You're correct that repetition is characteristic of epic
poetry. This stylistic device serves several purposes:
1.
references to the war remind the reader/listener of the brave exploits of the Greeks,
specifically Odysseus, in the Trojan War;
2. the omens
foreshadow the inevitable bloody doom of the suitors;
3.
re-tellings of the story of Agamemnon's betrayal by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover
Aegisthus serve to contrast sharply with Penelope's faithfulness during the all the
years that Odysseus has been gone from and his return to
Ithaca;
4. references to the gods are a reminder of the
important role that the deities played in the lives of the Greeks who believed that
their gods could take human form and walk among them for a variety of
reasons;
5. repetition made memorization and recitation
much easier for a traveling bard or musician to sing or recite this lengthy work, which
was apparently presented one book at a time.
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