Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Jeff T. Titon. "Thematic Pattern in Downhome Blues Lyrics: The Evidence on Commercial Phonograph Records Since World War II." Journal of American Folklore, 90:316-30.

Defining thematic pattern as "the thought sequence that controls attitudes toward human experience and selects a narrative pattern (that is, an event sequence) to illustrate those attitudes" (316), he studies recurrent stories and motifs as a reflection of culture, an imitation of life.
Area: MU, BL