Omeros Summation

The two things that interested me about Omeros were

1. How it is both similar and different from Iliad and the Odyssey
          +The characters of Helen, Hector, Achilles, Seven Seas, Philoctetes and Homer
          - In Omeros these characters take not only take the role of their Homeric counterpart, but also the
            roles of other characters from the Iliad and the Odyssey (ex./ Achilles connected to Odysseus,
            Hector connected to Paris and Agamemnon, Plunkett connected to Paris, Helen connected to
            Cassandra)
          +Plot points that are similar Hector's death, Rivalry between Hector and Achilles, Philoctetes
            wound...
2. How the numerous plot lines, narrators and characters fit together and complimented each other to form the overall whole of the epic (or how they did not do so)

• The "Homeric" plot involving Achille's and Hector and their rivalry over Helen 
• Philoctetes' leg wound and Ma Kiman 
• Major Plunkett and his wife Maud
• Poet-narrator who kind of wanders around the world and through time 

It is fairly easy to see see how the first three plot lines are intertwined in the book, but I found it harder to see how the poet's travels were linked in with the rest of the stories. There seemed to be some connection with the theme of ancestry being important with the flashbacks, people speaking with their parents, and Achilles comment to Hector after his death about the river. Are there more solid connections between the narratives that I'm missing?