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Homeric Soundings Oliver Taplin (Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Language and Literature, Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Language and Literature, Magdalen College, Oxford)

Homeric Soundings By Oliver Taplin (Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Language and Literature, Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Language and Literature, Magdalen College, Oxford)

Summary

To a reader, the Iliad may seem long and shapeless - but a close study reveals a wealth of powerful networks and intricate poetic motifs. Dr Taplin's new book argues that Homer created the Iliad to be heard, and that its sophisticated techniques would have been more, not less, accessible, to an aural audience.

Homeric Soundings Summary

Homeric Soundings: The Shaping of the Iliad by Oliver Taplin (Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Language and Literature, Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Language and Literature, Magdalen College, Oxford)

This book combines the exploration of the ethics of the Iliad with its poetic and narrative techniques, which extend all the way from touches of phrasing to the shaping of whole scenes often separated by thousands of lines. these two approaches to the Iliad - through form and through content - are found to be inextricably worked together, which is why the book consists of soundingsor sample explorations, where larger arguments branch out from noticing details in the formaion of particualr passages. Homer was an archaic poet, and even if he could write he surely created the poems to be heard. It has generally been held that this rules our the possiblity of intricate complexities - the discoveries of many re-readings. This book maintains the contrary position: the kind of artistry uncovered, especially the long-distance interconnections, would be more rather than less accessible if perceived aurally. Furthermore, this then opens up further opportunities for shapings, patterns that would be more apparent when heard in real time than they are inside the uniform format of printed pages. These surroundings should interest those experienced in other literatures and cultures. All Greek quotations are also given in translation.

Homeric Soundings Reviews

'There is much to appreciate here. The author us an experienced communicator, with a notably accurate knowledge and understanding of the Iliad. He helps the reader to consider questions not previously in mind. And he has made a really important advance on the problem of the relationship between the structure of the poem and its public performance some two and three quarter millennia ago.' M.M. Willcock, University College, London, The Classical Review, Vol. XLIII, No. 2, 1993
a must...which, if anything, appeals that much more on re-reading. * Greece and Rome Reviews 42 *

Additional information

GOR004155990
9780198150145
0198150148
Homeric Soundings: The Shaping of the Iliad by Oliver Taplin (Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Language and Literature, Fellow and Tutor in Greek and Latin Language and Literature, Magdalen College, Oxford)
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Oxford University Press
1995-02-16
326
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Homeric Soundings