2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Oral-Formulaic Expressions in Middle English Alliterative Poetry
| Project/Area Number |
15520317
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Research Field |
English linguistics
|
|---|
| Research Institution | International Christian University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
MORIYA Yasuyo International Christian University, CLA, Professor, 教養学部, 教授 (50230165)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2006
|
| Keywords | Middle English / English Alliterative Verse / Poetic Meter and Formulaic Expressions / History of the English Language / 英語史 |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
The purpose of the present research is to reveal the common collocation patterns in the second half-line (b-verse) of major Middle English (ME) alliterative verse, which may prove the formulaic use of certain lexical combinations. Various scholars of ME verse have suggested the special relationship between speech rhythm and the metrical structure of the verse line. As to the formulaic composition of ME alliterative poetry, however, only limited research is available. There is much to investigate before we can reach a solid conclusion regarding the use of formulaic expressions in ME alliterative verse. The relatively meager situation itself proves that ME formulas are not so conspicuous as Old English formulas. In order to define the role of formulaic expressions or even to decide that ME alliterative verse uses formulas as a device, we need to accumulate quantitative data in a systematic manner.
This research has analyzed the corpora of ME alliterative verse from a metrical-syntactic perspective. It has been confirmed that the analysis illuminates interesting relationships among lexical items under metrical constraints. Special attention has been paid to the second half-line because, as Oakden claims, formulaic expressions may be detected relatively easily in it, and the second half-line is known to be highly structured by precise metrical rules. The analysis of the syntactic and metrical compositions of common syntactic patterns used in the second half-line offers answers to the questions why these expressions can be considered formulaic and whether applying the method of analysis used for the present analysis to the entire body of ME alliterative poems is beneficial.
|
