389:
for a visit to
California with his wife for the purpose of aiding his mother-in-law. In the late afternoon of December 3, at the Palms Hotel in Los Angeles, Parry was dressing for a dinner with friends, while his wife was in another room. Accounts differ, but she either heard a muffled shot or Parry groaning, and found him shot in the heart. He died soon afterwards. Police detectives determined that the gun was fired accidentally as he was removing clothing from his luggage. The safety had not been set and the trigger had become entangled in a shirt, which bore gunpowder burns.
1085:
40:
359:, "by far the most skillful and versatile performer whom Milman encountered". One of the songs, running to some 13,000 lines and performed over five days, was the closest analogue to Homer in quality and quantity; Parry said one "has the overwhelming sense that, in some way, he is hearing Homer". Međedović boasted he knew longer songs.
426:
According to Steve Reece, there is "an enormous body of literature on Parry’s intellectual legacy". His influence is evident in the work of later scholars who have argued that there was a fundamental break in institutional structure between
Homeric Greece and Platonic Greece, a break characterized by
280:
verse. The oral nature of the poem was evident in the dependence on these devices, both as memory aids and to allow for easier improvisation. They were clues suggesting that the two
Homeric epics were not the inventions of a single poet but had been gradually evolved in a long-standing tradition. As
388:
When Parry returned to the United States in 1935, he learned that his wealthy mother-in-law had fallen in with some people who were stealing from her without her knowledge. During his field excursions in the
Balkans, Parry had developed the habit of carrying a gun, and he packed one in his luggage
275:
In his dissertations, which were published in French in 1928, Parry demonstrated that the
Homeric style is characterized by the extensive use of fixed expressions, or "formulas", adapted for expressing a given idea under the same metrical conditions. For example, "divine Odysseus", "many-counseled
392:
Various rumors circulated, including the ideas that Parry committed suicide because he was despondent over
Harvard's failure to give him a permanent appointment, or that his wife killed him. Parry's daughter, Marian, believed for the rest of her life that her mother killed him, and pointed to her
338:
was lowest and the oral tradition was, in the term used by Parry and Lord, "purest". They made thousands of hours of recordings in remote mountain villages of illiterate farmers who sang epic songs of prodigious length from memory. Parry and Lord recorded on newly invented equipment, flat
380:(1960). The musical part of his recordings made in Jugoslavia was later notated and published postumum in the fifties by Béla Bartók, commissioned by the Columbia University in 1942. This publication is provided with a long Introduction by Bartók.
343:
instead of vinyl, custom made for the expedition, with only a five minute recording time. Discs were continually swapped with a special two-disc machine to create a single long recording, later transcribed. They also recorded conversations between
393:
mother's insane fits and accusations of infidelity. Detailed examination of the evidence by classicist Steve Reece concurs with the contemporary official conclusion that Parry's death was accidental.
668:
544:
513:
276:
Odysseus", or "much-enduring divine
Odysseus" had less to do with moving the story forward than with being in accordance with the amount of material to be fitted into the remainder of the
455:(1928–1971). The latter was the chairman of Yale University's Classics Department, until his untimely death, together with his wife Anne Amory, in a motorbike accident.
427:
the transition from an oral culture to a written culture. This line of thought holds that in
Homeric society, oral poetry served as a record of institutional and
250:. He grew up in a house full of books, with a father who was self-taught and widely read. He and his siblings often recited poems from memory as a game.
1224:
1234:
1098:
1259:
1249:
988:
324:, and a native singer and fixer named Nikola Vujnović, who became essential to finding and communicating with other singers, known as the
404:(Oxford University Press, 1971). The Milman Parry collection of records and transcriptions of South Slavic heroic poetry is now in the
1239:
604:
Parry, M. (1932). "Studies in the Epic
Technique of Oral Verse-Making. II. The Homeric Language as the Language of Oral Poetry".
606:
575:
1214:
1229:
1158:
889:
797:
258:
142:
787:
489:
466:
1124:
1254:
1219:
905:
1189:
439:, which were vital to the well-being of society, given the importance of the information carried by the poetry.
