Rhythm and character in Homer's Iliad
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Abstract
This dissertation provides a methodology by which to study the relationship between a character’s rhetoric and the narrative context in rhythmical terms. In the first chapter, I remark on the differences between the narrator’s voice and that of his characters. In order to assess such distinctions in rhythm, I study the traditional hexameter verse in Chapter 2 to determine the “basic” metric of the hexameter. The basic metric involves many aspects of versification, including scansion, prosody, and syntax. My methodology for analyzing Homer’s “rhetorical” metric, given in Chapter 3, involves a combined study of those aspects of the verse, both within individual verses and across runs of verses. In Chapter 4, I analyze the eight single-verse speeches of the Iliad to demonstrate how dramatically effective the rhythm of even a single verse can be. In Chapter 5, I explore how the nearly identical rhythmic variation in the greetings of Charis (18.385-7), Hephaestus (18.424-6/7), and Aphrodite (14.194-6) expresses the same sense of surprise despite the disparate circumstances of these speakers. In contrast to such variation, Achilles’ public and quasi-legalistic announcement of the iron-toss competition (23.831-5) conveys no surprise, only a steady rhythm. In Chapters 6–8, I apply such structural rhythmic analysis to specific narrative contexts. In Chapter 6, I find that Odysseus’ words for restraining other kings (2.190-197), which the narrator describes as “gentle,” are in fact rhythmically balanced and steady; the rhythms of his “harsh” words directed at boisterous commoners (2.198-205/6), however, are much more erratic and jolting. Similarly, in Chapter 7, I find that Thersites’ “disorderly” and “indecipherable” words (2.225-42) fail because his thoughts are not rhythmically delineated. Thersites’ failure is especially evident in comparison with Achilles’ oath of withdrawal (1.225-44, from which Thersites takes his inspiration) and Odysseus’ response to Thersites (2.246-64). In Chapter 8, I explore how Theano’s prayer (6.305-10) reflects the traditional rhythmical style of archaic Greek prayer, the shift toward which is also visible in Agamemnon’s progression from rebuke to prayer (8.228-244). I argue that the failure of Theano’s prayer is made ironic due to its near-perfect and “strophic” rhythm and in light of Glaukos’ successful—though more rhythmically inconsistent—prayer (16.514-26). In the concluding chapter, these observations are applied to the transition from narrative to speech discussed in the first chapter. I argue that archaic epic poets could align or contrast verse rhythms for rhetorical and dramatic effect without breaching the established norms of the hexameter verse. In this way, the Homeric poet suited the verse rhythm to his characters and the context.
Description
2024
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International