New Light on Formulas in Oral Poetry and Prose

During the twentieth century scholars discovered that oral poetry in entirely unrelated cultures in the world share a basic characteristic: the use of verbal formulas, more or less fixed word strings, which were inherited from tradition. The discovery of formulas revolutionized the understanding of oral tradition, and how oral poetry was transmitted. Homer, Eddic poems, Karelian laments, Serbian heroic poetry, etc., were suddenly seen in a new light. But the original Oral-Formulaic Theory has also been questioned and revised. New approaches in the study of formulas have been developed among linguists and folklorists.

The present volume discusses new approaches, models, and interpretations of formulas in traditional poetry and prose. The twenty authors in the volume analyze formulas in a broad context by letting oral traditions from all over the world shed light on each other. The volume aims to deepen our understanding of the function and meaning of these formulas. A unique feature is that the volume focuses as much on formulas in oral prose as in poetry – usually formula studies have focused entirely or mainly on poetry.