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Tradition and the Collective Talent:Oral Epic, Textual Meaning,and Receptionalist TheoryJohn Miles Foley

Department of EnglishUniversity of Missouri, Columbia

For some time, literarycritics, folklorists,oraltheorists,and all scholars n-terested for one reason or another n oral literatureand traditionhave wrestledwith a naggingandseemingly insoluble dilemma that has takenmanyforms andresistsbeing held captivein any single, all-encompassing ormulation. mentionas examplesthe academic oustingover analytical erms suchas the phraseolog-ical "formula" and the narrative"theme" and the long debates over what is oris not a "motif." The basicquestionamounts o this: can we agreeon a grammarof compositionalunits and further,does our chosen model remain viable as wecross the linguisticline from one tradition o another?Forthe purposesof this essay and in order o speak directlyto the concernsof this special collection of papers, I shall leapfrogboth a bibliographicalre-hearsalof particularssues and the inevitablepolemicsinvolved, and insteadcon-centrate on proposinga solution to the "unit problem" which, while perhapsratherradicalin itself, finds its seeds in the writingsof WalterOng, Eric Have-lock, WernerKelber, FranzBauml, CharlesSegal, RobertKellogg, and others.Inconcertwith thegeneralshift of criticalfocus fromthe text asobjectto the workas the reader'sexperienceof thatobject, I suggestthat we definethe "units" oforaltraditionaldiscourse not strictlyandexclusively as textualdata,but also andequally as the necessarily subjectiveapprehensionof those databy a readerorparticipant whatever he prior experienceof the readeror participantmaybe). Iproposethat we take as a startingpointthe idea of the workand its partsas pro-cesses rather han as an artificeandits discretecomponents,andthatwe stipulatethatthe unit of discourse-whether phraseologicalornarrative-cannot be under-stoodas anobjectbutonly as aresponse.In otherwords,to summon he canonicalParry-Lord"oral formula" as an example, we need to realize that the phraseo-logical unit consists not only of whateverchirographicavatar he highly literatereaderuses as a readingmnemonic, but also and cruciallyof the informedbutfinally subjective response one makes to those "little black dots on the whitepage" in the largercontext of the unexpressed(andinexpressible)realityof anoraltradition.

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204 CULTURALANTHROPOLOGY

After all, even in the banalizedconfrontationwith Homer offeredby textsthat areessentially only librettifor performance,we come to develop an ear forHomeric phraseology, narrativestructure,and story pattern.Those fortunateenoughto be acquaintedwith a living and well-collectedoral tradition an learnyet more aboutwhatit meansto be a faithfulaudience oranoraltraditionalwork.And to the extent thatwe as readerscan still hear the harmonicsof fundamentaltraditionalmelodies in the individualperformanceext, we canrecognizethe truenatureof compositionalunits:they are instancedby synecdochein the text buttheirultimatereality ies inexperiencing hem as traditionalignalsthatbring heirunspokencontext into play. In a sense, all such units serve as metonymiccuesthatassist the reader n formulatingandreformulatinghework with eachreadingexperience,mediatingHermes-likebetween the traditionalwordhoard ndthein-dividual text to support he poet and reader n theirsharedtask of "raisingthegreatsong once more"--even if (nominallyat least) for the firsttime.In order to providea clear illustrationof whatI meanby distinguishing hesimple presenceof a textualstructureromthein-processexperienceof thatstruc-ture ncontext,we mustboth limitthe textualsample o amanageable ndfocusedgroupof works andprescribean appositemethodology.In whatfollows, there-fore, I shall be looking principallyat what is actuallya pan-Balkan and veryprobably ndo-European)tory-form: hetale-type hatAlbertLordhas called the"ReturnSong."2 Ourprimarycomparandawill be the HomericGreekOdyssey,whichsurvives from at leastthe 8thcenturyB.C., andthe Serbo-Croatian eturnSong, a sub-genreof epic collected in hundredsof versionsby Parryand Lordfrom the 1930s onward(not to mentionmultipleversionsgatheredby earlier n-vestigatorslike Karadzic,H6rmann,and Marjanovic n the 19thcentury).3Weshallof course be concerned nitiallywith thestructure f theReturnSongperse,but the emphasiswill be on the effect of thatstructure,or readingsignal, on thereaderandon the identityof the unit not as a textualdatumbut as a subjectivelyexperiencedpattern.Towardthis end I begin with a sketchof the approach.

