The shield of homer : narrative structure in the illiad /

In this masterly interpretation of narrative sequence in the Iliad, Keith Stanley not only sharpens the current debate over the date and creation of the poem, but also challenges the view of this work as primarily a celebration of heroic force. He begins by studying the intricate ring-composition in...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stanley, Keith
Corporate Authors: De Gruyter.
Published: Princeton University Press,
Publisher Address: Princeton, N.J. :
Publication Dates: [1993]
©1993
Literature type: eBook
Language: English
Subjects:
Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781400863372
http://www.degruyter.com/doc/cover/9781400863372.jpg
Summary: In this masterly interpretation of narrative sequence in the Iliad, Keith Stanley not only sharpens the current debate over the date and creation of the poem, but also challenges the view of this work as primarily a celebration of heroic force. He begins by studying the intricate ring-composition in the verses describing Achilles' shield, then extends this analysis to reveal the Iliad as an elaborate and self-conscious formal whole. In so doing he defends the hypothesis that the poem as we know it is a massive reorganization and expansion of earlier "Homeric" material, written in response to the need for a stable text for repeated performance at the sixth-century Athenian festival for the city's patron goddess.Stanley explores the arrangement of the poem's books, all unified by theme and structure, showing how this allowed for artistically satisfying and practically feasible recitation over a period of three or four days. Taking structural emphasis as a guide to poetic discourse, the author argues that the Iliad is not a poem of "might"--as opposed to the Odyssean celebration of "guile"--but that in advocating social and personal reconciliation the poem offers a profound indictment of a warring heroic society.Originally published in 1993.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Carrier Form: 1 online resource (492 pages) : illustrations
ISBN: 9781400863372
Index Number: PA4037
CLC: I545.072
Contents: Frontmatter --
Contents --
List of Illustrations --
I. Form and Interpretation in Homer --
II. The Structure of Iliad 1-7 --
III. The Structure of Iliad 8-17 --
IV. The Structure of Iliad 18-24 --
V. Structure and the Homeric Question --
Acknowledgments --
A Note on Documentation and Usage --
Abbreviations --
Notes --
Bibliography --
Index of Authors and Selected Topics.