1178:
261:(B.A. and M.A.) where he became proficient in ancient Greek and the Classics. He then studied for a PhD at the
1061:
1244:
1016:
757:
734:
637:
254:
130:
1031:
958:
932:
435:, who cites Parry. Havelock argues that the fixed expressions that Parry identified can be understood as
183:
371:
1084:
573:
Parry, M. (1930). "Studies in the Epic
Technique of Oral Verse-Making. I. Homer and Homeric Style".
348:
after it became apparent this was also part of the creative process that fertilized improvisation.
414:
1184:
366:
that the formulaic structure of Homeric epic is to be explained as a characteristic feature of
331:
1209:
1204:
830:
1171:
447:
Parry was married to Marian Thanhouser, who came from a German Jewish family, and endured
8:
957:
Stephen Mitchell; Gregory Nagy (2000). "Introduction to the Second Edition pp. vi-xxix".
499:
476:
376:
356:
262:
247:
179:
146:
39:
993:
835:
774:
716:
699:
685:
654:
623:
592:
561:
530:
409:
309:
193:
1154:
1010:
885:
793:
428:
293:
161:
1185:
The On-Line Database of Harvard's Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature (MPCOL)
766:
743:
708:
677:
646:
615:
584:
553:
522:
367:
305:
304:
In 1928–1929, Parry began his academic career as a Professor of Latin and Greek at
282:
451:
comments from some of her husband's colleagues. They had two children, Marian and
666:
Parry, M. (1933). "Whole Formulaic Verses in Greek and Southslavic Heroic Song".
405:
269:
227:
1190:
The New Yorker - The Classicist Who Killed Homer, by Adam Kirsch (June 7, 2021)
877:
821:
542:
Parry, M. (1929). "The Distinctive Character of Enjambement in Homeric Verse".
374:. After Parry's death, the idea was championed by Albert Lord, most notably in
317:
235:
231:
468:
L'Épithète traditionelle dans Homère: Essai sur un problème de style homérique
1198:
432:
340:
448:
289:
697:
Parry, M. (1934). "The Traces of the Digamma in Ionic and Lesbian Greek".
321:
203:
175:
165:
82:
839:
825:
234:
of Homeric studies". In addition, he was a pioneer in the discipline of
452:
401:
363:
313:
219:
137:
111:
17:
778:
720:
689:
658:
627:
596:
565:
534:
669:
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association
545:
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association
514:
Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association
308:. Between 1933 and 1935 Parry, at the time an assistant professor at
277:
292:, who had worked on oral epic traditions in Yugoslavia and had made
770:
747:
712:
681:
650:
619:
588:
557:
526:
436:
335:
266:
728:
Parry, M. (1936). "On Typical Scenes in Homer (rev. of W. Arendt,
1151:
Hearing Homer's Song: The Brief Life and Big Idea of Milman Parry
1036:(Second ed.). Harvard University Center for Hellenic Studies
1030:
Lord, Albert B. (2000). Mitchell, Stephen; Nagy, Gregory (eds.).
963:(Second ed.). Harvard University Center for Hellenic Studies
882:
Hearing Homer's Song: The Brief Life and Big Idea of Milman Parry
789:
The Making of Homeric Verse: The Collected Papers of Milman Parry
398:
The Making of Homeric Verse: The Collected Papers of Milman Parry
63:
1099:"Prof. Adam M. Parry and Wife, Classicists, Are Killed in Crash"
362:
In his American publications of the 1930s, Parry introduced the
230:
to such a fundamental degree that he has been described as the "
326:
511:
Parry, M. (1928). "The Homeric Gloss: A Study in Word Sense".
223:
956:
316:, where he studied and recorded oral traditional poetry in
826:"Reviewed Work: The poet of the Iliad by H. T. Wade-Gery"
218:(June 23, 1902 – December 3, 1935) was an American
396:
Parry's collected papers were published posthumously in
635:
Parry, M. (1933). "The Traditional Metaphor in Homer".
16:
For his son, also sometimes known as Milman Parry, see
320:with the help on his second visit of his assistant
1196:
820:
986:
930:
1062:"The Myth of Milman Parry: Ajax or Elpenor?"
997:. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020
281:one scholar put it, "Parry never solved the
285:; he demonstrated that it was irrelevant".
241:
1179:Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature
383:
38:
1225:University of California, Berkeley alumni
872:
870:
868:
866:
864:
862:
860:
858:
856:
1235:Classical scholars of Harvard University
755:Parry, M. (1937). "About Winged Words".
