I will have to earmark that reading for myself too! I admit I haven't read the full thing either...
The points about Helen vs. any other woman and the misogyny are real. I approve of dissing Paris for this shit, because he is the human at fault. For an explanation of why Briseis doesn't move the needle I can only think of "Helen" the unit and where she might rank. Maybe in the microhelen range of motorboat & starting a grass fire?
I feel like I am probably just rehashing familiar information, but yay repetition and other poetic devices! \o/ Afaik such a long epic was probably meant for multiple nights, so it's for the benefit of the listeners, true, but also benefits the people reciting. Formulaic phrases and even stock descriptions (e.g. some adjectives/epithets that are almost exclusively bound to a person) make memorising easier. If they start such a phrase, it just keeps going naturally - this and things like rhyming, alliteration and meter give parameters to a line so less and less options to finish it. I just love ancient and epic poetry and narratives.
The godly interference is real! I forget what it was, but I'm sure there were more inciting incidences from the gods aside from the apples. I really want to do a proper refresher on all things Iliad, so thanks again for the rec.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2021-09-01 10:23 am (UTC)The points about Helen vs. any other woman and the misogyny are real. I approve of dissing Paris for this shit, because he is the human at fault. For an explanation of why Briseis doesn't move the needle I can only think of "Helen" the unit and where she might rank. Maybe in the microhelen range of motorboat & starting a grass fire?
I feel like I am probably just rehashing familiar information, but yay repetition and other poetic devices! \o/ Afaik such a long epic was probably meant for multiple nights, so it's for the benefit of the listeners, true, but also benefits the people reciting. Formulaic phrases and even stock descriptions (e.g. some adjectives/epithets that are almost exclusively bound to a person) make memorising easier. If they start such a phrase, it just keeps going naturally - this and things like rhyming, alliteration and meter give parameters to a line so less and less options to finish it. I just love ancient and epic poetry and narratives.
The godly interference is real! I forget what it was, but I'm sure there were more inciting incidences from the gods aside from the apples. I really want to do a proper refresher on all things Iliad, so thanks again for the rec.