Formulaic Language in The Odyssey

    Find 3 examples of formulaic language and explain how you might think these might have been helpful when singing or speaking the Odyssey in oral tradition.

  • “Assuming this girl’s form, the owl-eyed goddess spoke” (pg. 85) - Athena being one of the main goddesses in the Odyssey, she had many names. They all had to do with eyes, gray, or owls. Because the Odyssey was passed on orally, it was important for people to be able to understand who the characters were. So Athena having a nickname signified she was an important person in the story, versus someone who was just called by their greek name because they weren't as big of a roll in the story.
  • “Dawn spread her roselight over the sky.” (pg. 106) - In a story, the beginning of a new day is always important because it gives a frame of reference to the audience on the amount of time passing in the story. Dawn is referring to the sun coming out in the morning. So instead of saying, “On the next day” they made it flow more with the story by saying, “Dawn…sky.”
  • “So Odysseus slept, the godlike survivor overwhelmed with fatigue.” (pg. 85) - Odysseus being the main character in this story was very important. He was a hero, a warrior, a husband and father, as well as many other things. Because he was such a big deal, he was considered godlike. Therefore, many of the times he is referenced they refer to him as, “Godlike Odysseus”.


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