A Methodology: Reader-Response CriticismIn recentyears, literarycriticismhas rather teadilyevolved awayfrom text-centrism n manydifferentdirections,but mostcurrentapproaches o interpreta-tion of literarytexts sharea basic credo: they concentrateon redistributinghehermeneutical mphasisbackfrom thetext as objecttoward hereaderas subjec-tive participant n what is conceived of as a reading process, an experienceofphenomenological mport.This ongoing process, the experienceof the workofart, is usuallyunderstoodas originallystimulatedby a tangibleentity such as a

printedbook, butthe critic'sresponsibilitydoes notand cannotendwithdescrip-tion of the artifact,however thoroughor even groundbreakinguch an analysismightbe. The hermeneutic mperativeblursthe focus on the text as object andbringsinto relief the idea of the literaryworkas the productof a text's influenceupon a reader; o put it proscriptively,withoutthe reader'sactive and creativeinvolvement n a literarydiscoursetheremayexist anobjecttext but therecanbeno work, simplybecausetherecan be no process, no experience.



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TRADITIONAND THE COLLECTIVETALENT 205

One of the most fertile brandsof this new attention o the experienceof en-counteringa work is whatmanyhave referred o as "reader-responseriticism"or "receptionalism."4Under his set of assumptions, he successful criticwill askhimself not whatimage-patterns r formalprosodicrules he candescribeorelab-orate(at least not exclusively), but will go on to determinehow thosetextualsig-nals teach him to read. Thus it is thatWolfgang Iser can speakof a "virtual"dimensionof a text, in additionto its black-and-white, emporalreality:"Theliterary ext activatesour own faculties, enablingus to recreate he world it pre-sents. The productof this creativeactivity is what we mightcall the virtualdi-mension of thetext, which endowsit with itsreality.Thisvirtualdimension s notthe text itself, nor is it the imaginationof the reader: t is the comingtogetherofthe text andimagination"(1974a:270).Thus when a reader-response riticdescribesa textualfeature,such as oneof the customary literary-critical epertoireof image, symbol, and so forth, hedoes not limit thedescription o the objective, in-textcharacter f the featurebutasks in additionhow thatfeatureaffects the readerand how one's overallreadingof a work is informedby theresultingengagementwith the text. Noris theprocessthat is stimulatedby a textual feature-itself one-dimensionaluntil the percep-tions it activatesbegin to figurein the reader'sown activity-entirely subjectiveor uncontrolled; he configurationof reading signals collectively exercises a de-gree of restrainton how one putsa worktogether.Thatis, textual featuresallowsome subjectivevariation n theirinterpretation, utin a successful,unifiedworkthat variationnever proceedsbeyond a certainpoint. Thus it is that a reader-re-sponsecriticwill oftenspeakof a text "teaching"its reader o apprehendtscom-plexities, whetherby reference to a certainmythologicalpattern, nclusionof acertainsubgenre,or whatever.The essentialpoint is that textual featuresare ac-tive anddynamicin thatthey reach outside of the text to makemeaningfulcon-nections to the reader's extratextual xperience. If in doing so some of our mostimportantworks-the Oresteia, Hamlet,theIliad, ParadiseLost, forexample-actuallydefy exhaustive nterpretation,we shouldrecognizethatthis shape-shift-ing is simply the most immediatesign of theircontinuingabilityto engage theirvariousreadershipsover the centuries n a lively andcontinuingdialogue.Anotherway to picture he samephenomenologicalprocessis to conceive ofthe readermoving from the textual libretto to his own performanceof the workby fillingwhatIserrefersto as a seriesof "gaps."5 Accordingto thismodel, theauthor ncludesas integralpartsof his textualmapcertainuncharted egions, cer-tain intermediateareas aboutwhichthere can be foundno specific, unambiguousinformation.Thesegapsconstitute he reader's icense to co-create hework, andtheauthorhas cooperated n-even encouraged-this subjectiveactivityby leav-ing unmarked ome of the particularogical bridgesto be crossed. Althoughinany successfulpartnership f this sort the authorwill have identifiedouterlimitsto the reader's subjective solution of the performancequandary,and thus willhave precludedany unguided activitydetrimentalor disruptive o the work as awhole, the fact remains thatat certainpoints in the text the readermustmakeapersonal eap of logic. For the reader-responseritic, this is the momentof truth:



