Spontaneity and Tradition: A Study in the Oral Art of Homer

Spontaneity and Tradition: A Study in the Oral Art of Homer by Michael N. Nagler offers a groundbreaking reappraisal of the Iliad and the Odyssey through the lens of oral poetics. Building on the work of Milman Parry and Albert Lord, Nagler demonstrates how Homer’s epics are best understood as oral-dictated performances that balance inherited formulas with the poet’s spontaneous artistry. Rather than viewing formulas and type-scenes as rigid conventions, Nagler argues that they function as ...