Homeric Misdirection: False Predictions in the Iliad

It is a familiar problem for authors of all kinds: how to make the tale interesting when the audience knows - or thinks it knows - the end of the story. As James V. Morrison illustrates in Homeric Misdirection, delay, suspense, and uncertainty all play essential roles in revitalizing the Iliad's traditional story of the Trojan War.

In this persuasive and suggestive work, the author studies key passages that anticipate later events in the epic. An exploration of Zeus' prophecies, Achilles' threats, and the poet's own commentary indicates that the effect of such misdirection is to undermine the audience's belief in its own ability to predict outcomes.

Ultimately this uncertainty reminds the poet's listeners of the limits of their own knowledge. This in turn creates a link between the doubt and uncertainty of the audience and that of characters in the Iliad. Homeric Misdirection will be of interest not only to students and scholars in classical studies, but also to those interested in the development of narrative, audience-response criticism, and epic literature.

1st edition 1992. Slight wear to dust cover.