The Homeric Simile in Comparative Perspectives Oral Traditions from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia

by Ready, Jonathan L.

• ISBN13: 9780191840838
• ISBN10: 0191840831
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2017-11-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Homeric Simile in Comparative Perspectives: Oral Traditions from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia investigates both the construction of the Homeric simile and the performance of Homeric poetry from neglected comparative perspectives, offering a revealing exploration of what made the epics such powerful examples of verbal artistry. Divided into two parts, the volume first considers similes in five modern oral poetries-Rajasthani epic, South Sumatran epic, Kyrgyz epic, Bosniac epic, and Najdi lyric poems from Saudi Arabia-and studies successful performances by still other verbal artists, such as Egyptian singers of epic, Turkish minstrels, and Chinese storytellers. In applying these findings to the Homeric epics, the second part presents a new take on how the Homeric poets put together their similes and alters our understanding of how the poets displayed their competence as performers of verbal art and interacted with their poetic peers and predecessors. Engaging intensively with a diverse array of scholarship from outside the field of classical studies, from folkloristics to cognitive linguistics, this truly interdisciplinary volume transforms how we view not only a central feature of Homeric poetry but also the very nature of Homeric performance.

Author Biography

Jonathan L. Ready, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Indiana University

Jonathan L. Ready is Associate Professor of Classical Studies at Indiana University. He is the author of Character, Narrator, and Simile in the Iliad (Cambridge University Press, 2011) and of numerous articles on Homeric epic, as well as the co-editor of the forthcoming Homer in Performance: Rhapsodes, Narrators, and Characters (University of Texas Press, 2018) and the annual Yearbook of Ancient Greek Epic (Brill).

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
List of Charts and Tables
0. Introduction
0.1. Precedents and Goals
0.2. Homer
0.3. Methods of Comparison
0.4. Sources of Modern-Day Material
0.4.1. Central Asia (Modern-Day Kyrgyzstan)
0.4.2. Rajasthan, India
0.4.3. South Sumatra, Indonesia
0.4.4. Former Yugoslavia
0.4.5. Najd Desert, Saudi Arabia
0.5. A Definition of a Simile
0.6. Summary of Chapters
Part I: The Modern-Day Material
1. Formal Points of Contact with Homeric Similes
1.1. Length
1.2. Duration
1.3. Arrangement
1.3.1. Bosniac Epic
1.3.2. Kyrgyz Epic
1.3.3. South Sumatran Epic: Cik Ait's The Guritan of Radin Suane
1.3.4. Najdi Poetry
1.3.5. The Homeric Epics
1.4. Position
Conclusion
2. The Spectrum of Distribution
2.1. Competence in Performance
2.2. Problems with the Terms Tradition and Innovation
2.3. The Spectrum of Distribution Defined
2.4. Ranging Across the Spectrum of Distribution
2.5. The Importance of Shared Elements
2.6. Similes and Competence
Conclusion
3. Similes in Five Modern-Day Oral Poetries
3.1. The Epic of Pab?j? and The Guritan of Radin Suane
3.2. The Figurative Spectrum of Distribution
3.2.1. Kyrgyz Epic
3.2.2. Bosniac Epic
3.2.3. Najdi Poetry
3.3. Shared Vehicles and Their Tenors
3.3.1. Shared Vehicle, Customary Tenor (Shared Similes)
3.3.1.1. Bosniac Epic
3.3.1.2. Najdi Poetry
3.3.2. Shared Vehicle, Uncustomary Tenor
3.4. Idiolectal Similes and Their Tenors
Conclusion
Part II: Application to the Homeric Epics
4. Two Preliminary Points
4.1. The Vision of Poetic Competence in Archaic Greek Hexameter Poems
4.2. The Spectrum of Distribution and Previous Scholarship in Homeric Studies
Conclusion
5. Shared Similes in the Homeric Epics
5.1. Verbatim Repetitions and Similar Long Vehicle Portions
5.2. The Scenario
5.2.1. Birds
5.2.2. Wild Fire
5.2.3. Celestial Phenomena (Stars, Lightning, and Rainbows)
5.2.4. Insects
5.2.5. Rivers
5.2.6. Trees
5.2.7. Wind
5.2.8. Waves
5.2.9. Lions
5.3. The Scenario and Frame Semantics
5.4. Shared Vehicle Portions and Their Tenors
5.4.1. Shared Vehicle Portion, Customary Tenor (Shared Similes)
5.4.2. Shared Vehicle Portion, Uncustomary Tenor
Conclusion
6. Idiolectal Similes in the Homeric Epics
6.1. Unparalleled Vehicle, Unparalleled Tenor
6.2. Unparalleled Vehicle, Paralleled Tenor
6.2.1. The Iliad and the Odyssey Offer Parallels
6.2.2. The Iliad Only or the Odyssey Only Offer Parallels
Conclusion
7. Conclusion
Endmatter
Works Cited
Index