Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Warren S. Walker. "Cooper's Use of the Oral Tradition." In James Fenimore Cooper: His Country and His Art (Papers from the 1980 Conference at State University College of New York, Oneonta and Cooperstown). Ed. George A. Test. Oneonta: Department of English, State University of New York. pp. 24-39.

Maintains that Cooper employs oral folk material in a number of ways: "sometimes it adds texture, a dimension of realism in otherwise romantic works; sometimes it provides comic relief; at still other times it is used thematically" (p. 24). Offers examples of the different kinds of oral genres found in the novels (folk speech, folk character-types, supernatural events, and a "salamagundi" category) as well as a bibliography of apposite studies.
Area: US, FK