Iliad Scholarship Flashcards
Griffin on formulae
formulae add to the “literary qualities of the epic”
Minchin on direct speech
“direct speech is more powerful than indirect speech”
Peter Jones on similies
similes “give contemporary vividness to… the heroic past”
Peter Jones on speeches (2)
“the speeches carry the psychological weight of the poem”
the amount of speeches per person reveals the key players and the balance of power both on Olympus and on earth
Daisy Dunn on epithets
they are the building blocks of the epic
Minchin on catalogues
Homer puts in far more categories and lists than nowadays a modern reader would be subjected to
Peter Jones on Homer and Achilles
Homer has been accused of ‘retarding the plot’, he forgets about Achilles for much of the epic
Sowerby on the formulaic structure of the epic
“the formulaic character of the verse, in which there is repetition of customary actions, gives a strong impression of an orderly world of shared values and respect for tradition”
Foley on the oral tradition (2)
“the epics we cherish took shape not as silent text but as audible performance”
“they cannot be fully appreciated without taking [their oral] heritage into account”
Foley on Homer
“Homer emerges as a cognate kind of legendary figure”
Kershaw on Achilles’ raison d’être
“the fundamental reason for [Achilles’] wrath: his time, the value/worth/honour that is his entire raison d’être, has been undermined”
Kershaw on Achilles and cultural values
“Achilles is not a team player, but a helpful model for understanding his cultural values is that of a team game: individual stardom often conflicts with the interests of the team”
Kershaw on Homeric excellence
“in Homer’s world, ‘excellence’ depends on birth, wealth, power and position”
Griffin on debate
“it is in debate, in the agore, as well as in battle, that men win glory”
Thorpe on heroes (2)
“a man cannot become a hero unless he is prepared to risk his life”
“knowing that his life might end at anytime, the hero tried to create something permanent and lasting by winning glory”
Owen on Achilles’ acquiesance to Agamemnon
Because Athena made him acquiese, his impression isn’t tainted. The fact it was divine intention is important
Sowerby on the Homeric man
“with neither the reward of heaven nor the pains of hell… Homeric man seeks to make the most of his present existence”
Sowerby on Homeric excellence
“Homeric excellence is manifested in the perfection of the physical form”
Kershaw on the poem’s masulinity
“if a common complaint about the Iliad is that it is a poem told by a man, for men, and about men, it should be pointed out there is a sensitive awareness of the domestic perspective too”
Neal on wounds
“a man’s bleeding wound functions as a badge of honour”
Sowerby on the portrayal of war
“the battles are whole hearted and there is exhilaration in the fighting”
Van Nortwick on the portrayal of war
“if we are tempted to call the Iliad a celebration of war, these little biographies say otherwise”
Finley on death and the portrayal of war
“Homer lingers lovingly over every death”
Van Nortwick on sympathy for dying soldiers
“a melancholy music pervades the entire poem”
Reeve on Achilles and wrath
“when Patroclus dies, Achilles becomes a terrifying instrument of destruction”
Kershaw on Achilles’ wrath
time is the reason for Achilles’ wrath
Peter Jones on Achilles’ wrath
Achilles’ anger due to “emotional hurt, own feelings of humiliation”
Tsagarakis on Achilles later on
“a calmer consideration has begun to replace the forceful tension, and he seems to experience a change whch is human and understandable”
Snider on reconciliation
“the Iliad is a series of reconciliations. It masters its conflicts and turns them into harmony”
Rabel on book 24’s reconciliation (2)
“Achilles’ final reconciliation with Priam in book 24 is but a brief personal interlude within the broader context of the war”
“reconciliation of Apollo and the Achaeans in book 1 foreshadows that of Achilles and Priam in book 24”