1055:
1053:
1051:
982:
980:
978:
876:
1197:
1143:
853:
607:Harvard Studies in Classical Philology
576:Harvard Studies in Classical Philology
418:is devoted to advancing Parry's work.
44:Parry in his 1919 high school yearbook
1174:at the Database of Classical Scholars
1059:
786:Parry, M. (1971). Parry, Adam (ed.).
785:
754:
727:
696:
665:
634:
603:
572:
541:
510:
487:
464:
1260:Oakland Technical High School alumni
1250:Scholars of ancient Greek literature
1048:
1029:
975:
491:Les Formules et la Metrique d'Ηοmère
1125:"Adam and Anne Amory Parry Lecture"
13:
496:Homeric Formulae and Homeric Metre
353:The Wedding Song of Smailagić Meho
299:
265:in Paris and was a student of the
259:University of California, Berkeley
143:University of California, Berkeley
14:
1271:
1165:
506:trans. from French by Adam Parry.
483:trans. from French by Adam Parry.
431:. This thesis is associated with
351:The "jewel of the collection" is
1240:American people of Welsh descent
1083:
989:"The Last Words of Milman Parry"
473:The Traditional Epithet in Homer
442:
222:whose theories on the origin of
1117:
458:
1091:
1023:
987:Nicolas Liney (June 6, 2020).
950:
924:
898:
814:
730:Die typischen Szenen bei Homer
1:
1127:. Yale Department of Classics
906:"Milman Parry, Class of 1919"
255:Oakland Technical High School
226:'s works have revolutionized
131:Oakland Technical High School
23:American academic (1902–1935)
421:
288:Meillet introduced Parry to
257:in 1919, and studied at the
7:
1215:American classical scholars
792:. Oxford University Press.
504:The Making of Homeric Verse
498:] (PhD thesis). Paris:
481:The Making of Homeric Verse
475:] (PhD thesis). Paris:
85:, California, United States
66:, California, United States
10:
1276:
1230:University of Paris alumni
933:"Homer: Poetic Techniques"
246:Parry was born in 1902 in
184:Oral-formulaic composition
15:
1105:. New York. June 11, 1971
1015:: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
910:School Historical Archive
372:Oral Formulaic Hypothesis
209:
199:
189:
171:
157:
152:
136:
126:
121:
117:
106:
102:Marian Thanhouser (Parry)
98:
90:
71:
49:
37:
30:
807:
242:Early life and education
1255:Scholars of epic poetry
937:Encyclopedia Britannica
384:Death and commemoration
1220:Epic poetry collectors
502:. pp. 191–239 in
296:of some performances.
1181:at Harvard University
1060:Reece, Steve (2019).
312:, made two visits to
294:phonograph recordings
1245:American folklorists
479:. pp. 1–190 in
400:, edited by his son
1144:Relevant literature
1033:The Singer of Tales
960:The Singer of Tales
912:. February 22, 2015
758:Classical Philology
735:Classical Philology
638:Classical Philology
500:Sorbonne University
477:Sorbonne University
377:The Singer of Tales
248:Oakland, California
180:Homeric scholarship
147:University of Paris
122:Academic background
1103:The New York Times
994:The Oxonian Review
931:Kirk, Geoffrey S.
488:Parry, M. (1928).
465:Parry, M. (1928).
429:cultural practices
410:Harvard University
355:, by a poet named
310:Harvard University
253:He graduated from
194:Harvard University
1153:. 2021. Penguin.
1149:Kanigel, Robert.
