Varieties of Enchantment: Early Greek Views of the Nature and Function of Poetry

Walsh argues that the history of Greek poetics from Homer to Aristophanes was controlled by a preoccupation with enchantment -- the audience's emotional response to the performance of song. Homer made enchantment the pivotal topic of his account of his art; Hesiod and Pindar developed elaborate psychologies of forgetfulness and memory; Euripides and Aristophanes looked back at such theories in a mood that was both critical and nostalgic.

Originally published in 1984.

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