Structural arithmetic metaphor in the Oxford ''Roland''

140 Pages·1972·4.61 MB·English

by  Eleanor Webster Bulatkin

Structural
Arithmetic Metaphor
in the Oxford "Roland"
Eleanor Webster Buïatkin
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Structural Arithmetic Metaphor
in the Oxford "Roland"
By Eleanor Webster Bulatkin
"Structural arithmetic metaphor" is de­
fined as an ordering of poetic form according
to an arithmetic pattern that uses numbers
whose symbolic meaning restates metaphor­
ically some basic idea inherent in the content
of the poem.
Although no ars poetica describing the de­
vice has come down to us, combinations of
numbers have, in one way or another, been
used in the structuring of literary works (as
they have been employed in architectural
and musical composition) since classical an­
tiquity. At some times, they have served sim­
ply to achieve harmonies and symmetrical
proportions; but at others, they have ex­
pressed symbolic meanings as well.
As Mrs. Bulatkin points out, the concep­
tion of arithmetic structuring and the notion
that numbers carry a metaphoric significance
are thoroughly consonant with the whole
number philosophy of the Middle Ages, itself
the product of a tradition of great antiquity.
The use of numerical composition has been
demonstrated in studies of the Old French
poem La Vie de Saint Alexis of 1040 and
Dante's Divine Comedy of 1321. The evidence
is entirely sufficient to justify the assumption
that the practice was known during the pe­
riod encompassed by these two works, and it
is to this era that the Chanson de Roland be­
longs.
(Continued on back flap)

Structural Arithmetic Metaphor
in the Oxford "Roland"

Structural
Arithmetic Metaphor
in the Oxford "Roland"
Eleanor Webster Bulatkin

Ohio State University Press
Copyright © 1972 by the Ohio State University Press
All rights reserved
International Standard Book Number: 0-8142-0154-7
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 71-141496
Printed in the United States of America
to Iliya ßulatkin
Cossack of the Don