A New Voice for an Ancient Story: Speaking from the Margins of Homer’s Iliad in Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles

Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles (2011) is an imaginative rewriting of Homer’s Iliad. The writer uses the strategy of transfocalization and enters the text from the point of view of Patroclus. His fresh look offers a new critical perspective both on the moral world of the epic and on Achilles,...

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Main Author: Maria Antonietta Struzziero
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of English Studies 2021-09-01
Series:Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies
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author Maria Antonietta Struzziero
author_facet Maria Antonietta Struzziero
author_sort Maria Antonietta Struzziero
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description Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles (2011) is an imaginative rewriting of Homer’s Iliad. The writer uses the strategy of transfocalization and enters the text from the point of view of Patroclus. His fresh look offers a new critical perspective both on the moral world of the epic and on Achilles, the great Greek hero whose complex personality and tragic hubris Patroclus observes with emotional understanding. Miller transforms the Homeric sparing narrative of the friendship between Patroclus and Achilles into a touching love story built on their mutual devotion, and locates this narrative at the heart of a world of ruthless violence. This paper will consider the writer’s use of hypertextual adaptation in the novel from the perspective of the change in the narrative focus of the source, and discuss her objectives and methodology.
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spelling doaj-art-9f3368fca2fd4dd6bf9ec2d5666cb1502025-01-02T02:45:02ZengInstitute of English StudiesAnglica. An International Journal of English Studies0860-57342021-09-0130113315210.7311/0860-5734.30.1.09A New Voice for an Ancient Story: Speaking from the Margins of Homer’s Iliad in Madeline Miller’s The Song of AchillesMaria Antonietta Struzzierohttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3783-6832Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles (2011) is an imaginative rewriting of Homer’s Iliad. The writer uses the strategy of transfocalization and enters the text from the point of view of Patroclus. His fresh look offers a new critical perspective both on the moral world of the epic and on Achilles, the great Greek hero whose complex personality and tragic hubris Patroclus observes with emotional understanding. Miller transforms the Homeric sparing narrative of the friendship between Patroclus and Achilles into a touching love story built on their mutual devotion, and locates this narrative at the heart of a world of ruthless violence. This paper will consider the writer’s use of hypertextual adaptation in the novel from the perspective of the change in the narrative focus of the source, and discuss her objectives and methodology.madeline millerachillespatroclushomerhypertextualityiliadre-writingtraumalovedeath
spellingShingle Maria Antonietta Struzziero
A New Voice for an Ancient Story: Speaking from the Margins of Homer’s Iliad in Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles
Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies
madeline miller
achilles
patroclus
homer
hypertextuality
iliad
re-writing
trauma
love
death
title A New Voice for an Ancient Story: Speaking from the Margins of Homer’s Iliad in Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles
title_full A New Voice for an Ancient Story: Speaking from the Margins of Homer’s Iliad in Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles
title_fullStr A New Voice for an Ancient Story: Speaking from the Margins of Homer’s Iliad in Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles
title_full_unstemmed A New Voice for an Ancient Story: Speaking from the Margins of Homer’s Iliad in Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles
title_short A New Voice for an Ancient Story: Speaking from the Margins of Homer’s Iliad in Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles
title_sort new voice for an ancient story speaking from the margins of homer s iliad in madeline miller s the song of achilles
topic madeline miller
achilles
patroclus
homer
hypertextuality
iliad
re-writing
trauma
love
death
work_keys_str_mv AT mariaantoniettastruzziero anewvoiceforanancientstoryspeakingfromthemarginsofhomersiliadinmadelinemillersthesongofachilles
AT mariaantoniettastruzziero newvoiceforanancientstoryspeakingfromthemarginsofhomersiliadinmadelinemillersthesongofachilles