Questions and Answers
What were the two schools of scholars mentioned in the text, and what did each believe?
The two schools were the unitarians and the analysts. The unitarians believed in the fundamental unity and integrity of the Homeric epics, while the analysts believed that the Iliad and Odyssey were the creations of many minds, and doubted the reality of a poet called Homer.
How did Milman Parry's argument impact the debate between unitarians and analysts?
Milman Parry's argument suggested that one gifted singer, equipped with a prodigious store of formulae, could have given the poems the forms in which we have them, more or less. This argument caused the debate between unitarians and analysts to lose its edge.
What is the current focus of the Homeric question, and how has it evolved?
The current focus has shifted to the Parry question, which is a question not of artistic unity but of genius and originality. It has evolved from the debate between unitarians and analysts to the question of detecting a personal design in the poems within the context of an oral formulaic tradition.
