Why is there so much repetition in the Odyssey?

We are accustomed to thinking of literary works as fixed texts by a single author. Among other reasons, this is because of the impact of the printing press on publishing and distributing texts in our society. However, the conditions in which the Odyssey originated were very different. It is unlikely that Homer's works were originally singular written texts, but rather, most scholars believe that they have their origins in oral traditions that predate the texts that we possess. Although the exact practices are unknown to us, it is plausible that these oral poems would be recited from memory at festivals of some sort (the origins of much Greek literature in religious ceremony - e.g., Athenian drama and the Dionysia - is well known to us). Remembering such lengthy pieces of literature would be immensely difficult, so repetition, whether in the form of epiphets such as 'wine-dark sea' or 'bright-eyed Athena' or repeating bits of the narrative, would act as a memory aid, and also allow the reciter to stall for time during their recitation.