Mythologizing Performance Contributor(s): Martin, Richard P. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1501713108 ISBN-13: 9781501713101 Publisher: Cornell University Press OUR PRICE: $32.62 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: October 2020 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Ancient And Classical - Literary Criticism | Semiotics & Theory - Social Science | Folklore & Mythology |
Dewey: 881.010 |
LCCN: 2017057565 |
Series: Myth and Poetics II |
Physical Information: 1.2" H x 6" W x 9" (1.73 lbs) 540 pages |
Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Building on numerous original close readings of works by Homer, Hesiod, and other ancient Greek poets, Richard P. Martin articulates a broad and precise poetics of archaic Greek verse. The ancient Greek hexameter poetry of such works as the Iliad and the Odyssey differ from most modern verbal art because it was composed for live, face-to-face performance, often in a competitive setting, before an audience well versed in mythological and ritual lore. The essays collected here span Martin's acclaimed career and explore ways of reading this poetic heritage using principles and evidence from the comparative study of oral traditions, literary and speech-act theories, and the ethnographic record. Among topics analyzed in depth are the narrative structures of Homer's epics, the Hesiodic Works and Days, and the Homeric Hymn to Apollo; the characterization of poetic and musical performers within the poems; the social context for verses ascribed to the legendary singer Orpheus; the significance of various rituals as stylized by poetic performances; and the interrelations, at the level of diction and theme, among the major genres of epic and hymn, as well as genres of speaking such as lament, praise, advice, and proverbial wisdom. |
Contributor Bio(s): Martin, Richard P.: - Richard P. Martin is the Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek Professor of Classics at Stanford University. Among his many books are Classical Mythology: The Basics; Myths of the Ancient Greeks; and The Language of Heroes: Speech and Performance in the "Iliad." |