One thing that Aristotle admires in Homer is his use of direct speech (see especially ch. 24, 60a5-11). Epic is a narrative form, but by allowing his characters to speak for themselves Homer makes his epic narrative approximate to drama: he thus foreshadows the later development of drama which he regards as a superior form of poetry (ch.4, 48b34- 49a6). Why? The passage in praise of Homer's use of direct speech gives two pointers. …
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showed last 75 words of 651 total
…on suffering, the Odyssey is complex and based on character. This formulation is (of course) simplistic, and leaves much unsaid; but it is obviously not intended as a full analysis of the two epics (the question to ask is not whether Aristotle has produced a satisfactory account of the two poems, but whether it is posible to do better in one short sentence). The characterisations of the two poems are worth looking at more closely.