Podcast

Sound Effects in Homer - Audio

Dr Stephen Instone

Homer was an oral poet. When he sang the ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ he relied on his memory rather than a written text. This method of producing poetry explains some features of Homeric epic, such as repetition, alliteration and metrical patterns. But does it mean that Homer never accommodates sound to sense in the way Virgil does – using fast-moving patterns to imitate speed, repetition of ‘s’ for hissing snakes, and …