menu
{ "item_title" : "Visible Song", "item_author" : [" Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe "], "item_description" : "For many years there has been lively debate about the 'orality' or 'literacy' of Old English verse: about whether the Old English verse which has come down to us is primarily the product of oral composition or primarily written, insofar as it is transmitted only in manuscript. The present book throws light on this question by drawing our attention to a largely unexplored body of evidence, namely the graphic realization of Old English verse in the surviving manuscripts - how it is set out spatially, how it is marked up for reading with punctuation of various kinds. Professor O'Keeffe shows that by the late tenth century scribes had apparently ceased to alter the poems which they were transcribing by recourse to residual orality, and had begun to copy verbatim the poetic text before them. The entire orality-literacy debate has been lifted on to a new plane; the book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the way Old English verse has come down to us.", "item_img_path" : "https://covers1.booksamillion.com/covers/bam/0/52/137/550/0521375509_b.jpg", "price_data" : { "retail_price" : "154.00", "online_price" : "154.00", "our_price" : "154.00", "club_price" : "154.00", "savings_pct" : "0", "savings_amt" : "0.00", "club_savings_pct" : "0", "club_savings_amt" : "0.00", "discount_pct" : "10", "store_price" : "" } }
Visible Song|Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe

Visible Song

local_shippingShip to Me
In Stock.
FREE Shipping for Club Members help

Overview

For many years there has been lively debate about the 'orality' or 'literacy' of Old English verse: about whether the Old English verse which has come down to us is primarily the product of oral composition or primarily written, insofar as it is transmitted only in manuscript. The present book throws light on this question by drawing our attention to a largely unexplored body of evidence, namely the graphic realization of Old English verse in the surviving manuscripts - how it is set out spatially, how it is marked up for reading with punctuation of various kinds. Professor O'Keeffe shows that by the late tenth century scribes had apparently ceased to alter the poems which they were transcribing by recourse to residual orality, and had begun to copy verbatim the poetic text before them. The entire orality-literacy debate has been lifted on to a new plane; the book makes a major contribution to our understanding of the way Old English verse has come down to us.

This item is Non-Returnable

Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780521375504
  • ISBN-10: 0521375509
  • Publisher: Cambridge University Press
  • Publish Date: November 1990
  • Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.28 x 0.88 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.13 pounds
  • Page Count: 228

Related Categories

You May Also Like...

    1

BAM Customer Reviews