The proem is the very first part of the Odyssey. It begins with "Speak Memory -" and ends with "And tell the tale once more in our time." The proem sets up many of the major topics/themes of the Odyssey. What do you think you might be able to tell about the topics/themes of the Odyssey just by reading the proem? Use evidence from the proem to support your claims.

The proem at the beginning of the Odyssey is explaining what happened to Odysseus in very little detail. It is like giving a head start into what the book will talk about. The topic within the proem and throughout other parts of the book that stuck out to me the most is the kind of person Odysseus was and how people viewed him. Farther into the book it talked about how important Odysseus was to the people in Ithica and seemed to portray him as a good person. The proem also discusses the kind of person Odysseus was. The proem says, "As he struggles to survive and bring his men home but could not save them, hard as he tried." That part of the poem shows how much Odysseus cared about his men and makes it clear Odysseus was a fighter and unwilling to give up on himself or his men. The proem starts the book off by giving clues into the topic of what kind of person Odysseus was and some of the things he went through.