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206 CULTURALNTHROPOLOGY

if the text has adequately nstructed he reader,he should be able, withinlimits,to shoulderhis partof the interpretive urdenandprovidecontinuitybasedon hisintratextual nd extratextual xperience. This interaction, his bridgingof gaps,is the coreof thereadingprocess, the meansby whichtheobjectivetext becomestheexperiencedwork.

Patterns and Gaps in Oral Literature: The Story of ReturnOneof the mostcommontextualsignalsin oralepic, one thatamounts o an

interpretivemapfor literallythousandsof epic poemsandone that s particularlyfamiliar n the oral traditionsof the Balkans, is what AlbertLordhas called the"ReturnSong" (see note 3). Probablya mythicreflexof originallyIndo-Euro-pean provenance,this storypatternconcerns a hero separated rom his wife orfiancee, usuallyon theirwedding night, andlong absentfromhis homefor someimplicitorexplicitmartialreason(ElementA-Absence). Eitheraloneor in com-panywith a comrade,he thenfalls under hecontrolof an enemyandlanguishesin captivityfor what is oftena considerableperiodof time, deploringhis fate andhopingfor releasewhile suitorstest his wife's or fianc6e'sfidelityat home (Ele-mentD-Devastation). Aftersuccessfulbargainingwith a femaleintermediarynsome way sympathetic o his cause, the hero thengains release and headsfor hishomeland ElementR-Return). Therehe engagesthe suitorsusurpinghis goodsandcourtinghis wife, defeatingthem in ritualcombatandputting hem to flight;he also tests his wife or fianceeby concealinghis identity throughdisguise andposing a riddle intendedto reveal her trueactionsand intentions ElementRt-Retribution).Finally, if his riddle has in fact provedher fidelity, a wedding(or"re-wedding" in the form of a rapprochement)akesplace andthe Returncycleis complete(ElementW-Wedding).6TheOdyssey

Of course the mostfamousof ReturnSongsconcerns he20-yearexile Odys-seus, calledawayfrom his wife Penelopeby theAchaean mperative f theTrojanWar.After theconquestatTroy,and inmythicallyanalogous ashionto the SouthSlavic initiatoryhero(Bynum 1968), he findshimselffar fromhis home andfromPenelope(Absence), the prisonerof Kalypsoand Kirke and a luckless wanderer(Devastation)before thegraceof the PhaeaciansandthedivineintermediaryAth-enaaccomplishhis passageto Ithaca Return).Homer'sextendedrendering f theadventof thedisguisedhero,the ritualbattleof wordsandathleticprowessagainstthe suitors, the testing of Penelope, andthe finalrevenge (Retribution) ringusto the coda of the Odyssey:the world-righting olutionto theriddle of theolive-tree bed (structurallyhe Weddingelement).Thestoryof Odysseus s fundamen-tallythestoryof Return,anditsdeepestmeaningderivesfromtheintegrityof thisstorypattern.By applying the methodology sketchedabove, we can begin to sense theresonanceof theOdysseystoryfor the audience hatsaw fit to elevate itsHomericepitomizationto Panhellenicstatus(Nagy 1979:7ff.). As references to lost and



