For a three-act plot analysis, put on your screenwriter’s hat. Moviemakers know the formula well: at the end of Act One, the main character is drawn in completely to a conflict. During Act Two, she is farthest away from her goals. At the end of Act Three, the story is resolved.
Act I
O Father, Where Art Thou
The suitors are annoying Penelope in Ithaka and Telemachos, fed up, finally begins to speak out against them. He goes to the Grecian mainland to get news of his father from Odysseus' friends. Meanwhile, Odysseus has been stuck on Kalypso's island for seven years.
Act II
Castaway
Odysseus escapes Kalypso's island with the help of the gods, is shipwrecked yet again, and floats to the island of Phaiákia where he is welcomed and urged to tell his story. He does.
Act III
Hasta La Vista, Baby
Odysseus' story is over. Moved, the Phaiakians provide him with safe passage home. Once in Ithaka, he plots with Athene and Telemachos to kill the suitors. He eventually succeeds in a bloody battle, is reunited with Penelope, and brings peace to Ithaka once more.
(Click the plot infographic to download.)