A Comparison of Homeric Formalism in The Iliad and The Odyssey Essay

Homeric sham in The Iliad and The Odyssey Much that is terrible takes place in the Homeric poems, only when it seldom takes place wordlessly... no speech is so filled with enkindle or scorn that the particles which express logical and grammatical connections are lack or out of place. (from Odysseus Scar by Erich Auerbach) In his immaculately diminutive study comparing the narrative styles of Homer to those of the Bible, Erich Auerbach hits upon one of the most historied intrigues of reading Homer, namely his unrelenting sense of epic form and rhythm. The stories that crane in the kit and caboodle of Homer are filled with passion and fury, besides this never effects the meticulous regulation of his narrative. One of the chief questions regarding the works of Homer is to what effectual end he follows this formula so explicitly. In both The Iliad and The Odyssey, the indorser recognizes patterns and formulae that combine to make up the Homeric template. The reade r can first recognize Homers formulaic style on a specific scale in the repeating of phrases and epithets. Odysseus, end-to-end both The Iliad and The Odyssey is approximately never mentioned without a reference to his cunning or many designs. Likewise, throughout The Iliad the city of Troy is almost never mentioned without reference to it being strong-walled or wide-wayed. As Richard Lattimore writes in the introduction to his translation, much of this particular kind of repetition was dictated by the metric needs of the poem. Above and beyond this strictly mechanical function however, recurring descriptions serve to ground the story in a cast of recognizable characters, thus creating a sense of familiarity for the reader. poring over ... ...tions of the Odyssey, Frankfurt, Athenaeum 1988 Hamilton, Edith. The Greek Way. newly York W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1930. Heubeck, Alfred, J.B. Hainsworth, et al. A commentary on Homers Odyssey. 3 Vols. Oxford PA4167 .H4813 1988 Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. New York Vintage Books, 1989. Nussbaum, Martha C. Victims and Agents What Greek Tragedy can teach us about sympathy and responsibility. Boston Review. (1999)31 May 1999 Stanford, William Bedell. Homers Odyssey. 2 Vols. Macmillan The Iliad. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York Penguin Books, 1990. The Iliad of Homer. Trans. capital of Virginia Lattimore. Chicago University of Chicago Press, 1951. Tracy, Stephen V. ,The Story of the Odyssey Princeton UP 1990 Gospel of Matthew. The Holy Bible. New Revised Standard Version. Grand Rapids Zondervan, 1989.