This page intentionally left blank THE ANCIENT CRITIC AT WORK The large but underrated corpus of Greek scholia, the marginal and interlinear notes found in manuscripts, is a very important source for ancient literary criticism The evidence of the scholia significantly adds to and enhances the picture that can be gained from studying the relevant treatises (such as Aristotle’s Poetics): scholia also contain concepts that are not found in the treatises, and they are indicative of how the concepts are actually put to use in the progressive interpretation of texts The book also demonstrates that it is vital to study both ancient terminology and the cases where a particular phenomenon is simply paraphrased Nineteen thematic chapters provide a repertoire of the various terms and concepts of ancient literary criticism The relevant witnesses are extensively quoted in Greek and English translation A glossary of Greek terms (with translation) and several indices enable the book also to be used for reference rene n uă nlist is Associate Professor of Classics at Brown University, Rhode Island Publications include Poetologische Bildersprache in der frăuhgriechischen Dichtung () and a new co-authored commentary on Homers Iliad (–) THE ANCIENT CRITIC AT WORK Terms and Concepts of Literary Criticism in Greek Scholia ă REN E N UNLIST Brown University CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521850582 © Cambridge University Press 2009 This publication is in copyright Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press First published in print format 2009 ISBN-13 978-0-511-51784-6 eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 978-0-521-85058-2 hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate Contents Acknowledgments page ix Introduction The presentation of the material and its methodological implications The material and its characteristics Characteristics of scholia Topics other than literary criticism The sources of the scholia Translation Note on quotations and references part i Plot Motivation and narrative coherence Excursus: a special type of narrative coherence Prolepsis Excursus: the terms proanafÛnhsiv and nafÛnhsiv Analepsis Narratorial choice: save for later Introduction of characters Transitions and changes of scene Digressions Not to destroy the story Conclusion Time Day structure Story time vs narrative time Simultaneous events Fill-in technique Anachronies Conclusion v vi Contents Narrative and speech The three principal forms of literary art: narrative, dramatic and mixed Transition from narrator-text to speech Other applications of the terms for ‘narrative’ and ‘dramatic’ Other classifications Excursus: the various applications of the term postrof (‘apostrophe’) Conclusion Focalisation Excursus: ancient literary criticism and the narrative voice Conclusion Effects on the reader Attention Emotional effects Expectation Relaxation The reader as spectator Conclusion Gaps and omissions The cooperation of the reader Other applications of the expression kat t¼ siwpÛmenon Excursus: Seleucus and the meaning of kat t¼ siwpÛmenon Other narratorial omissions Conclusion Poetic licence Conclusion Authentication Conclusion Style Graphic quality (enargeia) Variation and avoidance of monotony Explanation (epexegesis) Elaboration (epexergasia) Brevity Indirect presentation Irony Iconic relation between form and content Stylistic differences between genres The three styles Minor stylistic phenomena Conclusion Contents Allusions, hints, hidden meanings Allusions Hints Hidden meanings Conclusion Characters Cast Characterisation Excursus: the meaning of n ¢qei and qik»v Conclusion Mythography Mythological exempla Conclusion vii part ii The gods in Homer Divine interventions Gods like you and me Excursus: Zenodorus on divine scenes in Homer Conclusion Homeric similes Interpretations of Homeric similes Conclusion Epithets Conclusion Type scenes Arming Battle scenes Deliberation scenes Messenger reports Typical numbers Conclusion Homeric speeches Speech introductions and their function No rapid dialogue in Homer Ring-composition in speeches Other structural analyses of speeches Three-way conversation Interior monologue viii Contents Omission of speeches Speech within speech Conclusion Reverse order Conclusion Staging, performance and dramaturgy Identification of speakers and addressees Entrances and exits Delivery Acting Masks, costumes and props D´ecor Special technical devices Dramaturgical conventions Critique of contemporary productions Excursus: the meaning of parepigraf Conclusion Epilogue Glossary of Greek terms Editions of scholia Other abbreviations Bibliography Thematic index Index locorum ... contain concepts that are not found in the treatises, and they are indicative of how the concepts are actually put to use in the progressive interpretation of texts The book also demonstrates that... Homer’s Iliad (–) THE ANCIENT CRITIC AT WORK Terms and Concepts of Literary Criticism in Greek Scholia ă REN E N UNLIST Brown University CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne,... adds to that of the treatises and other sources. In It is no less telling that the authors of such ‘aesthetic’ studies often oscillate between defending and deprecating their topic: