Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Flemming G. Andersen. Commonplance and Creativity. Odense University Studies from the Medieval Centre, vol. 1. Odense: Odense University Press.

The first comprehensive study of oral-formulaic narrative technique in the traditional ballads of England and Scotland, this work offers a new definition of the ballad formula in which "formulas combine narrative and supra-narrative functions, and are characterized by variation on the narrative level, and stability on the supra-narrative level. Ideally, formulas can thus be seen to operate on three levels in all" (pp. 33-34): the supra-narrative or associative level, the level of formulaic lines and stanzas (the surface structure level), and the deep structure level, or that of the basic narrative idea. Part I of the book is dedicated to the development of this definition. Part II describes the narrative function of ballad formulas, including discussion of the linear and stanzaic formulas and the "formulaic situation" (pp. 59-67), with special emphasis placed upon the role of the formula in ballad transmission. Part III deals with the supra-narrative function of the ballad formula and analyzes separately the introductory, situational, transitional, and conclusion types, noting that, while the specifics of the ballad formula cannot be transferred from one tradition to another due to significant differences in subject matter, "this particular stylistic function of formulaic diction may be a characteristic feature of traditional balladry in general" (p. 285). Part IV is an application of the author's ideas to ballad texts from Falkland, Gloucestershire, and Aberdeen.
Area: FB, ST, FA, BR, TH