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fragmentarynostoi, or Returns,of other ancientGreekheroesattest,the originalaudience for the work knew the Odysseynot as a fresh, Romanticbrachiation nthe commonliterarystock but as a particular, ocusedinstanceof a genericform.Fromcomparative vidence we can reconstruct t least the basicoutlines of whattheir"reading" experience7must havebeen, and thatreconstruction, s indicatedabove, also survives to us in moder oral traditions.In the multiformityof oraltradition,such an audiencemight well be entertainedby the specific shapetheOdyssey storytook, butthey could neverhave failed to anchoranynovel depar-tures n the firmgroundof the well-knownstory-formof Return.Whatevernom-inal shapetheparticularmomentarydesignmayhavetaken,the audience's nter-pretationof it would be foundedon priorandextratextual xperience.Firstandforemost, the Odysseyis a song of Return; hen it is a song of Odysseus'return;andthen it is one version of a song of Odysseus'return.Unlike the usual situationwe know exclusively from the more familiar it-eraryscenario, the extratextual omponent n oral tradition s uniquely dynamicin the "reading" process. A novelist, for example, may maketelling use of anassortmentof genres to convey a work differentand distinct from all worksthatpreceded t, but an oralpoet is always andnecessarilymaking(orremaking)hiswork in the image of all other works that constitute his oral tradition.To put itmoreexactly, he is fashioningone versionof one textin order o pointtoward hework thatnotonly he butscores of otherpoets have also (re-)created,alongwiththeiraudiences, as long as the oral traditionhas existed. In concert with his au-dience, which takes a much more active role in the makingof the workthan doreaders of literature for example, Havelock 1963:145-164; Lord 1960:13-29;Foley 1977; Caraveli 1982), he establishesthe textuallibrettouponwhich eachpersonpresentbases an apprehension f the experiencedwork. Appealto extra-textualauthoritys endemic in thisprocess;without he lifeblood of the wordhoardthatconstitutesan oraltradition,without ts essential contribution f context, theco-createdtext would remainonly an elaborateset of stagedirections.The gapsof indeterminacy,as Isercalls the uncharted reasof the textualmap,would resistaestheticallysatisfactorysolution; this much is only too apparent n the over-wroughtandsententiousattackson supposednarrativenconsistencies n the IliadandOdyssey,evidence so some say of Homer'snodding.But with the appropriate xtratextualcontext engaged, with access to thewordhoardopen and dynamic, such texts as the Odysseytake on whole newworlds of meaning. Most generally, therecan be no "suspense" as to whetherOdysseuswill eventually shake off the wrathof Poseidonand restore the peaceandorderdisruptedby his absence;the resolutionof conflictsmust be expectedfromthe startbecause of the wisdom of traditionas expressed n the signalof theReturnpattern.With this largestof gaps closed, the "reader"can thenproceedto thenext level of complexityandrealize, againfrom thestart, hatthesequenceof Absence, Devastation, Return,Retribution,and Weddingis similarlyto beexpected, alongwith thecharacteristic arrative ccoutrements f thetype-scenesor themes that express those abstractions.One actively expects the imprisonedhero to bewail his fate, to bargainwith a female intermediary, o confronthis



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competitorsand wife in disguise, and so forth. All of these perceptionsare en-couraged(even required)by the extratextual ontributionof oral tradition,thecontext that serves the "reader" as guide in following the textualmap toward(re-)creationof the work.The Serbo-Croatian Return Song

