The beginnings of narrative closure in Homeric Epic
<p>The Homeric epics are the earliest specimens of classical narrative that have come down to us. They have also exerted a lasting influence throughout antiquity and beyond; indeed, they may be termed the "founding narratives" of Western literature. For these two reasons they offer a...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English Greek, Ancient (to 1453) |
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1999
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| _version_ | 1797112652318638080 |
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| author | Luddecke, K |
| author_facet | Luddecke, K |
| author_sort | Luddecke, K |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | <p>The Homeric epics are the earliest specimens of classical narrative that have come down to us. They have also exerted a lasting influence throughout antiquity and beyond; indeed, they may be termed the "founding narratives" of Western literature. For these two reasons they offer an ideal focus for a study which attempts to begin developing a flexible yet systematic approach to narrative closure, in which it is hoped that modern literary theory and practice can inform a new reading of the Classics and vice versa.</p>
<p>The term "closure" itself has been invested with a myriad of meanings and has not always been employed with the necessary clarity because of the continuing boom in closural studies, not only in literary criticism. A brief but comprehensive review of the subject will help clarify this central concept and lead up to a definition of closure which will be most useful for its investigation in narrative, and ancient epic in particular. In this context it is further suggested that a generic approach might offer particular advantages, at least with reference to Classics. A study of closure, if appropriately and clearly defined, should - paradoxically - open up new perspectives on a work of literature, and a more detailed methodological section offers a preliminary overview of possible avenues of investigation in ancient (especially epic) narrative; these include the role of plotting and of characters in the development of closure, and the contribution and interaction of various thematic and structural devices. While my approach is informed by discourse theory and narratology, specialized vocabulary is generally kept to a minimum.</p>
<p>Based on this theoretical framework, readings of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" assess the crucial, though characteristically different role of closure in both epics, following a brief review of scholarly opinion on Homeric closure up to date. The narrative dynamics and preoccupations of each poem are illuminated through this new perspective, thus contributing to a fresh understanding of disputed features (in particular in the "Odyssey"). The results of these two related but separate discussions are then summarized and compared, illustrating the sophistication of texts even at what is for us the beginning of Western narrative. The final section returns the closural strategies explored in the Homeric epics into the context of the broader theoretical discussions set out in the introduction. It concludes with a short overview of possible ways in which the study of epic and narrative closure might fruitfully be pursued.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T08:27:03Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oxford-uuid:051ff1e1-dac5-4fef-b3e6-5ffc95ad383a |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English Greek, Ancient (to 1453) |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T08:27:03Z |
| publishDate | 1999 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:051ff1e1-dac5-4fef-b3e6-5ffc95ad383a2024-02-27T15:50:43ZThe beginnings of narrative closure in Homeric EpicThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_db06uuid:051ff1e1-dac5-4fef-b3e6-5ffc95ad383aCanon (Literature)Epic poetry, GreekClosure (Rhetoric)Criticism, NarrativeEnglishGreek, Ancient (to 1453)Hyrax Deposit1999Luddecke, K<p>The Homeric epics are the earliest specimens of classical narrative that have come down to us. They have also exerted a lasting influence throughout antiquity and beyond; indeed, they may be termed the "founding narratives" of Western literature. For these two reasons they offer an ideal focus for a study which attempts to begin developing a flexible yet systematic approach to narrative closure, in which it is hoped that modern literary theory and practice can inform a new reading of the Classics and vice versa.</p> <p>The term "closure" itself has been invested with a myriad of meanings and has not always been employed with the necessary clarity because of the continuing boom in closural studies, not only in literary criticism. A brief but comprehensive review of the subject will help clarify this central concept and lead up to a definition of closure which will be most useful for its investigation in narrative, and ancient epic in particular. In this context it is further suggested that a generic approach might offer particular advantages, at least with reference to Classics. A study of closure, if appropriately and clearly defined, should - paradoxically - open up new perspectives on a work of literature, and a more detailed methodological section offers a preliminary overview of possible avenues of investigation in ancient (especially epic) narrative; these include the role of plotting and of characters in the development of closure, and the contribution and interaction of various thematic and structural devices. While my approach is informed by discourse theory and narratology, specialized vocabulary is generally kept to a minimum.</p> <p>Based on this theoretical framework, readings of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" assess the crucial, though characteristically different role of closure in both epics, following a brief review of scholarly opinion on Homeric closure up to date. The narrative dynamics and preoccupations of each poem are illuminated through this new perspective, thus contributing to a fresh understanding of disputed features (in particular in the "Odyssey"). The results of these two related but separate discussions are then summarized and compared, illustrating the sophistication of texts even at what is for us the beginning of Western narrative. The final section returns the closural strategies explored in the Homeric epics into the context of the broader theoretical discussions set out in the introduction. It concludes with a short overview of possible ways in which the study of epic and narrative closure might fruitfully be pursued.</p> |
| spellingShingle | Canon (Literature) Epic poetry, Greek Closure (Rhetoric) Criticism, Narrative Luddecke, K The beginnings of narrative closure in Homeric Epic |
| title | The beginnings of narrative closure in Homeric Epic |
| title_full | The beginnings of narrative closure in Homeric Epic |
| title_fullStr | The beginnings of narrative closure in Homeric Epic |
| title_full_unstemmed | The beginnings of narrative closure in Homeric Epic |
| title_short | The beginnings of narrative closure in Homeric Epic |
| title_sort | beginnings of narrative closure in homeric epic |
| topic | Canon (Literature) Epic poetry, Greek Closure (Rhetoric) Criticism, Narrative |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT luddeckek thebeginningsofnarrativeclosureinhomericepic AT luddeckek beginningsofnarrativeclosureinhomericepic |