Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Cedric H. Whitman. Homer and the Heroic Tradition. Rpt. New York: Norton.

A critical study of Homer's art that is founded on oral theory but which fully engages historical, cultural, and archaeological evidence and questions surrounding the epics. Includes sections on memory, historical context, the role of writing, the analogy between Geometric pottery design and epic structure, formulaic structure and meaning, the nature of the epic medium as a vehicle for artistic expression (in the formation of which the individual Homer is said to have played a crucial role), the evolution of Achilles, teleological concerns, and structural analyses of the two poems (with attention to ring-composition).
Area: AG