Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Edouard Delebecque. Télémacque et la structure de l'Odyssée. Aix-en-Provence: Editions O rphrys.

Through a close analysis of the voyage of Telemachos, he finds several "dead" spaces of time demanded by the total chronology of the Odyssey and yet unaccounted for by Homer. Explains these spots as the consequences of the "law of successi on" or consecutive narration. Composing in writing for a listening audience, Homer observed this law, required by an anterior oral tradition, for the sake of expositional clarity. At the same time, writing enabled him to minimize the effect of chronolog ical irregularities.
Area: AG