Sound, Sense, and Rhythm: Listening to Greek and Latin Poetry (Martin Classical Lectures, 20)

This book concerns the way we read—or rather, imagine we are listening to—ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Through clear and penetrating analysis Mark Edwards shows how an understanding of the effects of word order and meter is vital for appreciating the meaning of classical poetry, composed for listening audiences. The first of four chapters examines Homer's emphasis of certain words by their positioning; a passage from the Iliad is analyzed, and a poem of Tennyson illustrates English parallels. The second considers Homer's techniques of disguising the break in the narrative when changing a scene's location or characters, to maintain his audience's attention. In the third we learn, partly through an English translation matching the rhythm, how Aeschylus chose and adapted meters to arouse listeners' emotions. The final chapter examines how Latin poets, particularly Propertius, infused their language with ambiguities and multiple meanings. An appendix examines the use of classical meters by twentieth-century American and English poets. Based on the author's Martin Classical Lectures at Oberlin College in 1998, this book will enrich the appreciation of classicists and their students for the immense possibilities of the languages they read, translate, and teach. Since the Greek and Latin quotations are translated into English, it will also be welcomed by non-classicists as an aid to understanding the enormous influence of ancient Greek and Latin poetry on modern Western literature. Sound, Sense, and Rhythm concerns the way we read -- or rather, imagine we are listening to -- ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Through clear and penetrating analysis Mark Edwards shows how an understanding of the effects of word order and meter is vital for appreciating the meaning of classical poetry, composed for listening audiences.The first of four chapters examines Homer's emphasis of certain words by their positioning; a passage from the lliad is analyzed, and a poem of Tennyson illustrates English parallels. The second considers Homer's techniques of disguising the break in the narrative when changing a scene's location or characters, to maintain his audience's attention. In the third we learn, partly through an English translation matching the rhythm, how Aeschylus chose and adapted meters to arouse listeners' emotions. The final chapter examines how Latin poets, particularly Propertius, infused their language with ambiguities and multiple meanings. An appendix examines the use of classical meters by twentieth-century American and English poets.Based on the author's Martin Classical Lectures at Oberlin College in 1998, this book will enrich the appreciation of classicists and their students for the immense possibilities of the languages they read, translate, and teach. Since the Greek and Latin quotations are translated into English, it will also be welcomed by non-classicists as an aid to understanding the enormous influence of ancient Greek and Latin poetry on modern Western literature. Sound, Sense, And Rhythm Concerns The Way We Read - Or Rather, Imagine We Are Listening To - Ancient Greek And Latin Poetry. Through Clear And Penetrating Analysis Mark Edwards Shows How An Understanding Of The Effects Of Word Order And Meter Is Vital For Appreciating The Meaning Of Classical Poetry, Composed For Listening Audiences.--jacket. Homer I: Poetry And Speech -- The Older Discoveries: Frankel And Parry -- The New Theories: Functional Grammar And The Grammar Of Speech -- Homeric Style In Tennyson's Morte D'arthur -- Homeric Style In The Duels Of Achilles -- Homer Ii: Scenes And Summaries -- The Book Divisions -- The Paragraph Divisions -- Joining Episode To Episode -- Continuity And Oral Poetics -- Music And Meaning In Three Songs Of Aeschylus -- The First Choral Song (agammemnon 104-257) -- The Second Choral Song (agamemnon 367-488) -- The Third Choral Song (agamemnon 681-781) -- The Rest Of The Agamemnon, And Of The Trilogy -- Poetry In The Latin Language -- Latin Word Order -- Ambiguity In Latin Verse -- Propertius 1.19 -- Tennyson's Morte D'arthur -- Continuity In Mrs. Dalloway -- The Performance Of Homeric Episodes -- Classical Meters In Modern English Verse. Mark W. Edwards. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [179]-187) And Index. CONTENTS 8 PREFACE 10 CHAPTER ONE: Homer I: Poetry and Speech 16 The Older Discoveries: Fränkel and Parry 17 The New Theories: Functional Grammar and the Grammar of Speech 24 Homeric Style in Tennyson's Morte d'Arthur 29 Homeric Style in the Duels of Achilles 33 CHAPTER TWO: Homer II: Scenes and Summaries 53 The Book Divisions 54 The Paragraph Divisions 62 Joining Episode to Episode 68 Continuity and Oral Poetics 73 CHAPTER THREE: Music and Meaning in Three Songs of Aeschylus 77 The First Choral Song (Agamemnon 104–257) 86 The Second Choral Song (Agamemnon 367–488) 96 The Third Choral Song (Agamemnon 681–781) 103 The Rest of the Agamemnon, and of the Trilogy 110 CHAPTER FOUR: Poetry in the Latin Language 114 Latin Word Order 114 Ambiguity in Latin Verse 120 Propertius 1.19 124 AFTERWORD 140 APPENDIX A: Tennyson's Morte d'Arthur 144 APPENDIX B: Continuity in Mrs. Dalloway 164 APPENDIX C: The Performance of Homeric Episodes 166 APPENDIX D: Classical Meters in Modern English Verse 181 REFERENCES 194 INDEX 204 A 204 B 204 C 204 D 204 E 204 F 204 G 205 H 205 I 205 J 205 K 205 L 205 M 205 N 205 O 205 P 205 R 206 S 206 T 206 V 206 W 206 Z 206 "Sound, Sense, and Rhythm concerns the way we read - or rather, imagine we are listening to - ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Through clear and penetrating analysis Mark Edwards shows how an understanding of the effects of word order and meter is vital for appreciating the meaning of classical poetry, composed for listening audiences."--BOOK JACKET. MOSTLY, we read the Homeric epics; despite the existence of modern recordings, few of us listen to them.