Bruce Louden's bold re-reading of the Odyssey -- the first attempt in years to map in detail the poem's overall structure -- offers new insights into the artistry of Odysseus' mythic voyage and enriches our understanding of Homer's masterful craftsmanship. Louden's groundbreaking work uncovers an extended narrative pattern, repeated in full three times, which reveals the poem's underlying skeletal structure. This organizational analysis helps to explain the existence of several characters or episodes sometimes dismissed as extraneous, as late additions, or even as corruptions to Homer's original intent. In addition, Louden's discovery strengthens the suggestion that the Odyssey was the product of oral tradition. By repeating this sequence of successive motifs, a single, improvising bard could explore a variety of complex ideas within a poem as long as the Odyssey. Though centrally concerned with the form of Homer's rich and complex plot, Louden's study is not exclusively, or even primarily, formalistic. His investigation involves the study of characters' names, challenges faced by Odysseus, the structure of the poem, and roles assigned to the poem's female characters. Louden's comprehensive achievement gives the reader a fresh perspective on the role of divine hostility and the artistry of an epic survivor on his timeless journey home.

This book is an important and admirable study. Previous scholars have written on narrative patterns in the poem, but none so thoroughly as Bruce Louden. His scholarship is up-to-date and sound throughout and his writing lucid. A balanced and polished work. -- Barry B. Powell, University of Wisconsin This book achieves its purpose. It has much to teach a variety of readers: specialists in Greek literature, advanced undergraduates, and general readers interested in epic poetry and the myth. -- William G. Thalmann, University of Southern California

About the Author
Bruce Louden is an associate professor of classics at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Reviews
Often illuminating... The reader will find much to welcome. -- Matthew Clark Phoenix



Book Information
ISBN 9780801869211
Author Bruce Louden
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press
Weight(grams) 318g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 13mm