Monday 14 February 2011

In the first three books of Homer's Odyssey, are there any examples of parallelism?

This kind
of question is somewhat tricky when you consider that most modern audiences would be dealing
with the Odyssey in some form of translation (which automatically entails
at least some degree of alteration on the translator's part). However, at the same time, you
must remember that the Odyssey was originally an oral poem, passed down
through memorization and meant for recitation (and these origins are reflected in the text as it
has come down to us).

refers to a specific kind of rhetorical structure, and
it can certainly be observed within the Odyssey's first three books. It can
even be found in the Odyssey's opening line, in the invocation to the muses
(note that, for this answer, I am using the Robert Fagles translation, published by Penguins
Classics in 1996):

Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of
twists and turns

This statement that opens the
Odyssey
is itself an example of parallel structure, where two separate clauses have
been balanced against one another. In the very...



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