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Some information here about the tradition:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/...
Did scholars really believe that verbal transmission of poetry/religious was rare? It's a well documented trait of tons of Proto-Indo-European cultures such as Celtic, Norse, Germanic, Greek, Iranian, and Indic.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m assuming English is a second language for you, and I will piece together the author’s assumptions for you as best I can. Please forgive incorrect assumptions. It had been assumed that Homer’s “writings” were indeed written down by whoever was Homer. Whether Homer was one person, or a collection of writers collectively named Homer, is the subject of debate. But it has been widely assumed that it was initially writ…
Thanks for the details. I would like to chat more, I tried to type here but content were going out of context, if you are interested email me at svetrivel.91 @ gmail.com.
This is how the books of the Odyssey are structured: TROY ---- 1. Kikones (innocent city is ambushed) 2. Lotus Eaters (temptation, delay) 3. Cyclops (monster) 4. Aeolus (greedy crew delays journey) 5. Laestrygonians (monster) 6. Circe (temptation) 7. HADES 8. Sirens (temptation) 9. Scylla (monster) 10. Cattle/Sun (greedy crew delays journey) 11. Charybdis (monster) 12. Calypso (temptation, delay) 13. Phaecia (innocen…
Or perhaps I read a completely different "Odyssey" by a different "Homer"?
I read some of the classic epics before learning about their mode of delivery and memorization, and was a bit perplexed at some of the repetitions and formulae. Then I learned that, for example, some characters would have multiple epithets (grey-eyed, neat-ankled, all-seeing, etc) that in Greek would be selected essentially not because they were the best descriptor, but because they were the ones that would complete…
Yep, all of the "wine-dark sea"s and "rosy-fingered dawn"s might have worked as filler while the poet was queueing up the next part of the narrative.
Apparently there is still scholarly debate around this topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity_and_the_...
I read some of the classic epics before learning about their mode of delivery and memorization, and was a bit perplexed at some of the repetitions and formulae. Then I learned that, for example, some characters would have multiple epithets (grey-eyed, neat-ankled, all-seeing, etc) that in Greek would be selected essentially not because they were the best descriptor, but because they were the ones that would complete…
> In the folk tradition, there are many traditional blues verses that have been sung over and over by many artists. Blues singers, who include many country and folk artists as well as those commonly identified with blues singers, use these traditional lyrics to fill out their blues performances. Artists like Jimmie Rodgers, the "blue yodeler", and Big Joe Turner, "the Boss of the Blues" compiled virtual encyclopedias of lyrics. Turner reputedly could sing the blues for hours without repeating himself.
> Although many blues songs, such as "Jelly Jelly" or "St. Louis Blues" are composed in the usual fashion with lyrics focusing on a single theme and telling a story, many others, like "Roll 'Em Pete" or "T for Texas" combine one or two new verses with a flock of traditional ones.
> Traditional blues verses are most common in twelve bar blues with the characteristic repeated first line (indicated here by x2).
> See that spider crawlin' up that wall (x2)
> He's crawlin up there to get his ashes hauled.
> If you see me comin', heist your window high (x2)
> If you see me goin', baby, hang your head and cry.
Similar problem, similar solution.
This is how the books of the Odyssey are structured: TROY ---- 1. Kikones (innocent city is ambushed) 2. Lotus Eaters (temptation, delay) 3. Cyclops (monster) 4. Aeolus (greedy crew delays journey) 5. Laestrygonians (monster) 6. Circe (temptation) 7. HADES 8. Sirens (temptation) 9. Scylla (monster) 10. Cattle/Sun (greedy crew delays journey) 11. Charybdis (monster) 12. Calypso (temptation, delay) 13. Phaecia (innocen…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiastic_structure
"These often symmetrical patterns are commonly found in ancient literature such as the epic poetry of the Iliad and the Odyssey."
> This also provides us with an elegant explanation for the Bellerophon story: epic poetry preserved the idea of writing even though the technology had been lost for over 500 years Wait, what?
I read some of the classic epics before learning about their mode of delivery and memorization, and was a bit perplexed at some of the repetitions and formulae. Then I learned that, for example, some characters would have multiple epithets (grey-eyed, neat-ankled, all-seeing, etc) that in Greek would be selected essentially not because they were the best descriptor, but because they were the ones that would complete…
Yep, all of the "wine-dark sea"s and "rosy-fingered dawn"s might have worked as filler while the poet was queueing up the next part of the narrative.