Overview

Following the Formula in Beowulf, Örvar-Odds saga, and Tolkien proposes that Beowulf was composed according to a formula. Michael Fox imagines the process that generated the poem and provides a model for reading it, extending this model to investigate formula in a half-line, a fitt, a digression, and a story-pattern or folktale, including the Old-Norse Icelandic Örvar-Odds saga. Fox also explores how J. R. R. Tolkien used the same formula to write Sellic Spell and The Hobbit. This investigation uncovers relationships between oral and literate composition, between mechanistic composition and author, and between listening and reading audiences, arguing for a contemporary relevance for Beowulf in thinking about the creative process.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Fox
Publisher:   Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Imprint:   Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Edition:   1st ed. 2020
Weight:   0.473kg
ISBN:  

9783030481339

ISBN 10:   3030481336
Pages:   250
Publication Date:   22 September 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

1.       Chapter 1: Beowulf and Formula 1.1   Formula and Formulaic System 1.2   Action-Pattern, Theme, Type-Scene, Motif 1.3   Structural Repetition 1.4   Story-Pattern, Tale-type 1.5   Conclusion   2.       Chapter 2: The Half-Line Formula: weox under wolcnum (8a) 2.1   The Critical Background 2.2   Reading weox under wolcnum (8a) 2.3   Old Saxon: uuânum undar uuolcnun 2.4   Conclusion   3.       Chapter 3: The Fitt Formula: Genesis and Fitt 1 3.1 Reading Fitt 1 3.2 Conclusion   4.       Chapter 4: The Digressive Formula: The Sigemund-Heremod Digression 4.1   Background 4.2   Reading the Sigemund-Heremod Digression 4.3   Under harne stan (887b) 4.4   The Charter Evidence 4.5   Conclusion   5.       Chapter 5: The Folktale Formula: Beowulf and Örvar-Odds saga 5.1 The Development and Survival of Örvar-Odds saga 5.2 The Structure of Örvar-Odds saga 5.3 Genealogy 5.4 Örvar-Odds saga and Beowulf 5.5 The Five Fights 5.6 Conclusion   6.       Chapter 6: The Formula Reformulated: Sellic Spell and The Hobbit 6.1   Sellic Spell 6.2   The Hobbit: Introduction 6.3   The Hobbit: Formula and Structure 6.4   The Hobbit: Theme 6.5   The Hobbit: Digressions and Episodes 6.6   The Hobbit: Story-Pattern 6.7   Conclusion    Conclusion

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Author Information

Michael Fox is Associate Professor in the Department of English and Writing Studies at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. He has published on modern rhetoric, medieval Latin, and Old English.

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