What is a “song-stitcher” in comparison to a bard?

Please discuss the Introduction of the Odyssey you have just read. Your task for this session is to open your discussion with your own topic of interest from this introduction. Something concrete you learned and would like to further reflect upon it and explore it. There are various topics discussed in this introduction (I have highlighted and posted a list of them last week), which shed light into the world of Homer, his time, the poem, the ancient World, the ways and customs of the ancient Greeks, the characters, the historical value of the story, the Homeric language, the importance of memory and the notion of nostos, among others.

READING THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ODYSSEY
As you will notice, the introduction is divided into sections. Pay attention to each of them and what it means. For example:
-Who is the Muse? (P. 1)
-What is the so-called “six-beat line (dactylic hexameter)”? (1)
-What does medias res mean? (3)
-Who was Homer? (5)
-What is a Homeric Epithet? (6)
-What is the so-called Homeric Question? (7)
-What do they mean and what is the difference between the Analytic and the Unitarian schools? (9)
-How memory, originality and repetition define literature in oral and literate cultures? (10)
-When was the Odyssey composed? What does it say about the Greek people of its period? (13)
-Why are dietetic trends important in determining time? (14)
-What is a “song-stitcher” in comparison to a bard? (15)
-What is the Homeric world’s geography (both real and imaginative) and the whereabouts of Odysseus? (16)
-What is the effect of archeology and the impact of Schliemann on The Odyssey? (18)
-What does Colonization mean and how is it perceived in The Odyssey? (21)
-How Hospitality works in the ancient Greek world and why is it so paramount in The Odyssey? (23)
-What is the lay-out and the geography of ancient Greek religion? Who are the Gods, where do they live? Which are their main characteristics? What is their relationship with Odysseus? (30)
-What is the meaning of Metis and its connection with the poem? (36)
-Role of women in The Odyssey – both mortals and goddesses (37).
-Why and how fidelity is presented as a female characteristic in the poem? (40)

Who is Homer? What did you find out about this unresolved question after reading the introduction of the Odyssey ? Discuss the debate between the two opposing viewpoints on the subject.

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