DOCSLIB.ORG

Introduction

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Introduction Introduction Robert Simms The thematic interests of heroic epic are ‘kings and battles’ (reges et proelia), as Virgil has it at Ecologue 6.3. These interests dispose the genre toward a con- fident athanasia: that the great deeds of great men will endure into future ages and never perish. There is, however, another feature of heroic epic nar- ratives that goes largely unconsidered. As Aristotle observes in making his generic comparisons of epic and tragedy, where the latter should contain a sin- gle episode, the former is polumython, ‘replete with story’ (Poetics 1456a12). Epic is capable of containing several stories, a feature that facilitates an extensive ‘additive’ program, such that the enterprise itself is prone to incompleteness and indefiniteness. But while songs may live forever, singers do not. Lamentable circumstances have allowed mors immatura to claim the ends of several works, but even poets of successfully ‘finished’ epics frequently acknowledge or imply that the story is incomplete. Historically, the incompleteness of epic has en- couraged the production of continuations, observed as early as the cyclical epics of Archaic Greece, and Homer’s Iliad. The Odyssey and the Aeneid con- tinue the Iliad, Silius’ Punica continues the Aeneid, and so forth. There was also the Medieval and Renaissance vogue of continuing and elaborating unfin- ished classical epics, as well as the hybridization of Greco-Roman epic and courtly romance, which gave rise to further forms of continuation. The post- modern age also reveals an interest in the aggregation and serialization of epic. The present volume thus explores, in a decidedly interdisciplinary and trans- historical effort, the variety of ways that heroic epic narratives have been con- tinued in the Greco-Roman and western classical traditions through prequels, sequels, and retellings. As a glance at the table of contents will reveal, the lion’s share of the discus- sions contained herein concern the Trojan mythos, a theme with which poets and authors of continuations have been continually occupied. This volume divides into two parts. In the first part we take up works more or less related to the Trojan War and/or the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer. In the second part, we look beyond Troy and Homer; however, there is, naturally, observable overlap and interconnectedness, and the divisions should by no means be considered distinct. As slices from a larger whole of cyclic epics, which survive now only as epitomes and fragments, the Iliad and Odyssey by their nature offered gaps and points of departure to fill out and further a much larger and lengthier narrative © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi: 10.1163/9789004360921_002 2 simms picture. These Homeric redactions connect to a sequence that spanned from what the Archaic Greeks understood as the nascence of the world down to the close of the heroic age; however, as Elizabeth Minchin discusses in our opening chapter, the Iliad and the Odyssey are also tethered to one another. Minchin examines first how the Iliad speculates on future narrative events, external to its terminus, through the depictions of fate and prophecy; statements of conviction; threats, prayers, and wishes of characters; and the explicit words of the Iliadic narrator. Minchin then turns her attention to the ways in which the Odyssey does and does not pick up the offered strands of its predecessor. Reinhold Glei then provides an examination of the Ilias Latina, a short Latin hexameter poem of 1070 lines attributed, with some controversy, to Baebius Italicus, and written in the Neronian 60’s.The poem heavily influenced medieval literature and endured as a popular standard in Latin education.Were one to read of the Trojan conflict in the Middle Ages it would more likely have been in the Ilias Latina than in Homer’s original. While Baebius’ work presents itself as a condensation and summary, it also reveals, as Glei examines, features that suggest a Roman rereading and continuation of the Homeric Iliad, one informed by post-Augustan critique and influence. The Hellenistic period enjoyed a particular vogue for extending Homeric material. The somewhat lesser known epyllia of Triphiodorus’ The Sack of Troy and Colluthus’ The Rape of Helen offer the subject matter for Orestis Karavas’ chapter. Of the former we have a sequel composed in 691 verses in roughly the 3rd century that offers a continuation of Homer’s Iliad and treats similar events to the second book of Virgil’s Aeneid. Of the latter we have Colluthus’ The Rape of Helen in 392 hexameters, which visits the seeds of