Fieldworkers have been eagerly studying oral epics all over the world. Lord's The Singer of Tales and the introduction of the oral-formulaic theory, the paradigm changed towards considering oral literature a special form of verbal art with its own rules. Ever since the beginning of folklore studies epic has been in the centre of interest, and monumental attempts at describing its characteristics have been made, in which oral literature was understood mainly as a primitive stage leading up to written literature. The epic is an intriguing genre, claiming its place in both oral and written systems. Long oral narratives are flexible, and accordingly, the dictation to scribes that must be at the origin of the texts that have been preserved in writing to this day, was a process of the utmost importance as the composition in performance of the Iliad and the Odyssey. By now, a wealth of editions and studies of oral epics from various parts of the world is accessible and is used in the present study as an inspiration for achieving a deeper understanding of the methods at work in oral epic, for building a social framework for the Iliad and the Odyssey, and especially for speculating on the circumstances of the writing of the two great poems. When possible, more than one performance of the “same” song was recorded, by the same singer on different occasions or by different singers, and interaction with the audience was documented. The individual singer and his handling of the tradition gained importance. It led to increased interest in oral epic traditions, and fieldworkers changed their methods towards a focus on composition in performance. Lord not only revolutionised Homeric studies but also had an impact on anthropology and folklore. The oral-formulaic theory formed by Milman Parry and Albert B.
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