AreteandtheOdyssey’sPoeticsofInterrogationexploreshowtheenigmaticPhaeacianqueen,Arete,isattheheartofanepic-scale“poeticsofinterrogation“usedthroughouttheOdysseytonegotiateOdysseus’kleos,orepicrenown.Arete’sinterrogationofOdysseushasbeenespeciallyproblematicinscholarship,butdiachronicandsynchronicanalysisofsimilarinterrogationsacrossIndo-European,Orphic,andGreekepigrammaticcorporashowthatthe“stranger’sinterrogation“isaformulathatdemandsperformanceandnegotiationofstatus.WithintheOdyssey,thisinterrogationispartofanintraformularnetworkusedtogeneratekleos,andthequeen’squestioninitiatesthelongestandmostcomplexnegotiationofOdysseus’statusinepicandmemory.Arete’sroleasinterrogatornotonlyexplainsherstrangeauthorityandresonancewithbothPenelopeandcomparativeafterlifefigures,butitalsoestablishesagendered,agonistictensionbetweensheandherhusband,Alkinoos,thatinfluencesthestructure,genre,andnarratologyofperformancesacrossthePhaeacianepisode.ThisbookreinterpretstheOdyssey’scentralepisodeandchallengesseveralassumptionsaboutNausikaaandAlkinoos’famedhospitality,evendemonstratinghowtheApologueisorganizedasaresponsetocompetinginquiriesintoOdysseus’fundamentalstatusintradition.TheOdysseyultimatelynavigatesawayfromOdysseus’publicreputationandrootshisstatusinprivatememories,andArete’scarefullyarrangedinterventionssignalthelargerprocessbywhichtheOdysseyimmortalizesOdysseusinpoetryasanostoshero.Thequeenandherquestioninvitenewapplicationsoforalpoeticsthatshedlightonthestructure,composition,andreperformanceoftheOdyssey.
SCALE AMD POETICS ODYSSEYS EUROPEAN
