Old English: Michael Getty: The Metre of Beowulf: A Constraint-Based Approach (2002)

[Julia Ulrich]

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New Publication from Mouton de Gruyter!!!!

>>From the series

Topics in English Linguistics (TiEL)

Series Editors: Elizabeth Closs Traugott and Bernd Kortmann


Michael G. Getty
THE METRE OF BEOWULF

2002. viii, 280 pages. Cloth.
Euro 88.00 / sFr 141,- / approx. US$ 88.00
ISBN 3-11-017105-8
(Topics in English Linguistics 36)




This book presents a new treatment of metre of Beowulf, an Old English
epic poem of uncertain date and origin which is nonetheless considered
one of the gems of Germanic Alliterative Verse. Grounded in the idea of
constraint interaction and conflict associated Optimality Theory, this
book presents the case that the alliterative lines of Beowulf are based
on an ideal structure consisting of trochaic metrical feet organized
into an iteratively binary, strong-weak structure.  Around this ideal
hovers an apparently wild range of divergent structures which have
proven difficult to accommodate under a unified approach.  In fact, the
considerable variation in Beowulf can be understood as reflecting an
inherently simple system of accommodating the diverse phonological
shapes of words within the Old English poetic lexicon. Crucially, this
accommodation takes place against a background in which a number of
independent and often conflicting conditions on metrical and prosodic
form are played out.

To a greater extent than previous approaches, this book establishes a
line of inquiry into the metre of Beowulf that is compatible with the
burgeoning fields of generative metrics and phonology.  One important
fallout of this aim is the proposal to do away with the notion of
'metrical types,' the dominant thread in research on Old English metre
since the late nineteenth century.  Crucially, both of these moves allow
for novel and compelling explanations for a range of metrical
peculiarities of Beowulf, from Kuhn's Laws to Kaluza's Law. Moreover,
the analysis points toward data on patterns which have, to date, escaped
scholars' notice, while at the same time showing surprising
consistencies between the metre of Beowulf and other, unrelated metrical
traditions.


>>From the contents:

I Introduction
II The stress phonology of Old English
III Metrical structure at the foot level: Part I
IV Metrical structure at the foot level: Part II
V Metrical structure at the level of the half-line and long-line
VI Conclusion


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