讲故事与叙事2020daily.jstor.org
我们如何知道史诗是凭记忆口耳相传的？
How Do We Know That Epic Poems Were Recited from Memory?
导读
这篇文章讨论了一个长期困扰学界的问题：荷马史诗这类超长诗作在文字普及之前，如何靠口耳相传被完整背诵和表演，以及研究者（如帕里和穆尔科）如何从文本内部找到证据。对写作者来说，它提供了一个新视角：重复、固定修饰语和对称结构往往是口头表演留下的痕迹，而不是艺术上的缺陷，因此也能反过来启发我们如何让文字更容易被记住、更好听。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
把程式化的短语和修饰语当成写作工具：它们既能填补句子的节奏空缺，也能为表演者争取回忆下一段的时间。
- 02
用可预测的结构来组织长文，比如首尾呼应、镜像对称、分段重复，读者和作者都能靠结构定位，不必死记细节。
- 03
写完朗读一遍，检查节奏和韵律；口头传统靠声音记忆，书面写作也能借声音提高可记性和感染力。
- 04
不要一味把重复和套语视为冗余：先判断它服务于现场表演、强调还是记忆，再决定是否删改。
HN 评论精选
固定修饰语是按格律需要选择的，重复和套语是现场表演的功能性工具。
我读经典史诗时还不了解它们的表演和记忆方式，对其中反复出现的重复和套语感到困惑。后来才知道，比如有些人物有多个称号（灰眼睛的、脚踝秀美的、全知的等等），在希腊语里选择哪一个，主要看哪个能把这一行诗按格律填满，而不是看哪个描写最贴切：多出两个音节就用一种，多出三个就换另一种。这类套语、整行诗甚至整段小插曲，可以用来拖延时间、回想下一段，或在观众疲倦时加快节奏。整个形式是围绕现场表演和即兴创作搭建的。这一点对我很有启发。当然，转成固定的书面形式后会损失一些东西，但也保留了另一种自然之美，以及对称、象征和元结构。读起来仍然很享受！
devindotcom查看英文原文
I read some of the classic epics before learning about their mode of delivery and memorization, and was a bit perplexed at some of the repetitions and formulae. Then I learned that, for example, some characters would have multiple epithets (grey-eyed, neat-ankled, all-seeing, etc) that in Greek would be selected essentially not because they were the best descriptor, but because they were the ones that would complete the line within the meter! So if there were two extra syllables, the reciter would use one of these, but if there were three extra, they could use one of the other two. There are a bunch of these formulaic sayings, lines, or even entire little episodes, that could be recited to gain a little time to remember the next part, or speed up the action if the audience was flagging, and so on. The entire form was structured around live performance and improvisation. That was really revelatory for me. Naturally they lose something in being recorded in static form - retaining other forms of natural beauty and (as hnaa points out in another comment) their symmetry, symbolism and meta-construction. Still such a pleasure to read!
对称的环形结构把庞杂情节变成可记忆的模式，方便吟诵者记住顺序。
《奥德赛》的各卷是这样结构的：特洛伊之后依次是——1. 基科涅斯人（无辜城市遭袭）、2. 食莲人（诱惑、滞留）、3. 独眼巨人（怪物）、4. 埃俄罗斯（贪婪的船员耽误行程）、5. 莱斯特律戈涅斯人（怪物）、6. 喀耳刻（诱惑）、7. 冥府、8. 塞壬（诱惑）、9. 斯库拉（怪物）、10. 太阳神的牛群（贪婪的船员耽误行程）、11. 卡律布狄斯（怪物）、12. 卡吕普索（诱惑、滞留）、13. 费埃克斯人（无辜城市遭袭），然后是伊萨卡。这些段落以冥府为中心形成完美的镜像：喀耳刻和塞壬都是诱惑，斯库拉和莱斯特律戈涅斯人都是怪物，等等。而且大镜像里还有小镜像：斯库拉和卡律布狄斯是相似的怪物，就像独眼巨人和莱斯特律戈涅斯人相似一样。记住 12140904121 这样的数字，大概比记住一串随机数字容易。
hnaa查看英文原文
This is how the books of the Odyssey are structured: TROY ---- 1. Kikones (innocent city is ambushed) 2. Lotus Eaters (temptation, delay) 3. Cyclops (monster) 4. Aeolus (greedy crew delays journey) 5. Laestrygonians (monster) 6. Circe (temptation) 7. HADES 8. Sirens (temptation) 9. Scylla (monster) 10. Cattle/Sun (greedy crew delays journey) 11. Charybdis (monster) 12. Calypso (temptation, delay) 13. Phaecia (innocent city is ambushed) ---- ITHACA The episodes make a perfect reflection across the Hades episode; Circe and Sirens are both forms of temptation, Scylla and Laestrygonians are both monsters, etc. Also notice the smaller reflections inside of this large one: Scylla and Charybdis are similar monsters in the same way that the Cyclops is similar to the Laestrygonians. It's perhaps easier to remember a number like 12140904121 than it is to remember a series of random digits.
音乐和乐器是口头史诗的记忆支架，节奏和旋律承担了储存信息的功能。
帕里和穆尔科揭示的一个很重要的方面是：真正帮吟诵者记住这些超长作品的，是音乐。古斯莱琴手一边弹奏单弦的“古斯莱”琴，一边吟唱作品。有些吟诵者离开乐器就无法表演。另外我记得有人主张这些吟诵者全是文盲，并（不是我说的）认为识字反而会干扰他们记忆和复述巨型史诗的能力。
cperkins查看英文原文
A very important aspect that Parry and Murko uncovered is that _music_ was the thing that helped them memorize these incredibly long works. The guslari played a one string "gusle" (iirc) and recited the work along with a song. Some of the guslari bards could not perform the recitation without their instrument. And, fwiw, I recall that some assert that the guslari bards were all illiterate. It has been asserted (not by me) that literacy interferes with the guslari activity of memorizing and replaying enormous epics. Check out Ted Goia "A Subversive History of Music" for an overview - but there is a lot of other scholarship on this.
帕里的口头程式理论能解释史诗中旧理论无法解释的文本特征，值得顺着这条线索继续阅读。
阿尔瓦罗·德·梅纳德写了一篇很好的综述，梳理了围绕“荷马是谁”这一长期争论的各种观点。文中说明帕里的假说如何解释了《伊利亚特》和《奥德赛》中一些此前理论难以解释清楚的现象。
divbzero查看英文原文
Alvaro de Menard wrote an excellent summary of the long debate surrounding the Who was Homer? question. In his article [1] de Menard describes how Parry’s hypothesis accounted for aspects of the Iliad and Odyssey that could not be explained cleanly by prior theories. [1]: https://fantasticanachronism.com/2020/01/17/having-had-no-predecessor-to-imitate/ "Having Had No Predecessor to Imitate, He Had No Successor Capable of Imitating Him"
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