
The Unknown Odysseus: Alternate Worlds in Homer's Odyssey (Paperback)
Thomas Van Nortwick (author)
£21.50
Paperback
160 Pages /
Published: 28/02/2020
- In stock
The Unknown Odysseus is a study of how Homer creates two versions of his hero, one who is the triumphant protagonist of the revenge plot and another, more subversive, anonymous figure whose various personae exemplify an entirely different set of assumptions about the world through which each hero moves and about the shape and meaning of human life. Separating the two perspectives allows us to see more clearly how the poem's dual focus can begin to explain some of the notorious difficulties readers have encountered in thinking about the Odyssey.
In The Unknown Odysseus, Thomas Van Nortwick offers the most complete exploration to date of the implications of Odysseus' divided nature, showing how it allows Homer to explore the riddles of human identity in a profound way that is not usually recognized by studies focusing on only one "real" hero in the narrative. This new perspective on the epic enriches the world of the poem in a way that will interest both general readers and classical scholars.
In The Unknown Odysseus, Thomas Van Nortwick offers the most complete exploration to date of the implications of Odysseus' divided nature, showing how it allows Homer to explore the riddles of human identity in a profound way that is not usually recognized by studies focusing on only one "real" hero in the narrative. This new perspective on the epic enriches the world of the poem in a way that will interest both general readers and classical scholars.
Publisher: The University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472037797
Number of pages: 160
Weight: 235 g
Dimensions: 229 x 152 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
Something fresher and more welcome is Thomas Van Nortwick's The Unknown Odysseus, an elegant and lucid critical study that is also a good introduction to the poem." - David Quint, London Review of Books
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