Bruce Louden's bold re-reading of the "Odyssey"--the first
attempt in years to map in detail the poem's overall
structure--offers new insights into the artistry of Odysseus'
mythic voyage and enriches our understanding of Homer's masterful
craftsmanship. Louden's groundbreaking work uncovers an extended
narrative pattern, repeated in full three times, which reveals the
poem's underlying skeletal structure. This organizational analysis
helps to explain the existence of several characters or episodes
sometimes dismissed as extraneous, as late additions, or even as
corruptions to Homer's original intent. In addition, Louden's
discovery strengthens the suggestion that the "Odyssey" was the
product of oral tradition. By repeating this sequence of successive
motifs, a single, improvising bard could explore a variety of
complex ideas within a poem as long as the "Odyssey."
Though centrally concerned with the form of Homer's rich and
complex plot, Louden's study is not exclusively, or even primarily,
formalistic. His investigation involves the study of characters'
names, challenges faced by Odysseus, the structure of the poem, and
roles assigned to the poem's female characters. Louden's
comprehensive achievement gives the reader a fresh perspective on
the role of divine hostility and the artistry of an epic survivor
on his timeless journey home.
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