Signs that sing : hybrid poetics in Old English verse PDF
Preview Signs that sing : hybrid poetics in Old English verse
SIGNS THAT SING o University Press of Florida Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers Florida International University, Miami Florida State University, Tallahassee New College of Florida, Sarasota University of Central Florida, Orlando University of Florida, Gainesville University of North Florida, Jacksonville University of South Florida, Tampa University of West Florida, Pensacola This page intentionally left blank S IGN S o T HAT o S I NG o HYBRID POETICS IN OLD ENGLISH VERSE Heather Maring University Press of Florida Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota Copyright 2017 by Heather Maring All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper This book may be available in an electronic edition. 22 21 20 19 18 17 6 5 4 3 2 1 A record of cataloging-in-publication data is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-0-8130-5446-9 The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida. University Press of Florida 15 Northwest 15th Street Gainesville, FL 32611-2079 http://upress.ufl.edu For Brad and Kai This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Notes on Citations xi Introduction 1 1. Hybrid Poetics in Old English Verse 8 2. Metonymy, Gifre, Grædig, and a Devouring-the-Dead Theme 34 3. A Lord-Retainer Theme 50 4. Refiguring Hybrid Oral-Literate Signs 71 5. Bright Voice of Praise: An Old English Poet-Patron Theme 93 6. A Sea Voyage in The Dream of the Rood 113 7. Signifying the Coming of Christ in The Advent Lyrics 128 Afterword: Signs That Sing 155 Notes 161 Bibliography 195 Index 217 This page intentionally left blank ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book is an homage to the rhetorical sophistication of Old English poetry. Because of their metrical and formulaic consistency, Old English poems can be deceptively simple while doing something very complex: mixing expressions and modes of signification from written, oral, and ritual traditions. The synthesis of these traditions represents an extraor- dinary development. I am deeply indebted to the late John Miles Foley for his guidance and wisdom. I am also indebted to Emily Thornbury and the anonyomous readers for their incisive and profoundly helpful feedback. Others deserv- ing thanks for their suggestions and support for this book at its various stages include Mark Amodio, Tiffany Beechy, Robert Bjork, Anne Bram- ley, Martin Camargo, Markus Cruse, Elizabeth Detwiler, Joseph Frus- cione, Lori Garner, William H. Green, Joseph Harris, Richard A. Hocks, Ian James, Michelle Karnes, Alice Keefe, Emma Lipton, Dhira Mahoney, Shannon McCarthy, John McKinnell, Britt Mize, Joseph Nagy, Roy Ruk- kila, Brad Ryner, Catherine Saucier, Robert Sturges, and John Zemke. The support of the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Stud- ies (ACMRS), through the ACMRS Faculty Fellowship, and the Arizona State University Department of English, through Junior Faculty Leave, enabled the writing of this book. An earlier version of chapter 5 appears under the title “Bright Voice of Praise: An Old English Convention,” in Studies in Philology 108 (2011):
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