theTrojan conflict. Karavas explores the ways in which these later poets drew their inspiration from other poets besides Homer. As the font of much narrative material it was a particular challenge to create original works within this Homeric dominance. Calum Maciver’s discussion then turns our attention toward Quintus of Smyrnaeus’ Posthomerica where he explores Quintus’ construction of a Homeric identity that draws on the hexametric poetry of Hesiod and Apollonius as well. In this way, Homer is read through a Hellenistic lens. The Byzantine poet and scholastic John Tzetzes also sought to enclose the open ends of origin and conclusion to Homer’s Iliad. Marta Cardin’s contri- bution addresses the Carmina Iliaca, or Little Great Iliad, of John Tzetzes. This poem treats the Trojan War from the origins of the conflict through to the fall of the city. As a teacher, Tzetzes’ poetic efforts have strong didactic qualities that incorporate a variety of sources. In addition, Tzetzes creates his own myths, offers learned annotations to his own verses, and incorporates a style of alle- goresis. Not long after after Tzetzes’ death, the English poet Joseph of Exeter,.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Trójumanna Saga a Case of Translatio and Translation of the Latin Culture in Iceland
    Ritgerð til M.A.-prófs í Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Trójumanna saga A case of translatio and translation of the Latin culture in Iceland Beatrice Bedogni Leiðbeinandi: Jan Alexander Van Nahl September 2019 Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Trójumanna saga A case of translatio and translation of the Latin culture in Iceland Ritgerð til M.A.-prófs í Viking and Medieval Norse Studies Beatrice Bedogni Kt.: 030994-3109 Leiðbeinandi: Jan Alexander Van Nahl September 2019 Útdráttur Í þessari verður Trójumanna saga greind með tilliti til menningarlegrar aðlögunar milli latneskar menningar og íslenskra bókmennta. Þessi saga var valin vegna þess að hún byggir á eldri verkum, þ.e. Daretis Phrygii De Exicidio Troiae Historia. Íslenski textinn er borinn saman við latneskar heimildir, sem eru textar Dares Phrygius, Virgil, Ovid og Ilias Latina. Skoðað verður hvernig latnesk menning hefur áhrif á þá íslensku og reynt að sýna fram á hvernig þessir tveir ólíku heimar mætast og mynda nýja menningu, sem er mögulegt að sjá í þýðingarferlinu og í þessum textum, sem setja fram Tróju stefið. Einblínt verður á þýdda textann, hlutverk hans, aðlögun og breytingar frá þeim upprunalega. Einnig mun saga Tróju stefsins og hugmyndin um translatio imperii et studii gegna lykilhlutverkum í greiningunni, því þær eru nátengdar og koma fyrir í mörgum miðalda menningarheimum, ekki einungis á Íslandi. Að auki verður ferli menningarlegrar aðlögunar og Kristnitöku skoðað í smáatriðum, þar sem kirkjan bar latneska menningu til landsins. 1 Abstract This work provides a precise analysis of the Trójumanna saga, which is explored concerning acculturation's phenomenon between the Latin culture and the Icelandic literature.
    [Show full text]
  • Homer Der Amerikanische Literaturwissenschaftler Harold
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Heidelberger Dokumentenserver This is a draft of a chapter that has been accepted for publication by Les Arènes Paris in the book “Lieux de mémoire européens” edited by E. François and Th. Serrier published in 2017. The research for this chapter has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement no. 312321 (AncNar). Homer Der amerikanische Literaturwissenschaftler Harold Bloom war ein wortgewaltiger Verfechter eines festen Lektürekanons. Den homerischen Epen räumte er einen zentralen Platz in der westlichen Kultur ein: „Everyone who now reads and writes in the West, of whatever racial background, sex or ideological camp, is still a son or daughter of Homer.”i So markant diese Behauptung auch ist, sie erfaßt die Strahlkraft der homerischen Epen nicht ganz. Der Einfluß von Ilias und Odyssee ist keineswegs auf den Westen und die Literatur beschränkt; er zeigt sich auch in anderen Traditionen und in einer Vielzahl von Medien. Auch die Metapher, nach der heutige Leser und Autoren Homers Kinder seien, verkennt die Mannigfaltigkeit der Auseinandersetzungen mit dem homerischen Epos. Die nicht wenigen Werke etwa, welche Episoden aus der Ilias oder Odyssee umschreiben, würde man passender als homerische Geschwister bezeichnen. Der Präsenz Homers in der Moderne kann ein Essay natürlich nicht gerecht werden - dafür benötigte man mehrere Bände, wenn nicht eine ganze Bibliothek. Um dennoch einen Eindruck von Homer als europäischem Erinnerungsort zu geben, wollen wir zuerst einen eher willkürlichen als systematischen Überblick wagen.
