What is it about?
Drawing from existing scholarship on Francis J. Child's corpus of popular ballads (particularly the groundbreaking study by Andersen), I address the oral formulaic nature of the same and how it is particularly relevant as a narrative strategy to shed light on the active role of women characters in this popular genre.
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Why is it important?
This article reveals how certain women were allowed to transgress in various ways from what was expected of them in their time, at least in narrative terms. References to material from medieval and early modern England serve to pinpoint certain exceptions to the rule that coexisted with contradictory legal and societal mores.
Perspectives
An outcome of my PhD dissertation, conducted halfway between Spain and English-speaking countries, I am particularly keen on seeing this article come to light in a journal that was an inspiration throughout my studies. I hope the readers of Folklore will enjoy my contribution.
Dr Ana Belén Martínez García
Universidad de Navarra
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Formulaicity in Child Ballads as a Means to Express Assertiveness, Folklore, April 2017, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/0015587x.2016.1270612.
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