Homer: Poet of the Iliad

by Mark W. Edwards

Poet of the Iliad is the perfect companion both for readers deepening their appreciation of the poem and its form and for those encountering Homer's work for the first time. Mark Edwards combines the advantages of a general intorduction and a detailed commentary to make the insights of recent Homeric scholarship accessible to students and general readers as well as to classicists. Since interpretation of the epic requires an understanding of the ancient oral traidtion and its conventions, Edwards offers a comprehensive analysis of the poetics of the Iliad and the Odyssey . He also discusses essential elements of Homeric society―its religion, history,and social values―to clarify the style and substance of the poetry. In the second half of the book, Edwardfs's scene-by-scene explication of ten major books of the Iliad leads the reader to a greater perception of Homer's mastery and manipulation of convention.

Genres: Literary Criticism

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1987

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poet Homer does not introduce himself.
"The Bard, Oral Poetry, and Our Present Text"

It is characteristic of a supreme and "classic" work of art that no single interpretation is likely to satisfy generally or for long, and every society, every individual, every experience of the work will be, and should be, different. Every reader brings to a work his or her own presuppositions, preferences, and philosophy, just as every actor will interpret a role in a great drama differently...
Commentary on Iliad Book 9

However, the experience of more than a hundred generations has shown that differences of language, civilization, and time do not destroy the value of these poems as presentations of universal human situations and emotions.
"Narrative: The Poet's Voice"

In the poems, it is of course the poet who fashions mankind's destinies, not Zeus; and often when humans declare that an event was Zeus's doing, it is the human motives that the poet portrays as the dominant factors.
"Afterword: The World-view of Homer"

Mark W. Edwards's Homer: Poet of the Iliad provides an introduction into the art and artistry within Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey as well as a deep commentary on selected books of The Iliad. Edwards provides a thorough overview of criticism and theory regarding Homer's work; each section ends with a brief annotated bibliography should a reader wish to delve deeper in a specific topic. The book is not too esoteric for literary dilettantes and not too shallow for Greek-spouting aficionados.

I particularly liked Edwards review of Homer's poetic structures, the formulae we non-Greek readers always hear about but cannot comprehend in English. Edwards is able to convey how the metrical structure works, why specific characters have specific epithets, and how this structure aids memory and increases literary effect.

While I would have enjoyed a full commentary on The Iliad, Edwards' abridged review is sufficient. He brings out the depth and wonder at the heart of Homer's Iliad, sifting away the detritus of time to reveal the underlying humanity of an author we know nothing about. This is criticism and commentary of a high order, an engaging classroom where an attentive student will perceive new insights and walk away with a new appreciation for a text read numerous times before.

[Keeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of Homer studies. A great way in to the discipline for undergrads, beginning graduate students, or interested civilians. Not that useful for anyone who has already studied Homer scholarship in depth.

[Matt McCormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional. It's a must read for anyone who has read Homer and even more so for someone reading Homer for the first time. Edwards provides an insightful critique in a voice that is both learned and conversational. I especially appreciated the books structure. Edwards explains the broad theme's of classical verbal poetry in the first half and then follows with a chapter by chapter summary. It was almost like sitting in a classroom with a splendid lecturer knowing you were never to be handed a test. Not having immediate access to Lattimer's translation made the references less meaningful but that didn't detract from enjoying Edward's analysis. In fact, I'm now in search of that version.

Homer speaks as much to us today as he did to so many throughout thousands of years of history - the senselessness and savagery of war, the human desire for respect and meaning, the sad consequences of ineffectual leadership, the value of empathy and the destructive force of hubris. Through Homer we are reminded that we hold Zeus's jars in our own hands and we dispense the measures of happiness and pain to ourselves and to each other.

[Kristian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The length of the *Iliad* and the *Odyssey* is remarkable, much exceeding (as far as we know) that of other epics of the period. More remarkable still, and worthy of immense credit . . . is that this size was attained not by chronological extension, not by adding exploit to exploit and generation to generation, but by *contracting* the time frame to a much shorter period than other epics, thus bringing about the unity of each poem" (7).

"The predicted future may fall within the limits of the poem, in which case we wait in suspense to see it come true—the suspense arising, as is usual in Greek literature, not from ignorance of the outcome but from the agony of waiting for it to happen" (32).