Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

D.H.F. Gray. "Homeric Epithets for Things." Classical Quarterly, 41:109-21. Rpt. in The Language and Background of Homer: Some Recent Studies and Controversies. Ed. Geoffrey S. Kirk. Cambridge and New York: Heffer and Barnes & Noble, 1964; rpt. 1967. pp. 55-67.

Tabulates noun-epithet formulas for sea, shield, and helmet, finding "traditional" combinations and "individual" creations. Assumes an early stage of the Kunstsprache with a generic shape, an idiom which Homer inherited and elaborated with striking adjectives.
Area: AG