Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Donald C. Green. "Formulas and Syntax in Old English Poetry: A Computer Study." Computers and the Humanities, 6:85-93.

Continues the work of O'Neil 1960a, Gattiker 1962, and Cassidy 1965. Computer analysis of Beowulf, the Finnsburh Fragment, Juliana, Fates of the Apostles, Phoenix, Exodus, Maldon, and some shorter Chronicle poems for confirmation of the syntactic frame theory of oral-formulaic composition. Dismisses percentage formula density as a criterion for dating or authorship and distinguishes favored metrical types within the sample.
Area: OE