Literary Pragmatics and/of Homer’s Odyssey

Posted on May 1, 1993 by Webmaster

WRITINGS > FINISHED

This paper is an essay in the full sense of the word: it is an attempt — an essay — to simultaneously work out two problems, one theoretical and one practical. On the one hand it seeks to articulate a theory of texts in social contexts. On the other it seeks to apply such a perspective to Homer’s Odyssey. From the point of view of the first problem, then, the Odyssey is simply an example, an empirical means to a theoretical end. From the point of view of the second problem, however, an understanding of the Odyssey is an end in itself. Continue reading →

Greeks Bearing Texts; Or, Whose Odyssey is it Anyway?

Posted on November 1, 1988 by Webmaster

WRITINGS > FINISHED [→ ONLINE ARCHIVE MATERIAL]

Did you ever want to be a hero? As a child did you ever fantasize about being the Lone Ranger? Or a knight in shining armor? Perhaps your taste ran more towards Superman and Batman. Do you remember the disappointment when you discovered that you would never be one? That heroes were fiction and that real life “just isn’t like that?” Do you remember all the other childish expectations you had for your adulthood that you surrendered as you discovered the limits of your ability? If so, you are not alone. From time immemorial, individuals have shared these dreams and disappointments and it is to you that the Odyssey is dedicated. Homer would like you to know that you were not mistaken as a child: You can be a hero. Indeed, you must be a hero for there is no other way. The Odyssey will show you how. Continue reading →