Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Oliver Taplin. "The Shield of Achilles within the Iliad." Greece & Rome, 2nd ser., 27:1-21.

In making his case that the shield is a poetic microcosm of the Iliad and Odyssey as a whole, he virulently attacks oral-formulaic theory and demands the assumption of a literary poet fully aware of the finest nuances of meaning in his traditional language. Constitutes a return to nineteenth-century German criticism and a refusal to consider fairly the work of Parry, Kirk, and others.
Area: AG