Vocatives in the Speeches of Homer and Quintus of Smyrna

One of the hallmarks of Homeric speech is the proper name-vocative. Interlocutors are almost invariably addressed with their name, usually at the beginning of a speech, but often also in the course of it. The absence of a vocative is rare and hence effective, as Samuel Bassett (1934) showed already many years ago. Looking at Quintus’ speeches with this Homeric model in mind, one is struck by the smaller role played by proper name-vocatives, and my chapter attempts to describe and explain the differences between the two texts.

I first discuss two aspects of Homer’s use of the vocative which are most relevant to the comparison with Quintus: the ratio of name-vocatives versus general forms of address, and the question when and why vocatives are used. I then compare the Homeric model with what we find in Quintus. Name-vocatives are less prominent and restricted to a handful of characters; general forms of address have increased but display little variety; and vocatives are omitted much more and by all characters and in all situations.

I end by suggesting a number of explanations for the decline of the name-vocative in Quintus. Throughout the chapter I pay systematic attention to the way in which scholars now and in the past collect(ed) their data and to the complexities of database building.