Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Frederick Whitehead. "La Poésie epique et la contrainte metrique." In Société Rencesvals, IVe Congrès International (Heidelberg, 28 août-2 septembre 1967): Actes et Mémoires. Ed. Erich Köhler, Studia Romanica, Heft 14. Heidelberg: Carl Winter. pp. 117-19. "Discussion," p. 119.

Understands formulaic language as a set of lexical solutions to metrical problems: "une heureuse solution d'un probleme metrique tombe dans le domaine public" (p. 119). Feels that a traditional Kunstsprache is evidence of oral tradition, along the classic Parry-Lord lines.
Area: OF