Who is listening? Apostrophe and ‘double relevance’ in the hymns of Romanos the Melodist

This article analyses selected hymns of Romanos the Melodist (c. 485–562) with a special focus on who speaks and who listens. Romanos uses apostrophes to address biblical characters, the triune God, the Mother of God, and saints. Did they listen? In rare cases, characters respond – for instance, the eternal villain Hades, whom Romanos interrogates about Christ’s descent to the Underworld. At other times, the biblical characters seem to address the congregation from the storyworld. Examples such as these are analysed through the lens of modern narratology.