Singing across the Faultlines: Cultural Shifts in Twentieth-Century Receptions of Homer

Abstract

This chapter tries to disentangle some of the cultural strands involved in recent receptions of Homer. Eschewing linear models of reception, it instead focuses on the potential of Homer receptions to reveal faultlines within and between cultures. It argues that many of the most successful creative adaptations of Homer have been preoccupied with the question of roots. Focusing on the poetry of Michael Longley, and Derek Walcott's The Odyssey: A Stage Version, the chapter suggests that although contemporary Homeric receptions often converge on the same scenes, the receptions are rooted in differential cultural traditions, which complicates the idea of a unified Homer for the 20th century. In its analysis, the diverse receptions of Homeric epic in the 20th century constitute a rich source for theorizing reception.