    [Show full text]
  • History 101 the Iliad
    History 101 The Iliad The Iliad (sometimes referred to as the Song of Ilion or Song of Ilium) is an ancient Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. Although the story covers only a few weeks in the final year of the war, the Iliad mentions or alludes to many of the Greek legends about the siege; the earlier events, such as the gathering of warriors for the siege, the cause of the war, and related concerns tend to appear near the beginning. Then the epic narrative takes up events prophesied for the future, such as Achilles' looming death and the sack of Troy, although the narrative ends before these events take place. However, as these events are prefigured and alluded to more and more vividly, when it reaches an end, the poem has told a more or less complete tale of the Trojan War. The Iliad is paired with something of a sequel, the Odyssey, also attributed to Homer. Along with the Odyssey, the Iliad is among the oldest extant works of Western literature, and its written version is usually dated to around the 8th century BC. Recent statistical modeling based on language evolution gives a date of 760–710 BC. In the standard accepted version, the Iliad contains 15,693 lines; it is written in Homeric Greek, a literary amalgam of Ionic Greek and other dialects.
    [Show full text]
  • JOSE ANGEL GARCIA LANDA: Homer In
    Homer in the Renaissance: The Troy Stories José Ángel García Landa Brown University, 1988 Web edition 2004 I. The medieval heritage During the Middle Ages, Homer is lost for the Western World. Instead of Homeric epic, we have Troy Stories. These stories are not just corruptions and derivations of the Homeric epic: they derive to a great extent from an alternative source, the Epic Cycle, which belonged to the traditional Greek literary canon just like the Homeric epics. The poems of the Epic Cycle, such as the Cypriad and the Little Iliad, are already defined by Aristotle in comparison to the Homeric epic: they do not concentrate on a particular event of the Troy story. They want to give the whole story, and they are a loose narration of facts without any principle of unity. All this they pack into a narrative much shorter than the Homeric poems, so it is not surprising that their style is much worse than Homer's. Nevertheless, they were enormously popular in the Antiquity, just as their offspring would be in the Middle Age and even the PDFmyURL.com Renaissance. They satisfied the curiosity of the reader of digests, who must be the average reader of all times. It is these stories, and not Homer, that were used by Shakespeare. Their popularity may account for the less than enthusiastic welcome which Homer received when he came back to the West in the Renaissance. It is in the narratives of the epic cycle that we find the preliminaries of the war and its outcome, the death of Achilles, the Trojan Horse and the destruction of Troy.
    [Show full text]
  • Attitudes Towards Paganism in Medieval Irish and Old Norse Texts of the Trojan War
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Apollo Faculty of English (Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic) Attitudes towards Paganism in Medieval Irish and Old Norse Texts of the Trojan War Radu Razvan Stanciu St John’s College University of Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 The thesis compares the depictions of paganism found in the Middle Irish Togail Troí (‘The Destruction of Troy’; first half of the twelfth century) and the Old Norse Trójumanna saga (‘The Story of the Trojans’; first half of the thirteenth century), which are both based on Dares Phrygius’s Late Antique De excidio Troiae historia. The two vernacular adaptations are presented in the wider context of the medieval popularity of Dares’s text. The in-depth analysis of the pagan references (most of which relate to mythology and ritual), reveals Togail Troí’s and Trójumanna saga’s general source-based approach and their shared reliance on Latin mythographic scholarship, but also a different approach concerning the literary presentation of paganism. The Irish text’s ‘Christian’ approach to the issue (as seen through authorial comments and historical contextualisation) is shown to be in contrast to the Norse text’s ‘classicising’ approach (i.e. paganism presented as in the classical sources themselves). The findings of this analysis are then compared with the literary attitudes towards paganism encountered in medieval Irish and Norse texts more widely (especially in those set in Ireland or Nordic countries). This comparison reveals a general sympathy for many pagan characters that finds some parallels in the Trojan texts as well, but also a different representation of pagan deities in the two traditions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cycle of Troy in Geoffrey Chaucer: Tradition and “Moralitee”
