Midterm 1

Question 1

Epos

Answer 1

Monumental, long, solemn poem that focuses on heroic characters and their travails, and often involves gods or demi-gods.

Question 2

What is the Homeric Question?

Answer 2

Were the Iliad and Odyssey written by Homer, or many writers?
Proposed by Friedrich August Wolf in ‘Prolegomena ad Humerum’, Halle 1795.

Question 3

What is oral poetry?

Answer 3

Improvised, unwritten poetry.

Question 4

What are the features of oral poetry?

Answer 4

Repeating type scenes, verses, half-verses, and stock epithets.

Question 5

Who discovered the typical features of oral poetry?

Answer 5

Milman Parry (1902-1935) did when he recorded Serbo-Croat singers in Bosnia improvising epics, and his pupil, Albert Lord, refined the theory.

Question 6

What are the features of epic style?

Answer 6

Similes, decorative epithets, formulaic verses, catalogues, epic retardations etc.

Question 7

What are decorative epithets?

Answer 7

Adjectives always linked to a person or thing, reflecting a typical characteristic of it.

Question 8

What are some key decorative epithets?

Question 9

What are some examples of similes?

Question 10

What are formulaic verses?

Answer 10

They are used to describe type scenes.

Question 11

What are some examples of formulaic verses?

Answer 11

Time of day, dressing in armour before dying, eating, departure, death.

Question 12

What is catalogue poetry?

Answer 12

They are poetic lists known as catalogue.

Question 13

What is aristeia?

Answer 13

Hero’s finest hour (Gr. aristos = best)

Question 14

What is epic retardation?

Answer 14

When the narrative slows down in order to digress from the main plot. This was used in epics to keep the audience on edge, to add suspense, and lengthen the narrative.

Question 15

What is ecphrasis?

Answer 15

It’s Greek for “description”, and is the detailed description of people, things (art, buildings), or events, to digress from the narrative.

Question 16

What are some examples of ecphrasis?

Answer 16

Odysseus’ boar-teeth helmet (Book 10), Achilles’ shield (Book 18), Poseidons horse-drawn carriage (

Question 17

What are dressing scenes?

Answer 17

Type scenes that describe a hero or a god arming for battle or departure, and are semi-formulaic.

Question 18

What is hero taunting?

Answer 18

Type scenes where heroes exchange insults before duels.

Question 19

What is dramatic irony?

Answer 19

The reader has more knowledge than the characters, which allows the reader to recognise when actions may be futile, foolish, or a mistake.

Question 20

Examples of dramatic irony?

Answer 20

Hector taunting Patroclus in book 16 for listening to Achilles and fighting, but the audience knows Achilles told Patroclus to go back.

Question 21

What is the invocation of the Muse?

Answer 21

When the poet asks the goddess of poetry to inspire him.

Question 22

When does the invocation of the Muse occur?

Answer 22

Beginning of the poem.
Ship’s Catalogue.
Before important battle scenes.
Before lengthy kill catalogues.

Question 23

What are some examples of proxy battles?

Answer 23

Iliad 3 - Paris fights Menelaus (Paris saved)
Iliad 5 - Pandarus (died) with Aeneas (survives) fight Diomedes
Iliad 6 - Glaucus fights Diomedes (exchange armour)
Iliad 7 - Big Ajax fights Hector (ended by nightfall, gift exchange)
Iliad 14 - Big Ajax fights Hector (Hector stunned by rock but saved by Aeneas)
Iliad 16 - Patroclus kills Sarpedon
Iliad 20 - Aeneas (saved by Poseidon) fights Achilles

Question 24

Zeus

Answer 24

Supreme god, father of many of the gods and of human heroes like Hercules and Sarpedon.

Question 25

Hera