Oral Poetry.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Finnegan, Ruth H.

Series:

World Oral Literature Series

World Oral Literature Series ; v.14

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (0 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, UK : Open Book Publishers, 2025.

Summary:

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the vast field of 'oral poetry, ' encompassing everything from American folksongs, contemporary pop songs, and Inuit lyrics, to the heroic epics of Homer, biblical psalms, and epic traditions in Asia and the Pacific. Taking a broad comparative approach, it explores oral poetry across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, and the Americas. Drawing on global research, Ruth Finnegan, the author of the seminal Oral Literature in Africa, sheds light on key debates such as the nature of oral tradition, the relationship between poetry and society, the differences between oral and written forms, and the role of poets in predominantly non-literate contexts. Written from a primarily anthropological and literary perspective, this study contributes to the socio-cultural aspects of verbal art while also engaging with the literary dimensions of poetry which happens at any given moment to be unwritten. Finnegan's clear, non-technical language and extensive use of translated examples make this work accessible to a wide audience, appealing not only to sociologists and anthropologists but also to those with an interest in poetry, in comparative literature, and in global folk traditions. The re-issue of this classic study is now augmented by further illustrations and a newly written Introduction and Conclusion, situating it in the context of the contemporary study of literature.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Preface to the 1977 edition

Preface to the 2025 edition

1. Introductory

1.1 The importance of oral poetry

1.2 Some forms of oral poetry

1.3 What is 'oral' in oral poetry?

1.4 The 'poetry' in oral poetry

1.5 Performance and text

2. Some approaches to the study of oral poetry

2.1 Romantic and evolutionist theories

2.2 The 'historical-geographical' school

2.3 Sociological approaches and the sociology of literature

2.4 Two 'ideal types' of society and poetry

3. Composition

3.1 Is memorisation the key factor?

3.2 Composition-in-performance and the oral-formulaic theory

3.3 How valid is the oral-formulaic theory?

3.4 Prior composition, memorisation and performance

3.5 Conclusion

4. Style and performance

4.1 The relevance of style and performance

4.2 Prosodic systems

4.3 Repetition, style and structure

4.4 Language and diction

4.5 Performance

4.6 Is there a special oral style?

4.7 Conclusion

5. Transmission, distribution and publication

5.1 Oral transmission over space and time: some striking cases

5.2 Inert tradition, memorisation or re-creation?

5.3 How do oral poems reach their audiences?

5.4 'Oral transmission' and writing

5.5 Conclusion

6. Poets and their positions

6.1 The poet: five examples

6.2 Some types of poets: specialists, experts and occasional poets

6.3 Are oral poets anonymous?

6.4 The poet as seer

6.5 The poet as individual genius

7. Audience, context and function

7.1 Some types of audience

7.2 The effect and the composition of audiences

7.3 The purpose and meaning of poetry: local theories

7.4 Some effects of oral poetry

8. Poetry and society

8.1 The link between poetic and social institutions.

8.2 Does one type of poetry always go with a particular form of society? 'Heroic age', 'ballad society' and 'oral culture'

8.3 Literature as the reflection and consequence of social forms

8.4 Literature as social action

Concluding comment

Afterword

Web links

Bibliography

List of Illustrations

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-80511-410-7

1-80511-411-5