Homer and Narratology

The term 'narratology' was coined in 1969 by T. Todorov. The aim of narratology is to provide a set of descriptional and analytical tools with which to tackle the narrativity of the texts under discussion. One of the defining elements of a narrative text is the presence of a subject of narration, the narrator, and beneficiaries of that narration, the narratees. In the case of the Homeric epics, the interest in the narrator has long centered around three issues: the Muses, the apostrophe, and the figure of the singer within the text. The Homeric narrator is a somewhat hazy figure, who seldom steps forward to reveal his persona. Homeric characters, particularly those of the Odyssey, act as (secondary) narrators, as was noted long ago by Longinus. Focalization by characters, whether expressed in embedded form or in a speech, is an important expedient by which the narrative is given shape.Keywords: apostrophe; Homeric epics; Muses; narratology; Odyssey