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Erich AuerbachA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“[M]en and things stand out in a realm where everything is visible; and not less clear—wholly expressed, orderly even in their ardor—are the feelings and thoughts of the persons involved.”
“The digressions are not meant to keep the reader in suspense, but rather to relax the tension.”
Auerbach opens Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature with consideration of tension in the Odyssey. This quote is important for its explanation of Homer’s style of using flashbacks in narrative. Some critics have argued that interruptions of tense scenes cause a build-up of tension, but Auerbach argues instead that the flashbacks are foregrounded in a way that makes the listener (or reader) forget the action of the scene they just left.
“[T]he Homeric poems conceal nothing, they contain no teaching and no secret second meaning. Homer can be analyzed, as we have essayed to do here, but he cannot be interpreted.”