Homer's works and literary significance

¶ … Homer's stylistic choices in The Iliad. His choices of overall structure, rhythm, diction, punctuation, and similes are discussed. Overall, Homer's stylistic choices reflect a work that is meant to be spoken out loud, rather than read silently to oneself. The general impact of these choices is to create a work that is almost majestic in effect, and conveys the grand feeling of a tale about gods and epic drama.

Homer's Iliad is a long epic poem, composed of 24 lengthy books. Each book is composed of several long stanzas. Each of the stanzas, in turn, is made up of relatively short sentences of around five to nine words in length. The Iliad was originally intended is a large epic saga designed to be read out loud by a narrator, and accompanied by a musical instrument that was similar to a lyre (Bookrags). The Iliad contains a significant amount of dialogue, which is meant to be read by the narrator.

Throughout the lengthy poem, Homer repeats numerous phrases, whole lines and even passages. He describes Achilles as a "swift runner" (Book I, line 65) and "brilliant" (Book I, line 8) several times throughout the poem. These repeated descriptions often occur when there is no apparent need for such a description. Dunkle notes, however, that the descriptions are often needed to maintain the meter of the poem.

When the Iliad was originally created, Homer marked rhythm, and also indicated tone, pitch, and mood. The rhythm was intended to help the player of a stringed musical instrument, who accompanied the speaker (Bookrags). The lines range from about five to nine words in length, and follow a meter called dactylic hexameter. This meter is made of a collection of one long syllable, followed by two short syllables (Dunkle). Lines in the Iliad break after the short syllables.

Overall, Homer's diction throughout the Iliad is formal and theatrical. For example, the opening lines create a mood of a great tragedy that is epic in scope. Writes Homer, "Rage-Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses," (Book I, lines 1-2). The epithets, such as "swift runner Achilles" (Book I, line 65), create a tone of formality and great drama. Fagles uses italics to create emphasis.

Punctuation marks, such as dashes, ellipses, exclamation points, and colons, play an important role in establishing rhythm and meaning in the Iliad. Fagles' translation uses punctuation to create dramatic emphasis. For example, the dash in the opening line creates a momentary pause for drama, "Rage - Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles," (Book I, line 1). A more subdued pause is created by ellipsis during a speech by the seer "Achilles, dear to Zeus... you order me to explain Apollo's anger" (Book I, lines 86-87). Later, an explanation point marks both the end of a short syllable, and creates a feeling of drama and emphasis, as the runner says, "Courage!" (Book I, line 99).