The scepter and the spear : studies on forms of repetition in the Homeric poems

The Scepter and the Spear is a wide-ranging reassessment of the study of Homer as literature in the wake of Milman Parry and Albert Lord's discoveries about the nature of oral poetry. Lowenstam's insights into such problems as the functional reality of formulae in general and epithets in particular will be of value not only to Classicists but also to all scholars and students interested in oral poetics. Although the most common feature in the Homeric poems is repetition, few agree on how to interpret it. In this work, Steven Lowenstam examines the importance of form and meaning and suggests that the formulas of the Homeric tradition were modified to allow the greatest harmony of style and nuance.