Oral Poetry: Its Nature, Significance, and Social ContextOral poetry is a wide subject which ranges from American 'folksongs', Eskimo lyrics or modern popular songs, to the heroic poems of Homer and more recent epic composers in Asia and the Pacific, Unlike previous works, this book takes a broad comparative view and considers oral poetry from Africa, Asia and Oceania as well as Europe and America. Dr Finnegan includes in her argument the results of recent research from all over the world, thus illuminating and suggesting fresh conclusions to many current controversies: the nature of 'oral tradition'; possible connections between types of peotry and types of society; the differences between oral and written communication; and the role of poets in non-literate societies. |
Contents
Introductory | 1 |
Some forms of oral poetry | 7 |
What is oral in oral poetry? | 16 |
Copyright | |
9 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
accepted Africa Almeda Riddle American analysis Andrzejewski approach aspect assumptions audience Aunt Nancy Avdo ballad society ballads balwo Barbara Allen basic century Chadwick chanted chapter characteristic communication composed context conventions culture delivery Dinka discussion emphasis epic epic poetry Eskimo folklore folklorists forms formulaic functions generalisations genres Go tell Aunt Hausa heroic Homeric individual instance involved kind Kirghiz language lines literary Lord Lord Randal Mandinka means mediaeval memorisation Milman Parry minstrels mode musical non-literate occasions oral composition oral literature oral performance oral poems oral poetry oral tradition oral transmission oral-formulaic original parallelism Parry particular patterns perhaps piece poetic poets popular praise primitive reciters recognised repetition rhyme role romantic scholars sense singer singing social society sociological Somali sometimes songs specialised study of oral style sung Sunjata tell Aunt Nancy theory tion Velema verbal verse wide words writing written literature Yoruba Yugoslav