Homeric Rhythm: A Philosophical Study

by Paolo Vivante

Overview

In a follow-up to his previous Homeric studies, noted classicist Paolo Vivante explores Homer's verse, highlighting rhythm rather than metre. Rhythmical qualities, he argues, constitute the force of the verse—for example, in the way the words take position and in the way each pause hints suspense, producing an immediate sense of time. Vivante's main concern is not with the techniques or rules of the verse-composition, but more philosophically with verse itself as a fundamental form of human expression. This study will be of interest to both students and scholars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313303630
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/28/1997
Series:	Contributions to the Study of World Literature , #82
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.44(d)
Lexile:	1040L (what's this?)

About the Author

PAOLO VIVANTE is Professor Emeritus of Classics at McGill University. He is the author of The Homeric Imagination, The Epithets in Homer, Homer, and The Iliad: Action as Poetry.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Rhythm and Metre
Order of Words
Enjambement
Time and Verse
Apollonius Rhodius
Conclusions
Bibliographical Essay
Index

Editorial Reviews

Vivante (philosophy, McGill) interprets Homeric verse in terms of time, existence, perception, and expression. He maintains that the verse rhythms in Homeric narrative create rising and vanishing moments, which in turn create a sense of coming to be and passing away; the tempo of the verse ensures the domain of form and typifies the momentary; and formulas in the verse are ultimately due to a mode of perception and not to compositional technique. Includes a comparison of Apollonius Rhodius and Homer. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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