Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Bruce A. Rosenberg. "The Genres of Oral Narrative." In Theories of Literary Genre. Ed. Joseph P. Strelka. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. (= vol. 8 of Yearbook of Comparative Criticism). pp. 150-65.

Proposes a dynamic theory of oral genres that takes into account the variables of oral performance within a tradition. Includes a description of four SC epic songs and an attempted taxonomy. Maintains that the genre of an oral performance "exists not in fixed form, as does the genre of a sonnet, hymn, or elegy, but as a rather fluid ideal because it is dependent on fluid forces which are constantly reshaping it: the mood of the audience, that of the performer, and all the accidents, misunderstandings, mistakes, and flaws that human communication is heir to" (p. 164).
Area: FK, SC, CP, TH