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Forging an Oral Style? Havelok and The Fiction of Orality.

The article critiques the Middle English romantic poem "Havelok," offers an alternative reading by arguing that its orality is as much a deliberate literary construct as its so-called realism. It addresses the basis of arguments for "Havelok's" oral traditional origins, the ways by which the anonymo...

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Published in:Studies in Philology Vol. 98; no. 1; pp. 18 - 49
Main Author: Kabir, Ananya J.
Format: Poetry Review
Published: University of North Carolina Press Winter2001
Subjects:
Oral communication in literature
Havelok (Poem)
Havelok the Dane (Legendary character) in literature
Literary realism
Middle English poetry
Poetry (Literary form)
Literary criticism
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:The article critiques the Middle English romantic poem "Havelok," offers an alternative reading by arguing that its orality is as much a deliberate literary construct as its so-called realism. It addresses the basis of arguments for "Havelok's" oral traditional origins, the ways by which the anonymous "Havelok" poet streamlines his narrative into two parallel stories, and analysis of the poem.