Milman Parry

Milman Parry (1902–1935) was an American scholar of classics and is considered one of the founders of the modern study of oral tradition. He is best known for his formulation of the 'oral-formulaic composition' theory, which suggests that Homeric epics, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, were products of an oral tradition. Parry's fieldwork in the former Yugoslavia, where he studied and recorded traditional epic poets, provided empirical evidence for his theory and greatly influenced the study of epic poetry and oral literature.

Books

This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.

  1. 1. The Making of Homeric Verse

    This book is a comprehensive study of the structure and formation of the earliest form of Greek poetry, the Homeric verse. It explores the oral tradition of the Homeric epics, suggesting that they were originally composed and performed by illiterate bards who used a complex system of formulaic language to create and remember the epic poems. The book also investigates the influence of the oral tradition on the written versions of the epics, offering a new understanding of the development of ancient Greek literature.