Plot and point of view in the Iliad
By: Robert J. Rabel.
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Ann Arbor
Language: eng
Number of pages: 251
Subjects: Homer.; Epic poetry, Greek -- Stories, plots, etc.; Achilles (Greek mythology) in literature.; Trojan War -- Literature and the war.; Point of view (Literature); Rhetoric, Ancient.
Description: Point of view as an element in the technique of storytelling has emerged as a topic of major interest in this century, particularly in relation to the study of the novel. Some have argued that point of view also serves as a significant component of epic style. Most studies that claim that Homer employs a perspectival method of narration have limited themselves to the study of the relationship between the points of view of the narrator and the various characters of Homeric epic.

This book argues that Homer, the poet of the Iliad, may be fully distinguished from the narrator of Homeric poetry and also from the heroes and heroines who live within the world of the story. Plot and Point of View in the Iliad will be of interest to classicists, students of comparative epic, philosophers, and readers of Homeric epic. It should also be of interest to students of modern literature.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-229) and index.
Table of contents: title: Plot and point of view in the Iliad; title: Book 1 : the "beginning" of the Iliad; title: Books 2-8 : Helen and glory; title: Book 9 : the desires of Achilleus; title: Books 10-17 : need and desire; title: Books 18-24 : plot and subplot converge.