The Odyssey: Structure Narration and Meaning

About this book

Bruce Loudens bold re-reading of the Odyssey -- the first attempt in years to map in detail the poems overall structure -- offers new insights into the artistry of Odysseus mythic voyage and enriches our understanding of Homers masterful craftsmanship. Loudens groundbreaking work uncovers an extended narrative pattern repeated in full three times which reveals the poems 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 Homers original intent. In addition Loudens 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 Homers rich and complex plot Loudens 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 poems female characters. Loudens 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.