Epic Rhapsode and His Craft (Hellenic Studies): Homeric Performance in a Diachronic Perspective: 47 (Hellenic Studies Series) - Softcover

Gonzalez, Jose

 
9780674055896: Epic Rhapsode and His Craft (Hellenic Studies): Homeric Performance in a Diachronic Perspective: 47 (Hellenic Studies Series)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0674055896 ISBN 13: 9780674055896
Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2011

Synopsis

The Epic Rhapsode and His Craft studies Homeric performance from archaic to Roman imperial times. It argues that oracular utterance, dramatic acting, and rhetorical delivery powerfully elucidate the practice of epic rhapsodes. Attention to the ways in which these performance domains informed each other over time reveals a shifting dynamic of competition and emulation among rhapsodes, actors, and orators that shaped their texts and their crafts. A diachronic analysis of this web of influences illuminates fundamental aspects of Homeric poetry: its inspiration and composition, the notional fixity of its poetic tradition, and the performance-driven textual fixation and writing of the Homeric poems. It also shows that rhapsodic practice is best understood as an evolving combination of revelation, interpretation, recitation, and dramatic delivery.

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About the Author

Jose Gonzalez is Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at Duke University.

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Publisher
Harvard University Press
Publication date
2011
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0674055896
ISBN 13 
9780674055896
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
350