Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Dorothea Wender. The Last Scenes of the Odyssey. Mnemosyne, Bibliotheca Classica Batava, Supplementum 52. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

In Chapter 2 ("On Oral and Other Matters," pp. 5-9), she states_without any attempt at proof_that Homer was a literate poet who used oral traditional techniques. Argues, therefore, that "when we say that the Odyssey contains features of traditional heroic song, we do not, however, give up our right to perform literary criticism on it" (p. 8). This section, as well as her overall thesis that the conclusion of the Odyssey is "genuine," lacks logical and rigorous methodology.
Area: AG