Homer and the Origin of the Greek Civilization by Albert B. Lord
Published 1960 · 100,000 words · about 8 hours at an average pace · Essays & Criticism
How hard is Homer and the Origin of the Greek Civilization to read?
Homer and the Origin of the Greek Civilization scores 65 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it quite demanding. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 60 out of 100
- Technical but clearly defined; oral-formulaic terminology explained from scratch.
- Sentence structure: 55 out of 100
- Abstraction: 68 out of 100
- The theoretical argument about oral composition is grounded in extensive empirical demonstration.
- Information density: 74 out of 100
- Dense with analysis of formulaic structures and comparative epic material.
- Narrative indirection: 14 out of 100
- Direct scholarly argument throughout.
- Symbolic density: 12 out of 100
- Analytical; the formula is treated as a structural rather than symbolic unit.
- Ironic distance: 100 out of 100
- Earnest scholarly register.
- Resolution withholding: 12 out of 100
- The argument about oral composition reaches clear conclusions.
- Structural complexity: 40 out of 100
- Moves from fieldwork through theoretical argument to application to Homer and Beowulf.
How Homer and the Origin of the Greek Civilization is regarded
Homer and the Origin of the Greek Civilization holds a literary regard score of 48 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.