    The Cycle of Troy in Geoffrey Chaucer The Cycle of Troy in Geoffrey Chaucer: Tradition and “Moralitee” By José Maria Gutiérrez Arranz The Cycle of Troy in Geoffrey Chaucer: Tradition and “Moralitee”, by José Maria Gutiérrez Arranz This book first published 2009 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2009 by José Maria Gutiérrez Arranz All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-1307-9, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-1307-5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface....................................................................................................... vii Introduction ................................................................................................ ix Part I ............................................................................................................ 1 The Cycle of Troy in Ancient Literature Part II........................................................................................................... 9 The Cycle of Troy in Medieval Literature Part III........................................................................................................ 31 The Cycle of Troy in Chaucer’s Works 3.1. Geoffrey
    [Show full text]
  • Homer in Print: the Transmissions and Reception of Homer’S Works
    Homer in Print: The Transmissions and Reception of Homer’s Works For nearly 3,000 years, the Homeric epics have been among the best-known and most widely studied texts of Western civilization. Generations of students have read the Iliad and the Odyssey to learn Greek, to study Greek history, culture, and mythology, or for the sheer enjoyment of the stories and characters. Concepts such as heroism, nationalism, friendship, and loyalty have been shaped by Homer’s works. Countless editions, translations, abridgements, and adaptations have appeared since the invention of printing, making Homer accessible to students, scholars, children, and general readers. Many readers delight in the stories and the people who inhabit them. The Iliad and the Odyssey are filled with the momentum of action, emotions, relationships, violence, and tragedy. Complex and memorable characters—humans and gods—can be subjected to unending scrutiny. Some wonder about the author: Who was Homer? Did such a person really exist and if so, when? What was his role in compiling the works we read today? Others analyze language, narrative techniques, pictorial elements, and a host of other features. Non-specialist readers rarely pay attention to the specific version of their texts or how they came into being. And when reading a translation, we often ignore the fact that we are not experiencing the text in its original language, let alone consider the role of the translator in shaping the form and content of the experience. Homer in Print puts the spotlight on the text itself, not as an object of literary, linguistic, historical, or cultural inquiry but rather as the product of a particular time, place, editor, printer, publisher, or translator.
    [Show full text]
  • Ilias Latina
    Ilias Latina 1–12, 951–1003, and 1052–1070: Prologue, Death of Hector, Conclusion) The Ilias Latina or Homerus Latinus is an epitome of Homer's Iliad in 1,070 hexameters. Reference to the Julio-Claudians implies a date before 68 CE, but it may have been composed much later. It was the principal access to the story of the Iliad during the centuries when Greek was lost in the Latin West. Prologue, Ilias Latina 1–12 Īram pande mihi Pēlīdae, Dīva, superbī Trīstia quae miserīs iniēcit fūnera Grāīs Atque animās fortēs hērōum trādidit Orcō Latrantumque dedit rōstrīs volucrumque trahendōs Illōrum exsanguēs, inhumātīs ossibus, artūs. Cōnfīēbat enim summī sententia rēgis, Volvērunt ex quō discordī pectore pugnās, Scēptriger Atrīdēs et bellō clārus Achillēs. Quis deus hōs īrā trīstī contendere iussit? Lātōnae et magnī prōlēs Iovis. Ille Pelasgum 10 [Pelasg[or]um: sync. gen. īnfēstam rēgī pestem in praecordia mīsit implicuitque gravī Danaōrum corpora morbō. Death of Hector: Ilias Latina 951–1003 concurrunt iactīs inter sē comminus hastīs invictī iuvenēs: hīc vastīs intonat armīs, ille hostem validum nēquīquam umbōne repellit alternīsque ferōx mūtat congressibus ictus. sūdor agit rīvōs, ēnsem terit horridus ēnsis, 955 collātusque haeret pede pēs et dextera dextrae. hastam iam manibus saevus lībrābat Achillēs 958 inque virum magnīs ēmissam vīribus ēgit; 957 quam praeterlāpsam vītāvit callidus Hector. 959 exclāmant Danaī. contrā Priamēius hērōs 960 vibrātum iaculum Vulcānia torquet in arma. nec successus adēst, nam dūrō īnflectitur aurō dissiluit<que>
