part 14 of 19
Challenge round
Part 15 of 19
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 16 of 19
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 19
Game · Recall cards
What is a foil?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 18 of 19
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Nostos: the shape of a homecoming
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What is a foil?
2. Which best describes a turning point?
3. A character speaks kindly in public and cruelly in private. This mainly shows:
4. Dramatic irony affects an audience mainly by:
Lesson round-up
Part 19 of 19
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
Not sat
Games
Not played
Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 19 · Watch & discover
How this is going
- Not looked at yet
Study setting, plot and characterisation, and the effects of these on the reader