Establishing the Singer’s Authority in the “Odyssey”

In this paper, I discuss two passages of Book 8 of the Odyssey in which Demodocus the rhapsode performs songs on the Trojan war at the Phaeacian court in the presence of Odysseus, who is instantly featured in Demodocus’ songs as a character and who comments on these songs at the same time. Having scrutinized the narrative structure of these scenes, I argue that they have been designed in such a way so as to invest Odysseus, an in-story character, with control both over the intra-diegetic narratees at Alcinous’ court and the extra-diegetic Homeric narratees. By praising Demodocus’ song and establishing his authority as a singer inspired by the Muse, Odysseus in fact enhances his own authority prior to taking on the role of the narrator in Books 9–12, where he tells the story of his return from Troy.