The literature of the western world begins with one of its greatest achievements. The stories of the wrath of Achilles and its consequences, and of the wanderings of Odysseus, have been admired from ancient times to the present day. The two great epics can be read and enjoyed, unreflectingly, as tales of adventure; or they can be studied as literature, yielding, as insight and understanding grow, a deeper and more permanent pleasure. Professor Kirk's book is the means to this pleasure. It is a vivid and comprehensive account of the background and development of the Homeric poems and of their quality as literature. The epics are seen primarily as oral poetry, sung for centuries by illiterate singers; and from this view rises discussion of the problems of authorship and transmission. The historical, archaeological and linguistic evidence is also examined; and the possible contributions of the Mycenaean period and of the subsequent Dark Age are shown in a fresh light.
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Book Description
This is a vivid and comprehensive account of the background and development of the Homeric poems and of their quality as literature. The epics are seen primarily as oral poetry, sung for centuries by illiterate singers; and from this view rises discussion of the problems of authorship and transmission.
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First Sentence:
THE Iliad and Odyssey are set against the background of the Achaean world in the late Bronze Age; their subjects are the Trojan war and its aftermath. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
epic cycle, poet and his methods, monumental singer, formular vocabulary, formular system, main composer, monumental composer, monumental poet, formular language, oral singer, underworld episode, main poet, monumental poem, poetical vocabulary, monumental composition, poetical tradition, oral period, metrical value, single singer, oral poem, oral poets, majestic style, oral poetry, abbreviated style Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Dark Age, Bronze Age, Asia Minor, Near Eastern, Middle Helladic, Iron Age, Novi Pazar, North Mycenaean, Early Helladic, Catalogue of Ships, Achaean Catalogue, South Slavic, Heroic Age, South Mycenaean, West Greek, Beguilement of Zeus, Black Sea, Avdo Mededovic, Minoan Crete, Miss Lorimer, Clashing Rocks, Boghaz Keui, Mycenaean Greece, Late Helladic, Salih Ugljanin Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
THE Iliad and Odyssey are set against the background of the Achaean world in the late Bronze Age; their subjects are the Trojan war and its aftermath. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
epic cycle, poet and his methods, monumental singer, formular vocabulary, formular system, main composer, monumental composer, monumental poet, formular language, oral singer, underworld episode, main poet, monumental poem, poetical vocabulary, monumental composition, poetical tradition, oral period, metrical value, single singer, oral poem, oral poets, majestic style, oral poetry, abbreviated style Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Dark Age, Bronze Age, Asia Minor, Near Eastern, Middle Helladic, Iron Age, Novi Pazar, North Mycenaean, Early Helladic, Catalogue of Ships, Achaean Catalogue, South Slavic, Heroic Age, South Mycenaean, West Greek, Beguilement of Zeus, Black Sea, Avdo Mededovic, Minoan Crete, Miss Lorimer, Clashing Rocks, Boghaz Keui, Mycenaean Greece, Late Helladic, Salih Ugljanin Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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100
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- Homer on Life and Death (C Cpb T Clarendon Paperbacks) by Jasper Griffin on 9 pages
- Homer:Crit Assessments V1 (Routledge Critical Assessments of Classical Authors) by Irene de Jong on 5 pages
- Homer:Crit Assessments V2 (Routledge Critical Assessments of Classical Authors) by Irene de Jong on 4 pages
- Saving the City: Philosopher-Kings and Other Classical Paradigms (Issues in Ancient Philosophy) by Malcolm Schofield in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The World of Odysseus (New York Review Books Classics Series) by M.I. Finley in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
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