Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Gordon M. Messing. "On Weighing Achilles' Wingèd Words." Language, 57: 888-900.

In disagreement with P. Friedrich and Redfield 1978, he argues that Homeric heroes do not have their own idiolects, that the oral traditional origin of the epics and the doctrine of ethos preclude that possibility. Also criticizes their sampling technique, reliance on an uncertain textual tradition, and correlation of stylistic criteria. See further P. Friedrich and Redfield 1981.
Area: AG