330:. They worked in
213:
212:
162:Classical studies
1267:
1137:
1136:
1134:
1132:
1121:
1115:
1114:
1112:
1110:
1095:
1089:
1088:
1087:
1081:
1079:
1077:
1057:
1046:
1045:
1043:
1041:
1027:
1021:
1020:
1014:
1006:
1004:
1002:
984:
973:
972:
970:
968:
954:
948:
947:
945:
943:
928:
922:
921:
919:
917:
902:
896:
895:
874:
851:
850:
848:
846:
818:
803:
782:
751:
724:
693:
662:
631:
600:
569:
538:
507:
484:
370:, the so-called
368:oral composition
341:aluminum records
306:Drake University
283:Homeric Question
78:
75:December 3, 1935
59:
57:
42:
28:
27:
1275:
1274:
1270:
1269:
1268:
1266:
1265:
1264:
1195:
1194:
1168:
1146:
1141:
1140:
1130:
1128:
1123:
1122:
1118:
1108:
1106:
1097:
1096:
1092:
1082:
1075:
1073:
1058:
1049:
1039:
1037:
1028:
1024:
1008:
1007:
1000:
998:
985:
976:
966:
964:
955:
951:
941:
939:
929:
925:
915:
913:
904:
903:
899:
892:
878:Kanigel, Robert
875:
854:
844:
842:
819:
815:
810:
800:
461:
445:
424:
406:Widener Library
386:
302:
300:Academic career
270:Antoine Meillet
244:
228:Homeric studies
182:
178:
164:
145:
86:
80:
76:
67:
61:
55:
53:
45:
33:
24:
21:
12:
11:
5:
1273:
1263:
1262:
1257:
1252:
1247:
1242:
1237:
1232:
1227:
1222:
1217:
1212:
1207:
1193:
1192:
1187:
1182:
1175:
1167:
1166:External links
1164:
1163:
1162:
1159:978-0525520948
1145:
1142:
1139:
1138:
1116:
1090:
1066:Oral Tradition
1047:
1022:
974:
949:
923:
897:
891:978-0525520948
890:
852:
822:W. B. Stanford
812:
811:
809:
806:
805:
804:
799:978-0198141815
798:
783:
771:10.1086/361980
752:
748:10.1086/361967
725:
713:10.2307/409604
707:(2): 130–144.
694:
682:10.2307/283165
663:
651:10.1086/361552
632:
620:10.2307/310666
601:
589:10.2307/310626
570:
558:10.2307/282817
539:
527:10.2307/282988
508:
485:
460:
457:
444:
441:
423:
420:
415:Oral Tradition
412:. The journal
385:
382:
357:Avdo Međedović
301:
298:
243:
240:
236:oral tradition
211:
210:
207:
206:
201:
197:
196:
191:
187:
186:
173:
172:Sub-discipline
169:
168:
159:
155:
154:
150:
149:
140:
134:
133:
128:
124:
123:
119:
118:
115:
114:
108:
104:
103:
100:
96:
95:
92:
88:
87:
81:
79:(aged 33)
73:
69:
68:
62:
51:
47:
46:
43:
35:
34:
31:
22:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1272:
1261:
1258:
1256:
1253:
1251:
1248:
1246:
1243:
1241:
1238:
1236:
1233:
1231:
1228:
1226:
1223:
1221:
1218:
1216:
1213:
1211:
1208:
1206:
1203:
1202:
1200:
1191:
1188:
1186:
1183:
1180:
1176:
1173:
1170:
1169:
1161:(soft cover).
1160:
1156:
1152:
1148:
1147:
1126:
1120:
1104:
1100:
1094:
1086:
1071:
1067:
1063:
1056:
1054:
1052:
1035:
1034:
1026:
1018:
1012:
996:
995:
990:
983:
981:
979:
962:
961:
953:
938:
934:
927:
911:
907:
901:
893:
887:
883:
879:
873:
871:
869:
867:
865:
863:
861:
859:
857:
841:
837:
834:(83): 94–96.
