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What does Butcher's XXVI say about length, unity and concentration, and how does it square with praising the Iliad and Odyssey as single actions?

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[Classical theory (in translation)] XXVI argues that concentration is pleasant and dilution is not: the shorter art reaches its end within narrower limits, and the epic canon of length forces a choice. A strictly unified story told at epic length either appears truncated if told concisely or seems 'weak and watery' if it follows the epic canon of length. An angle-bracketed clause in Butcher's text says such length implies some loss of unity (the pinned file does not explain the brackets). The text does not abandon epic: the Iliad and Odyssey are 'as perfect as possible' and each a single action even though built of several parts. Ch. VII (cross-reference) adds that greater length is better so long as the whole stays perspicuous and within the memory's grasp.

[Classical theory (in translation)] XXVI argues that concentration is pleasant and dilution is not: the shorter art reaches its end within narrower limits, and the epic canon of length forces a choice. A strictly unified story told at epic length either appears truncated if told concisely or seems 'weak and watery' if it follows the epic canon of length. An angle-bracketed clause in Butcher's text says such length implies some loss of unity (the pinned file does not explain the brackets). The text does not abandon epic: the Iliad and Odyssey are 'as perfect as possible' and each a single action even though built of several parts. Ch. VII (cross-reference) adds that greater length is better so long as the whole stays perspicuous and within the memory's grasp. Curator qualifications: Concentration favoured; no rule that long is worse (Iliad/Odyssey still single actions); bracketed clause unexplained. Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.
Structured fields
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1974/pg1974.txt",
      "note": "XXVI"
    }
  ]
}

Evidence claims

  • [sourced_fact] [Classical theory (in translation)] XXVI argues that concentration is pleasant and dilution is not: the shorter art reaches its end within narrower limits, and the epic canon of length forces a choice. A strictly unified story told at epic length either appears truncated if told concisely or seems 'weak and watery' if it follows the epic canon of length. An angle-bracketed clause in Butcher's text says such length implies some loss of unity (the pinned file does not explain the brackets). The text does not abandon epic: the Iliad and Odyssey are 'as perfect as possible' and each a single action even though built of several parts. Ch. VII (cross-reference) adds that greater length is better so long as the whole stays perspicuous and within the memory's grasp. · locator: XXVI source

Rights

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