History of the Peloponnesian War Literary Elements

History of the Peloponnesian War Literary Elements

Genre

Historical document, nonfiction

Setting and Context

Greece, 400's

Narrator and Point of View

Thucydides

Tone and Mood

Describing, explaining, analyzing

Protagonist and Antagonist

Protagonist: Humans, Antagonist: War.

Major Conflict

A war breaks out between Athens with their allies and Sparta with their allies.

Climax

When Athens attacks Sparta, breaching the Peace.

Foreshadowing

There are foreshadowing in the book such as β€œhe could not have anticipated what happened next.”

Understatement

The death of Pericles was understated, as he was the only person with the authority to control Athens as one unified element.

Allusions

Thucydides has several connections and references with Greek mythology, even though he didn't use it directly in his documents.

Imagery

The image of people killing each other for their countries is important, as it lets Thucydides discuss and analyze human nature during war.

Paradox

If the Peloponnesians or the Athenians are the men at fault is often discussed, as the reader needs to know which side is most righteous, or might it be the war itself that is evil? Human lives are being taken, and Thucydides is very aware of that fact in the documents.

Parallelism

There is a clear parallel between Athens and Sparta, as they both want to win the war the best they can, though they have different tactics.

Metonymy and Synecdoche

N/A

Personification

N/A

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