Intertextuality Across Genres: A Study of Homer’s the Odyssey and Suzan-Lori Parks’s Father Comes Home from the Wars

Abstract

This research work aims to show the relationship between Homer’s The Odyssey and Parks’s Father Comes Home from the Wars. It has as objective, to debunk the stereotypical norms of writing literary works, which shows that comparative analysis can only be limited to a particular genre, that is (novel to novel, play to play and poetry to poetry). This intertextual study proclaims that a literary work cannot be limited only to a particular genre but can equally cut across genres. This explains why Parks rewrites Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey into a play, Father Comes Home from the Wars, which she transforms into the American scenario. Thus, the researcher is going to carry out a comparative analysis between Homer’s epic poem and Parks’s play. Our study of the selected works has considered the way meanings are constructed by a network of cultural and social discourses which embody distinct codes, expectations and assumptions. Besides, the thematic and linguistic similarities and differences between the works of the European and American authour selected have enabled the researcher to have an insight into literary influences and affinities. This article has also studied the life experiences of the authours selected, and their historical contexts and has demonstrated that Homer had no direct influence on Parks. This work is premised on the hypothesis that intertextuality is not limited to a particular genre of writing, be it prose, poetry or drama but can equally cut across genres. Intertextuality foregrounds the notions of interconnectedness and interdependence in culture. To analyse these works, the researcher used deconstruction to debunk traditional norms of writing in contrastive studies. Although Parks subscribes to Greek mythology and the Theatre of the Absurd respectively, she deviates from her European forebear of this convention, as she presents her play Father Comes Home from the Wars, which is again not written in acts and scenes but in parts, through American realism, as she is somewhat a social critic.