Oral poetry : its nature, significance, and social context / Ruth Finnegan.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 276-287) and index.

1. Introductory. 1. The importance of oral poetry. 2. Some forms of oral poetry. 3. What is 'oral' in oral poetry? 4. The 'poetry' in oral poetry. 5. Performance and text -- 2. Some approaches to the study of oral poetry. 1. Romantic and evolutionist theories. 2. The 'historical-geographical' school. 3. Sociological approaches and the sociology of literature. 4. Two 'ideal types' of society and poetry -- 3. Composition. 1. Is memorisation the key factor? 2. Composition-in-performance and the oral-formulaic theory. 3. How valid is the oral-formulaic theory? 4. Prior composition, memorisation and performance. 5. Conclusion -- 4. Style and performance. 1. The relevance of style and performance. 2. Prosodic systems. 3. Repetition, style and structure. 4. Language and diction. 5. Performance. 6. Is there a special oral style? 7. Conclusion -- 5. Transmission, distribution and publication. 1. Oral transmission over space and time: some striking cases. 2. Inert tradition, memorisation or re-creation? 3. How do oral poems reach their audiences? 4. 'Oral transmission' and writing. 5. Conclusion -- 6. Poets and their positions. 1. The poet: five case studies. 2. Some types of poets: specialists, experts and occasional poets. 3. Are oral poets anonymous? 4. The poet as seer. 5. The poet as individual genius -- 7. Audience, context and function. 1. Some types of audience. 2. The effect and the composition of audiences. 3. The purpose and meaning of poetry: local theories.

4. Some effects of oral poetry -- 8. Poetry and society. 1. The link between poetic and social institutions. 2. Does one type of poetry always go with a particular form of society? 'Heroic age', 'ballad society' and 'oral culture'. 3. Literature as the reflection and consequence of social forms. 4. Literature as social action.

NLJCols20082021