Homeric Poetry and Problems of Multiformity: The "Panathenaic Bottleneck"

Gregory Nagy

doi:10.1086/449533

Abstract

M ULTIFORMITY, according to Albert Lord, is a basic feature of oral traditional poetry.1 In his writings, lectures, and conversations, Lord preferred to use the terms multiformity and multiform instead of variation and variant in order to emphasize the fluidity of oral poetry, to be contrasted with the fixity of written texts. Lord was worried that those who are unfamiliar with the workings of any given oral tradition might easily be misled to think of its variants exclusively in terms of a preexisting fixed text:

Highlights

HOMERIC POETRY AND PROBLEMS OF MULTIFORMITY: THE "PANATHENAIC BOTTLENECK"
ULTIFORMITY, according to Albert Lord, is a basic feature of oral traditionalpoetry.1In his writings,lectures,andconversations,Lord preferred to use the terms multiformity and multiform instead of variation and variant in order to emphasize the fluidity of oral poetry, to be contrastedwith the fixity of writtentexts
In one's thinking of the composition of oral traditional poetry, the word multiform is more accurate than "variant,"because it does not give preference or precedence to any one word or set of words to express an idea; instead it acknowledges that the idea may exist in several forms.[2]

Summary

Introduction

HOMERIC POETRY AND PROBLEMS OF MULTIFORMITY: THE "PANATHENAIC BOTTLENECK" ULTIFORMITY, according to Albert Lord, is a basic feature of oral traditionalpoetry.1In his writings,lectures,andconversations,Lord preferred to use the terms multiformity and multiform instead of variation and variant in order to emphasize the fluidity of oral poetry, to be contrastedwith the fixity of writtentexts.

Results

Conclusion