SOURCE: "The Odyssey: Its Shape and Character," in Homer, Gerald Duckworth & Company Limited, 1972, pp. 117-40.

Bowra, an English critic and literary historian, was considered among the foremost classical scholars of the first half of the twentieth century. He also wrote extensively on modern literature, particularly modern European poetry, in studies noted for their erudition, lucidity, and straightforward style. In this post-humously published essay, Bowra examines the characters, structure, and sources of the Odyssey. Textual references to the Iliad have been rendered in roman numerals, while references to the Odyssey are in arabic numerals.

The Odyssey, like the Iliad, begins with an invocation to the Muse:

Tell, Muse, of the man of many devices, who wandered far indeed, when he had sacked the holy citadel of Troy. He saw the cities of many men and knew their minds, and many were the sorrows which he suffered in his spirit...