I find that if you read the Illiad imagining the voice of the old woman in the ads for God of War it enhances the experience.
ETA: at least for the Fagles translation.
I loved the Illiad, but this is a salient post. One of the reasons that I like the Illiad is because it a Bronze-Age Oral history later written down. All the lists of who supplied troops and who killed who would only be interesting to later listeners as historical accounts. The Illiad makes me feel, more than any other work, like I am listening to the account a generation later.
You do definitely get the feeling, however, that audiences would have had pretty direct experience of perforating people’s kidneys with spears. It’s all very specific, and not in a fantasy-specific way.
Yeah, I mean it historically resonates with them since its about their ancestor/clan; and it tells all about the kind of battles that they want to be involved in (as the winner of course). What wasn’t to like for Joe Bronze Age?
I recommend that a new thread be started specifically for the seminar, outlining the basic intent, some ground rules (as discussed in this and earlier threads), and posing an opening question. Obviously, it would include a link to this and other relevant threads, and a post here would point to it.
Since the concept originated with The Lovely Margo Lane, I think she should have the honor of establishing the rules, asking the opening question, and moderating the thread. I can wait until Wednesday.
Just MHO.
Aww, thanks commasense. I’m back on top of the world, with only a little swelling in my jaw and only about an inch of paperwork to catch up on littering my desk.
Unfortunately, I was pretty whacked out on painkillers until Sunday, so watching DVDs of Lost was pretty much all the mental stimulation I could handle- I’m only up to book 20, but I certainly don’t mind starting the discussion thread today anyhow. I think we should take a slow, deliberate pace to the discussion, and not try to burn through in a few days. Catching up on thread has given me an idea for a starter question, too!
I’ll post here again when I get the new thread up and running.
Class is now in session!