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Lawman's Brut, an Early Arthurian Poem a Study of Middle English Formulaic Composition
| Author: | Donahue, Dennis | |
| Year: | 1991 | |
| Pages: | 341 | |
| ISBN: | 0-7734-9768-4 978-0-7734-9768-9 | |
| Price: | $219.95 | |
This work will be of interest to students of both Early Middle English poetry and oral-formulaic composition. This study examines the nature of the repeated formulas and themes in the Brut. Argues that Lawman made artistic use of formulas, themes, and imagery in revising his Anglo-Norman source and creating darker portraits of Vortiger, Uther, and, especially, King Arthur.
Reviews
". . . conscientiously written; undergraduates will certainly find the initial chapter on the development of the Parry/Lord theory most useful; the material presented in the appendices and analysed in the second chapter remains as valuable as it was fifteen years ago; and above all, it draws attention to the complexity of Layamon's narrative technique." -- Notes and Queries