833:
832:
827:
823:
817:
813:
801:
795:
791:
790:
784:
780:
776:
772:
768:
764:
760:
759:
753:
749:
745:
741:
737:
736:
731:
726:
722:
718:
714:
710:
706:
702:
701:
695:
691:
687:
683:
679:
675:
671:
670:
664:
660:
656:
652:
648:
644:
640:
639:
633:
629:
625:
621:
617:
613:
609:
608:
602:
598:
594:
590:
586:
582:
578:
577:
571:
567:
563:
559:
555:
551:
547:
546:
540:
536:
532:
528:
524:
520:
516:
515:
509:
505:
501:
497:
493:
492:
486:
482:
478:
474:
470:
469:
463:
462:
456:
454:
450:
443:Personal life
440:
438:
437:mnemonic aids
434:
433:Eric Havelock
430:
419:
417:
416:
411:
407:
403:
399:
394:
390:
381:
379:
378:
373:
369:
365:
360:
358:
354:
349:
347:
342:
337:
333:
329:
328:
323:
319:
315:
311:
307:
297:
295:
291:
286:
284:
279:
273:
271:
268:
264:
260:
256:
251:
249:
239:
237:
233:
229:
225:
221:
217:
208:
205:
202:
198:
195:
192:
188:
185:
181:
177:
174:
170:
167:
163:
160:
156:
153:Academic work
151:
148:
144:
141:
139:
135:
132:
129:
125:
120:
116:
113:
109:
105:
101:
97:
93:
89:
84:
74:
70:
65:
60:June 23, 1902
52:
48:
41:
36:
29:
26:
19:
1172:Milman Parry
1150:
1129:. Retrieved
1119:
1107:. Retrieved
1102:
1093:
1074:. Retrieved
1072:(1): 115–142
1069:
1065:
1040:December 26,
1038:. Retrieved
1032:
1025:
999:. Retrieved
992:
967:December 26,
965:. Retrieved
959:
952:
940:. Retrieved
936:
926:
914:. Retrieved
909:
900:
881:
843:. Retrieved
829:
824:(May 1954).
816:
788:
765:(1): 59–63.
762:
756:
739:
733:
729:
704:
698:
673:
667:
645:(1): 30–43.
642:
636:
611:
605:
580:
574:
549:
543:
518:
512:
503:
495:
490:
480:
472:
467:
459:Publications
446:
425:
413:
397:
395:
391:
387:
375:
361:
352:
350:
345:
325:
303:
290:Matija Murko
287:
274:
252:
245:
216:Milman Parry
215:
214:
190:Institutions
77:(1935-12-03)
32:Milman Parry
25:
1210:1935 deaths
1205:1902 births
1131:February 8,
1109:February 8,
1076:February 8,
742:: 357–360.
676:: 179–197.
552:: 200–220.
521:: 233–247.
449:antisemitic
322:Albert Lord
318:Serbo-Croat
204:Albert Lord
176:Epic poetry
166:Linguistics
110:Marian and
91:Nationality
83:Los Angeles
1199:Categories
831:Hermathena
583:: 73–147.
453:Adam Parry
402:Adam Parry
364:hypothesis
314:Yugoslavia
220:Classicist
200:Influenced
158:Discipline
138:Alma mater
112:Adam Parry
56:1902-06-23
18:Adam Parry
884:. Knopf.
422:Influence
278:hexameter
127:Education
1011:cite web
916:March 1,
880:(2021).
840:23039330
700:Language
614:: 1–50.
336:literacy
334:, where
267:linguist
263:Sorbonne
107:Children
94:American
346:guslari
64:Oakland
1157:
1001:May 3,
942:May 2,
888:
845:May 2,
838:
796:
779:265061
777:
721:409604
719:
690:283165
688:
659:264243
657:
628:310666
626:
597:310626
595:
566:282817
564:
535:282988
533:
332:Bosnia
327:guslar
232:Darwin
99:Spouse
836:JSTOR
808:Notes
775:JSTOR
717:JSTOR
686:JSTOR
655:JSTOR
624:JSTOR
593:JSTOR
562:JSTOR
531:JSTOR
494:[
471:[
224:Homer
1177:The
1155:ISBN
1133:2021
1111:2021
1078:2021
1042:2018
1017:link
1003:2021
969:2018
944:2021
918:2016
886:ISBN
847:2021
794:ISBN
732:)".
72:Died
50:Born
767:doi
744:doi
709:doi
678:doi
647:doi
616:doi
585:doi
554:doi
523:doi
408:of
272:.
1201::
1101:.
1070:33
1068:.
1064:.
1050:^
1013:}}
1009:{{
991:.
977:^
935:.
908:.
855:^
828:.
773:.
763:32
761:.
740:31
738:.
715:.
705:10
703:.
684:.
674:64
672:.
653:.
643:28
641:.
622:.
612:43
610:.
591:.
581:41
579:.
560:.
550:60
548:.
529:.
519:59
517:.
238:.
1135:.
1113:.
1080:.
1044:.
1019:)
1005:.
971:.
946:.
920:.
894:.
849:.
802:.
781:.
769::
750:.
746::
723:.
711::
692:.
680::
661:.
649::
630:.
618::
599:.
587::
568:.
556::
537:.
525::
58:)
54:(
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