    [Show full text]
  • University of Copenhagen, Arnamagnæan Institute)
    Late Antique Accounts of the Trojan War A Comparative Look at the Manuscript Evidence Yavuz, N. Kvlcm Published in: Pecia. Le livre et l’écrit Publication date: 2016 Document version Peer reviewed version Document license: CC BY-NC Citation for published version (APA): Yavuz, N. K. (2016). Late Antique Accounts of the Trojan War: A Comparative Look at the Manuscript Evidence. Pecia. Le livre et l’écrit, 17, 149-70. http://10.1484/J.PECIA.5.111766 Download date: 25. sep.. 2021 N. Kıvılcım Yavuz (University of Copenhagen, Arnamagnæan Institute) Late Antique Accounts of the Trojan War: A Comparative Look at the Manuscript Evidence The story of Troy – its date, its location, the peoples involved, and its war with the Greeks – is certainly best known to modern generations through Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Even though it is difficult to imagine Western literature or history without these two canonical works today, they did not circulate during the Latin Middle Ages, and it may even be argued that an anti-Homeric spirit dominated the European world especially during the late antique and early medieval periods. A number of other classical works in Latin that deal with the story of Troy, including Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Vergil’s Aeneid and the Ilias Latina, were in circulation of course, but it was three late antique accounts of the Trojan War that were exceptionally influential throughout the Middle Ages and beyond: the Ephemeridos belli Troiani attributed to Dictys of Crete, the De excidio Troiae historia attributed to Dares of Phrygia, and the anonymous Excidium Troie.1 These three works, all of which are usually dated 1 For a more comprehensive analysis of the works and their manuscripts, see N.
    [Show full text]
  • The Building of Verse: Descriptions of Architectural Structures in Roman Poetry
    The Building of Verse: Descriptions of Architectural Structures in Roman Poetry Elizabeth Jane Crofton-Sleigh A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2014 Reading Committee: Catherine Connors, Chair Alain Gowing Kathryn Topper Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Classics © Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Jane Crofton-Sleigh University of Washington Abstract The Building of Verse: Descriptions of Architectural Structures in Roman Poetry Elizabeth Jane Crofton-Sleigh Chair of Supervisory Committee: Professor Catherine Connors Classics The Building of Verse: Descriptions of Architectural Structures in Roman Poetry examines depictions of architecture in the literature of the Roman poets Virgil, Ovid, Horace, Propertius, Statius, and Martial. These poets, whose careers span the most significant building programs of ancient Rome, from the Age of Augustus through the Flavian period (ca. 31 BC – AD 96), often build ekphrases, or extended literary descriptions, around residences, temples, and other structures within their poetry. Besides the poetic evidence, I look at Vitruvius’ well-known architectural treatise, also written during the building-rich Augustan period, to explore how the poets share in the description of architectural elements and building practices found in his contemporaneous work. I argue that the depictions of architectural structures in these poets are never meant to function solely as settings but rather are intentionally included to more fully develop and vivify the poem’s vocabulary, imagery, and overall narrative and/or purpose. The first chapter highlights the poetic treatment of caverns and grottoes. It establishes that the poets use a fully developed architectural vocabulary to describe the natural dwellings of monsters and divine beings, as well as the related ideas that these poetically created natural habitats reflect their owners and can even refer to real structures in the Roman world.
