Ong: The Orality of Language

In response to the Ong article we read, I am quite surprised to be reading this information. Call me naive, but when something is penned or even spoken by a particular and recognized author, I trust the legitimacy of that creator. Granted, I had realized that oral tradition is not the most accurate form of preserving miraculous poems, stories, and literature. Yet I trusted that the true and original message was held to and passed on, and that at the core, Homer's originality shone through. It is, then, no surprise that I find shocking the idea that the Iliad and the Odyssey may have been written up to 100 years apart, making it impossible for Homer to have written both. Sure, this is just one of thousands of theories on the topic. But many of the theories Ong introduced had been well researched and quite thoroughly asserted by their own creator. It is entirely plausible that someone else may have added to, changed, or created these epics themselves. It is even more likely that the oral nature did not preserve these works, and that they have been significantly altered by cultures, locations, and beliefs. Also, to think that Homer used a formula of contructed cliches is rather disappointing, for originality is what we all strive for in writing, and an idolized literary figure should be one that is original and trustworthy, not just clever.