Oral literature is a product of illiterate or semiliterate societies. It is usually sung or chanted (often to musical accompaniment) and it precedes written poetry. The stories which are the base of different literary forms of the period are told (or sung) again and again with all sorts of variations. All traditional narratives, therefore, may be said to be the product of multiple authorship. Epic and ballad have their roots in the oral culture and, together with romance and short poems, formed the body of the oral tradition in the Middle Ages.
Poetry of that time was mostly of religious character and the identified poets include Caedmon and Cynewulf.
Traditional epics involve myths and legends of nationhood. Like later romances, they are full of heroic exploits of their characters and often embedded in supernatural and mystic atmosphere. Beowulf was the most famous and the longest surviving in epic in Old English, written c. 1000 in the West Saxon dialect. It is set in Scandinavia and it describes the great deeds of the heroic warrior Beowulf. Epics also deal with the theme of love, like ballads and romances.
Ballads, however, are characterised by poorer imagery. Their story is told through dialogue and action with sudden transitions form point to point in the narrative (called “leaping and lingering”). Other features of ballads include abrupt beginnings, stock epithets, refrains and incremental repetition, the latter being very suitable for singing. The so-called ballad metre was used and it was a quatrain of alternate four or three stress lines, rhymed abcb (iambic). The written versions of traditional ballads indicate that they often drew their themes from community life, local and national history (although heroes did not have to represent the nation, like in epics), legend and folklore. Robin Hood, for example, an outlaw hero of English folklore, made his appearance in traditional ballads before entering other types of literature.
Poetry of that time was mostly of religious character and the identified poets include Caedmon and Cynewulf.
Traditional epics involve myths and legends of nationhood. Like later romances, they are full of heroic exploits of their characters and often embedded in supernatural and mystic atmosphere. Beowulf was the most famous and the longest surviving in epic in Old English, written c. 1000 in the West Saxon dialect. It is set in Scandinavia and it describes the great deeds of the heroic warrior Beowulf. Epics also deal with the theme of love, like ballads and romances.
Ballads, however, are characterised by poorer imagery. Their story is told through dialogue and action with sudden transitions form point to point in the narrative (called “leaping and lingering”). Other features of ballads include abrupt beginnings, stock epithets, refrains and incremental repetition, the latter being very suitable for singing. The so-called ballad metre was used and it was a quatrain of alternate four or three stress lines, rhymed abcb (iambic). The written versions of traditional ballads indicate that they often drew their themes from community life, local and national history (although heroes did not have to represent the nation, like in epics), legend and folklore. Robin Hood, for example, an outlaw hero of English folklore, made his appearance in traditional ballads before entering other types of literature.
Romance is another example of oral traditional forms in the English literature. It originated in France and was brought by minstrels, singers and poets to England. At the same time, written versions of romances appeared as well. Its existence can be explained by the need for entertainment in the medieval society. Romance characteristically describes a sophisticated courtly world of chivalry, distinct form the heroic epic, which concentrates on war. Typical stories concern knightly quests, tournaments, magic, and contests with monsters for the sake of a heroine who is the focus for courtly love. Scholars divide the subject matter of romances into three groups called “The Matter of Britain” (the Arthurian legend), “The Matter of France” (exploits of Charlemagne) and “The Matter of Rome” (classical tales). The following paragraphs will present the phenomenon of the Arthurian legend in the English literature as an example of romance.