My new book is out! This is a follow up to my first book, The Dance of the Muses: Choral Theory and Ancient Greek Poetics, which was published by Oxford in 2006. In the aftermath, I was positively avoided by Classics departments, perhaps because they saw my discoveries as a threat to orthodoxy. At any rate, I have not been permitted to teach the new law of tonal prominence to students of Greek literature. I have had to live apart from my vocation, because I have followed where it led. The new book banks the new law by applying it to the poetry of Homer, with revelatory results. Here is my blurb:
We did not use to know how the prosody of Greek words interacted with Greek metres. With the arrival of the new theory of the Greek accent, now we do. The ignoring of the seemingly irrelevant accent marks in texts seems to have led not to the realisation that all we could know, sadly, about the sound and performance of Greek poetry was its metre, but to the delusion that metre was all there was to know. The level of discovery newly achieved in the texture and the nature of Homeric composition is truly astounding, even to the author. There is no embarrassment, however, because he can take no credit for the content of the treasury: the new law of tonal prominence is merely the key to opening a long silent vault, hidden in plain sight in the accentual notation of East Roman manuscripts. There are now unmistakable proofs—for so they should be called—of Homer’s musical intent and design. The implications for any theory of Homeric composition, and indeed any assessment of his artistic arsenal, can find no bottom, once these findings see the light of day. Most egregious is the hypothesis of an oral tradition shaping composition via purely metrical formulas, with no role whatsoever to be played by the manifest tonal phenomena recorded in the manuscripts. Penelope’s circumflexes, and her special circumflected motif, are a sight and a sound that can no longer be unseen, or unheard in their wake. Odysseus also is discovered to have a distinctive accentual motif. Let the implications sink in like a down-glide in your voice: there is new music on the radio, and Homer must be heard as if for the first time.
If you know anyone involved in Classics, whether a student or faculty member, please encourage them to read and review Singing Homer’s Spell. I don’t mind if they pan it, so long as they’re honest. This puppy just needs attention. I’ll be happy to send out a review copy gratis, to anyone in the field willing to write a review.
The book is now available on Amazon in both paperback ($29.99, 571pp.) and hardback ($39.99, 429pp.). A new paid subscription to this substack will get you a hard cover copy! Just let me know your postal address by email, so long as you are within shipping distance of Amazon in your country.
Spread the word, fellow Homerists! A new chapter is about to begin in our assessment of our first and greatest poet.
David
No doubt I'd sound like an ass to an ancient Greek as well, but I like to think she'd appreciate my effort. Children make fun of each other when they get their stresses wrong. Why do words have accents? Why does one syllable get an emphasis? Computers can use an English dictionary just fine without paying attention to stresses. So can most people. But there would be no poetry or singing without them.
Dear Dr. David,
I hope this message finds you well (apologies that it is in a comment! I couldn't figure out how to contact you more directly).
My name is Cole Whetstone. I earned my undergraduate degree in Classics from Harvard University in 2018, and went on to complete an MSt in Ancient Philosophy at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford in 2020. Later, I went on to teach spoken Ancient Greek for Jesus and Harris Manchester Colleges, Oxford. Currently, I am a fellow in spoken Ancient Greek and Latin for the Ancient Language Institute.
I think you are absolutely, knock-down, spot-on correct with regards to the centrality of the pitch accent (and the metrical "downbeat") in the interpretation of Ancient Greek poetry, and, although I have some questions about your pronunciation of the long acute, I think you produce on-the-whole excellent musical renditions of Homer's verse. Some of the best on the web, truly. I also enjoyed immensely your book "The Dance of the Muses," it helped realize the immense importance of the caesura in such recitations. So consider me a big fan :)
I would love to read and review your new book "Singing Homer's Spell," and to discuss the possibility of collaborating with you further. While at Oxford, I ran into significant trouble with people who did not think it was necessary to learn to speak the Ancient languages, and while my specialization was in philosophy, I gradually realized that the aversion to spoken Greek presented a huge opportunity for better understanding the classics of Greek poetry and drama as well. Seeing as you have seen opposition as well, I would be grateful to discuss "strategy" with you, especially as I am currently considering Ph.D.'s (in Ancient Philosophy, to be sure, but with a special interest in reconstruction of the sound of the Greek Classics).
Thank you once again very for your work! It's brilliant, even if it's been somewhat neglected by the powers that be :)
Best,
Cole Whetstone
cole.whetstone@gmail.com