    [Show full text]
  • Ο Όμηρος Και Η Ελληνική Σκέψη / Homer and Greek Thought», Την 22/05/2019, Στις Εγκαταστάσεις Του Ελληνικού Ανοικτού Πανεπιστημίου Στην Αθήνα
    Ο Ομηροσ και η Ελληνικη Σκεψη Eναρκτηρια διαλεξη: Diane Cuny Επιμελητεσ εκδοσης Γεωργιος Αραμπατζης Γεωργιος Βλαχακης Ευαγγελος Δ. Πρωτοπaπαδακησ 7 Aθηνα 2019 Ο Ομηροσ και η Ελληνικη Σκεψη Eναρκτηρια διαλεξη: Diane Cuny Επιμελητεσ εκδοσης Γεωργιος Αραμπατζης Γεωργιος Βλαχακης Ευαγγελος Δ. Πρωτοπαπαδακης isbn: 978-618-84298-5-7 Εκδοσεισ εργαστηριου μελετησ του Θεσμικου Λογου, ε.κ.π.α. aθηνα 2019 Προγραμμα Μεταπτυχιακων Σπουδων «Φιλοσοφια», ε.κ.π.α. Εργαστηριο Μελετης Θεσμικου Λογου Εργαστηριο Εφαρμοσμενης Φιλοσοφιας Eikaστικη επιμελεια - Ηλεκτρονικη σελιδοποιηση: Αχιλλεασ Κλεισουρασ Περιεχομενα Προλογοσ Πρωτο μεροσ Diane Cuny........................................................ 11 Ο Ομηροσ και η ελληνικη σκεψη: μερικοι στοχασμοι για τη συναντηση Αχιλλεα και Πριαμου (Ιλιασ, Ω΄) Homer and Greek Thought. Some reflections on the meeting between Achilleus and Priam in Iliad’s book 24................................................... 29 Γεωργιοσ Αραμπατζησ......................................... 43 Ti einai to Αρχικειμενο. μερικεσ σκεψεισ για τον Ομηρο και τη Βιβλο Γερασιμοσ Κακολυρησ......................................... 53 Η Φιλοξενια στην Ομηρου Οδυσσεια και τη Βιβλο Αχιλλεασ Κλεισουρασ.......................................... 63 Αchilles' journey of self-discovery: from Κλεοσ το Ελεοσ Ευαγγελοσ Δ. Πρωτοπαπαδακησ............................ 77 Αιασ Γεωργιοσ Στειρησ................................................. 85 Ο Ομηροσ στο δυτικο Μεσαιωνα και την Αναγεννηση Δευτερο Μεροσ Γεωργιοσ Βλαχοπουλοσ.......................................
    [Show full text]
  • Yvan De Maesschalck
    Recensie / Tiecelijn 33 EEN KANTTEKENING BIJ EEN HELD, HET NIEUWE JEUGDBOEK VAN LIES VAN GASSE YVAN DE MAESSCHALCK Aan trouwe lezers van Tiecelijn hoef je niet uit te leggen hoe belangrijk het is historische teksten bij tijd en wijle te hertalen en/of te actualiseren. Willem, de auteur van de Reynaert, mag zich – geheel terecht – gelukkig prijzen om zoveel onverdroten belangstelling en blijvende aandacht. Toch is het vossenverhaal wat dat betreft niet helemaal uniek. Ook de Ilias en de Odyssee zijn herhaalde- lijk naverteld in proza of omgezet in (metrische) verzen. Ik denk spontaan aan de hooggeprezen vertaling van beide klassieke epen door Patrick Lateur,1 aan Omeros (1990) van de Caribische Nobelprijswinnaar Derek Walcott (1930- 2017) en aan het onvolprezen narratieve commentaar An Odyssey. A Father, a Son and an Epic (2017) van Daniel Mendelsohn. Daarnaast halen sommige auteurs het vertrouwde verhaal ondersteboven om het vanuit een onverwacht perspectief na te vertellen. Zo heeft John Gardner het Oudengelse Beowulf- epos herschreven vanuit het standpunt van het watermonster dat met Beowulf in aanvaring komt in Grendel (1971). En heeft Ian McEwan aan Hamlet een dimensie toegevoegd door het hoofdpersonage als de embryonale getuige voor ~ 314 ~ Tiecelijn 33 te stellen van diens moeders incestueuze gedrag in Nutshell (2016). Ook de rol van Achilles, Agamemnon, Klytaimnestra of Orestes in/na de Trojaanse oorlog is wellicht al tientallen keren onderzocht in naoorlogs proza, vrij re- cent nog in The House of Names (2017) van de Ierse schrijver Colm Tóibín en in The Silence of the Girls (2018) van Pat Barker, de gelauwerde auteur van de Regeneration-trilogie.
    [Show full text]