Aspects of the composition of the Homeric epics

The hypothesis that the Homeric epics are the products of a formulaic mode of composition characteristic of an oral tradition has for the iast fifty years dominated Homeric research. The theories of Milman Parry and his followers have undoubtedly expanded our understanding of some of the processes which make composition possible. But these same theories, in arguing for a text produced by a tradition, and not by a creative poet, have frustrated the scholar who wishes to come to terms with the epics as great works in themselves, as compositions which have long had the capacity to exci te and involve their audiences. As a corrective, therefore, to Parry's influence, which scarcely permits us to go beyond a text-based analysis of Homer's verses, I propose that we consider the poems from another perspective. This is a perspective suggested by recent work in several disciplines - in cognitive science, psychology, and sociolinguistics - in which stories have been examined not as text per se , but as the products of an activity which might be described as mind-based and audience-orientated. Cognitive psychology offers us a theoretical framework within which we can reconstruct the processes by which a poet composes his story, even as he performs. A study of the pragmatics of storytelling, on the other hand, allows us to appreciate story as a medium of communication in which the storyteller, at every stage of composition, and in order to serve his own purposes, is responsive to the needs and expectations of his audience. I attempt to demonstrate how these theories about stories and the shaping of stories enhance our appreciation not only of the processes by which the Homeric epics might have been composed but also of the action described within the storyworlds which they evoke. My aim is not to overturn current views of Homer; rather, I shall suggest that, in the light of so much empirical work on narrative, it is possible today to rationalize and synthesize them in the interests of a more coherent understanding of these great poems. I shall suggest that many of the features of the Homeric epics (such as foreshadowing and the repetition of type-scenes, or the irony which we find throughout the Odyssey) may be described and explained in terms both of the cognitive processes which have been activated and of the social interaction itself, the focus of which for the moment is the storytelling; and that most of these are common to storytelling practice as we know it today. My principal objective, however, has been to use these new theories to structure a careful re-reading of the epics, to explore certain passages afresh, and to throw further light on the techniques of a fine storyteller who understands his craft