Aspects of the composition of the Homeric epics
Date
1989
Authors
Minchin, Elizabeth
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Abstract
The hypothesis that the Homeric epics are the products of a formulaic mode
of composition characteristic of an oral tradition has for the iast fifty years
dominated Homeric research. The theories of Milman Parry and his
followers have undoubtedly expanded our understanding of some of the
processes which make composition possible. But these same theories, in
arguing for a text produced by a tradition, and not by a creative poet, have
frustrated the scholar who wishes to come to terms with the epics as great
works in themselves, as compositions which have long had the capacity to
exci te and involve their audiences.
As a corrective, therefore, to Parry's influence, which scarcely permits us to
go beyond a text-based analysis of Homer's verses, I propose that we consider
the poems from another perspective. This is a perspective suggested by
recent work in several disciplines - in cognitive science, psychology, and
sociolinguistics - in which stories have been examined not as text per se , but
as the products of an activity which might be described as mind-based and
audience-orientated. Cognitive psychology offers us a theoretical framework
within which we can reconstruct the processes by which a poet composes his
story, even as he performs. A study of the pragmatics of storytelling, on the
other hand, allows us to appreciate story as a medium of communication in
which the storyteller, at every stage of composition, and in order to serve his
own purposes, is responsive to the needs and expectations of his audience.
I attempt to demonstrate how these theories about stories and the shaping of
stories enhance our appreciation not only of the processes by which the
Homeric epics might have been composed but also of the action described
within the storyworlds which they evoke. My aim is not to overturn current
views of Homer; rather, I shall suggest that, in the light of so much
empirical work on narrative, it is possible today to rationalize and synthesize
them in the interests of a more coherent understanding of these great
poems. I shall suggest that many of the features of the Homeric epics (such
as foreshadowing and the repetition of type-scenes, or the irony which we
find throughout the Odyssey) may be described and explained in terms both
of the cognitive processes which have been activated and of the social
interaction itself, the focus of which for the moment is the storytelling; and
that most of these are common to storytelling practice as we know it today. My principal objective, however, has been to use these new theories to
structure a careful re-reading of the epics, to explore certain passages
afresh, and to throw further light on the techniques of a fine storyteller who
understands his craft.
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