Lonesome Words: The Vocal Poetics of the Old English Lament and the African-American Blues Song / Edition 1

by M. McGeachy

Overview

The tenth-century Old English lament and twentieth-century blues song each speak the language of a distinct poetic tradition, yet the voices are remarkably similar in their emotive expression of loneliness. This innovative study juxtaposes the texts of each corpus to explore the features that characterize their vocal poetics

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403962911
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	03/24/2009
Series:	The New Middle Ages
Edition description:	2009
Pages:	182
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

MARGARET G. MCGEACHY is Assistant Professor of English at D'Youville College in New York, USA.

Table of Contents

Captivated Performance Recording the Formula Jailbreak Anthologizing Sorrow Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

'Lonesome Words makes a strong contribution to comparative poetics in the typological rather than the genetic sense. McGeachy successfully explores a hierarchy of comparisons from verbal formulæ to social and historical contexts for production in the Old English lament and the African-American blues song. In both corpora she examines themes of wandering, of exile and imprisonment, and of a lost but happier past, and the conclusions she draws from these comparisons are salient and comprehensive.' John Lewis, Associate Professor of English, Southern Methodist University

From the Publisher