The social dramatic functions of oral recitation and composition in Beowulf

Abstract

When life and joy die, so does the clear sound of the harp. This elegiac point, to which we will eventually return, is prominent in the final third of the poem. But for now, and throughout this overview of occasions for song, harp-playing, and oral performance among the Danes, we should note the formal, social, and dramatic perspectives afforded by the Beowulf poet's use of harp-accompanied song in the hall.Not

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