The Making of Homeric Verse by Milman Parry
- 1. The Making of Homeric Verse by Milman Parry is a seminal work that profoundly influences our understanding of the oral tradition and composition of the epic poems attributed to Homer, namely the Iliad and the Odyssey. Parry, an American scholar of the early 20th century, conducted pioneering research that challenged conventional beliefs regarding the authorship and origins of these texts. Through his analysis of the structures, repeated phrases, and formulas within the verses, he argued that the Homeric epics were not solely the creations of a single author, but rather the result of a communal oral tradition that evolved over centuries. His fieldwork in the Balkans, where he studied the living oral-poetic traditions of South Slavic bards, provided critical insights into how such verses could be composed spontaneously, relying on a vast repository of formulaic expressions and a deep familiarity with narrative themes. Parry's work laid the groundwork for the field of oral literature, demonstrating how oral cultures produce complex and sophisticated narrative techniques, and reshaped the scholarly landscape surrounding ancient Greek literature. The impact of his findings extends beyond Homeric studies, influencing various disciplines such as anthropology, linguistics, and literary criticism, as scholars continue to explore the dynamics of oral and written traditions in shaping literary heritage.
Milman Parry's theory was developed in collaboration with which scholar?
A) Albert Lord
B) Gregory Nagy
C) Moses Finley
D) Eric Havelock
- 2. Parry conducted his seminal field research among oral poets in which region?
A) Turkey
B) The Scottish Highlands
C) Yugoslavia
D) Ancient Greece
- 3. What is the term for a repeated phrase or line used by oral poets as a building block?
A) Simile
B) Stanza
C) Metaphor
D) Formula
- 4. Parry's theory suggests the Iliad and Odyssey were products of what tradition?
A) Dramatic
B) Oral
C) Written
D) Philosophical
- 5. What is the name of the book that collects Parry's collected papers?
A) The Singer of Tales
B) The Making of Homeric Verse
C) The Homeric Question
D) Homer and the Oral Tradition
- 6. Which university was Milman Parry affiliated with?
A) Harvard University
B) University of Cambridge
C) University of Oxford
D) Yale University
- 7. Parry's work provided a new answer to the longstanding...
A) Socratic Problem
B) Platonic Dilemma
C) Homeric Question
D) Aristotelian Debate
- 8. What did Parry's analysis of noun-epithet phrases demonstrate?
A) They were added by later editors
B) They described unique characteristics
C) They were mistranslations
D) They fit specific metrical positions
- 9. Parry's work shifted the focus from Homer as an individual to Homer as a...
A) Philosopher
B) God
C) Tradition
D) Myth
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