The poet that makes his audience see everything so clearly—even to the flies that gather about a milk-pail—does not shrink from showing the hideous sights on a battlefield. But he never lingers over them. We who take our Homer from the printed page experience a shock at the sight, made all too vivid, of what one sword-thrust can do to a human body. Horrified, we stop, and perhaps reread the words with increasing revulsion. But if we had been listening, in the poet’s audience, this delay, or repetition, would have been impossible; our attention would have been instantly carried forward to another picture. (Wilson 269-70)
Here is the complete essay, Battle Scenes in the Iliad
