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Title details for Para-Narratives in the Odyssey by Maureen Alden - Available

Para-Narratives in the Odyssey

by Maureen Alden
ebook
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Readers coming to the Odyssey for the first time are often dazzled and bewildered by the wealth of material it contains which is seemingly unrelated to the central story: the main plot of Odysseus' return to Ithaca is complicated by myriad secondary narratives related by the poet and his characters, including Odysseus' own fantastic tales of Lotus Eaters, Sirens, and cannibal giants. Although these 'para-narratives' are a source of pleasure and entertainment in their own right, each also has a special relevance to its immediate context, elucidating Odysseus' predicament and also subtly influencing and guiding the audience's reception of the main story. By exploring variations on the basic story-shape, drawing on familiar tales, anecdotes, and mythology, or inserting analogous situations, they create illuminating parallels to the main narrative and prompt specific responses in readers or listeners. This is the case even when details are suppressed or altered, as the audience may still experience the reverberations of the better-known version of the tradition, and it also applies to the characters themselves, who are often provided with a model of action for imitation or avoidance in their immediate contexts.
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Publisher: OUP Oxford

Kindle Book

  • ISBN: 9780192524287
  • Release date: September 15, 2017

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9780192524287
  • Release date: September 15, 2017

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9780192524287
  • File size: 1494 KB
  • Release date: September 15, 2017

Formats

Kindle Book
OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Literary Criticism Nonfiction

Languages

English

Readers coming to the Odyssey for the first time are often dazzled and bewildered by the wealth of material it contains which is seemingly unrelated to the central story: the main plot of Odysseus' return to Ithaca is complicated by myriad secondary narratives related by the poet and his characters, including Odysseus' own fantastic tales of Lotus Eaters, Sirens, and cannibal giants. Although these 'para-narratives' are a source of pleasure and entertainment in their own right, each also has a special relevance to its immediate context, elucidating Odysseus' predicament and also subtly influencing and guiding the audience's reception of the main story. By exploring variations on the basic story-shape, drawing on familiar tales, anecdotes, and mythology, or inserting analogous situations, they create illuminating parallels to the main narrative and prompt specific responses in readers or listeners. This is the case even when details are suppressed or altered, as the audience may still experience the reverberations of the better-known version of the tradition, and it also applies to the characters themselves, who are often provided with a model of action for imitation or avoidance in their immediate contexts.
Expand title description text
Literary Criticism Nonfiction
  • Details

    Publisher:
    OUP Oxford

    Kindle Book
    ISBN: 9780192524287
    Release date: September 15, 2017

    OverDrive Read
    ISBN: 9780192524287
    Release date: September 15, 2017

    EPUB ebook
    ISBN: 9780192524287
    File size: 1494 KB
    Release date: September 15, 2017

  • Creators
  • Formats
    Kindle Book
    OverDrive Read
    EPUB ebook
  • Languages
    English