Foreword Gregory Nagy and David F. Elmer Women Weaving the World: Text and Textile in the Kalevala and Beyond, by Hanna Eilittä Psychas, was completed in December 2017. It originated as a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Harvard University. The author of Part I of the bipartite Foreword to the online edition of Women Weaving the World,… Read more
Bibliography Allen, T. W. 1917. Homeri Opera iii2. Oxford. ———. 1919. Homeri Opera iv2. Oxford. ———. 1931. Homeri Ilias. Oxford. Allen, W. S. 1973. Accent and Rhythm: Prosodic Features of Latin and Greek. Cambridge. ———. 1987. Vox Graeca3. Cambridge. Allerton, D. J. 1982. Valency and the English Verb. London. Read more
Appendix In the Appendix, I present the result of my approach, applied to lines 1–100 of the first book of the Iliad and the first book of the Odyssey. As a sample, the analysis of the lines is representative for the Homeric epic as a whole, as is the statistical data derived from it. I have tried to visualise the patchwork-like pattern of phonological phrases through a… Read more
6. General Conclusion The rhythmical phrases prefer not to be evenly balanced, or similar in sound, or enslaved to forced repetitive sequence, no, rather to be rounded off, distinct, and freely formed. Dionysius of Halicarnassus On Literary Composition 22 Throughout the history of literature, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey have always occupied a special position. The poet of the Iliad and the Odyssey,… Read more
5. Breaking the Measure: Grammatisation through Prosody φανήσεταί σοι λόγος εἷς εἰρόμενος Dionysius of Halicarnassus On Literary Composition 26/141.3 U-R. You will think it all one continuous piece of prose 5.0 Introduction Many verses and clusters of verses in Homer show a level of syntactical coherence over, or beyond, the boundaries of the metrical phrase, sometimes even over the boundaries… Read more
4. Audible Punctuation in Prosody 4.0 Introduction In the preceding chapters I have shown that developing grammatisation in Homer results in grammatical clauses of variable size, strung together into a progressive tendency with the aid of extra-clausal transitional constituents. Parts of the grammatical clauses take the shape of minor phonological phrases, as do the transitional constituents. Developing grammatisation seems to make use of… Read more
3. Metrics and Phonology of Grammatical Clauses 3.0 Introduction The real compositional principle behind the verse-to-verse structure of both the Iliad and the Odyssey seems to be a progressive tendency that strings together a large and possibly infinite number of single-clause informational units. The progression results from continuation, itself due to transitional constituents with clear pragmatic value, but little semantic function. The grammatical clauses that this… Read more
2. The Grammatical Clause in Homer 2.0 Introduction In chapter 1, I have discussed the problems concerning the various ways in which the syntax of Homeric discourse has been analysed by, among others, Chantraine, Bakker, and Clark. Discussing the descriptions of Homeric syntax also included dealing with the issue of enjambment in Homer, and the concept of grammatisation within metrical boundaries. Existing studies of Homeric discourse… Read more
1. The Unit of Homeric Discourse: Enjambment, Special Speech and Metrically Defined Grammatisation 1.0 Introduction For the modern reader, the punctuation of a text furthers comprehension of its contents. In spoken language, the person speaking may use differences in intonation, tempo and articulatory prominence to further the audience’s comprehension of what is being said. Punctuation in printed texts mimics to a certain extent the purpose of… Read more
Introduction: Sense, Syntax and Prosody What exactly did Homer leave behind? Was it a long series of hexameters? Yes and no. In writing, both the Iliad and the Odyssey appear as continuous repetitions of stichic verses. The epic narrative is cast in the hexametric mould: every single line fits one hexameter. The metrical shape of the hexameters varies, but all the verses of the Iliad and the… Read more
