Homer and the Oral Tradition - Softcover

Kirk, G. S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521136717 ISBN 13: 9780521136716

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2010

Synopsis

The Songs of Homer (Cambridge University Press, 1962) was a major contribution to Homeric studies, establishing important theories about the composition, structure and transmission of the monumental poems. In this 1976 volume, Geoffrey Kirk returns to Homer, but the themes are largely different. He considers in particular the nature of oral and epic poetry, and the meaning of an oral tradition. There are problems here of interest not only to classicists and Homeric specialists but also to students of English and comparative literature, and to anthropologists concerned with the literature of traditional societies. Those pieces that were previously published were revised and unified for the volume. The longest section, on 'the oral and the literary epic', is derived from the J. H. Gray Lectures, which Professor Kirk delivered in Cambridge in 1974 and which had not been previously published in any form.

About this title

Book Description:

In this 1976 follow-up to his major work The Songs of Homer, Geoffrey Kirk considers the nature of oral and epic poetry, and the meaning of an oral tradition. The longest section is derived from the J. H. Gray Lectures, which Professor Kirk delivered in 1974 and which had not been previously published in any form.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0521136717
• ISBN 13: 9780521136716
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 232