Since there remainsno textual recordof the ReturnSong tradition roman-cient Greekoutsideof a few fragments,we maysummonasacomparandhe well-documentedcognate tradition n South Slavic. Among the publishedmaterialfromthe MilmanParryCollectionone finds a great manyexamplesof this sameepic genre, such as themultipleversionsof TheCaptivityofDjulicIbrahimamongtheNovi Pazarsongs(see Parry,Lord,andBynum1953-: vols. 1-2; Parks1981);on the basis of this and otherevidence, it has been shown thatthe Returnmulti-form exists as the core idea in literallyhundredsof such poems (for example,Foley 1978, 1979a). As a group,thesepoemsalso helpus to restore he lost con-text of the Odysseyby illustratinghedynamicsof the traditional atternn SouthSlavic.As I have shown elsewhere (1980), the five-elementsequence (Absence-Devastation-Return-Retribution-Wedding)can take a surprising number offorms.In the recordedperformances f "Alagic AlijaandVelagicSelim' as sungand dictatedby IbrahimBasic of the Stolacregionin Hercegovina,forexample,we view one permutationof the simplex pattern.Here not one but two Turkishheroes suffer in captivityas prisonersof the enemy Christianban, and their in-dividualnarrativepatternsdivergeto a degree. Alagic Alija managesto strike abargainwithhis captor'swife the banica(thecustomary emaleintermediary) ndearnsa month-longreleaseinorder o returnhome, reconnoiter,and at leastbeginto set things right;afterhis time is up, however, he must reenterprisonandagainjoin his beleagueredcompatriot.Thus far the patternappears o have been cutshort, and, as Alagic Alija regressesto his formersorrystate, thereseems to beno reason to hope for furtherprogress. But his betrothed,one Fatima,and hercompanionAndjelijasoon arriveuponthe scene and,disguisedas malewarriors,accomplishthe R and Rt elements for both captiveheroes. The substitutes husbringthe sequencetowardclosure in the expectedWeddingscene, and the cycleis complete.Anotherset of songs fromthesameregion,this timesung by theguslar MujoKukuruzovic, illustrates another manifestation of the Return story pattern.Whetherthe hero in questionbe namedAlagic Alija or Ograscevic Alija (andnames are quite fluid throughoutoral epic tradition),the story proceeds alonglargely the same narrativepathwayfrom imprisonmentand despairtoward re-lease, revenge, and final union. Details may vary, such as the locale, the namesof loyal retainersandconnivingsuitors,or even the identityof themarriagepart-ners whose ceremonythe hero observeson the way home, but within limits thestoryis the same. At the crucialmomentof testinghis wife's orfiancee'sfidelity,however, the narrative urches off in an unexpecteddirection:she is in fact dis-coveredto have beenunfaithful,and thewrongedhusbandor fiancee mmediately



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exacts his vengeance by cuttingoff herhands,killing her, andridingoff to jointhe enemy to plan an attackon his own people. The secondpartof this two-part"song-amalgam"is then left the task of rightingthe balanceof a worldundoneby ruptureof the Returnpattern.8In theirseparateways bothof these examplesoffer us evidence of the mul-tiformityof story-pattern nd at the same time providethe opportunityo docu-ment the important ole of contextin the fleshingout of one particular ong-text.Quiteclearly, as we saw with the Odyssey,the momentumof the Returnpatternconfers a specialkindof unityon the individualperformanceext, assisting n theperceptualprocess of turning ext into experiencedwork. The Basic and Kuku-ruzovic songs instance a unifying traditional dea by synecdoche, summoningforthinformation rom the audience'sexperienceto bridgethe "gaps" of inde-terminacynecessarilycharacteristic f the individual ext. Moreimmediately, heparticular, ong-specific storycontentis rationalizedby the inherentwisdom ofthe Returncycle, so that Alagic Alija and Velagic Selim-although separatedtemporarilyby the contract hatthe formerstrikeswith the banicaandseeminglyat the end of theirnarrative opeafterAlagic Alija'sregression o prisonand Dev-astation-are nonetheless sure to accomplish a final Return, Retribution,andWedding.The question, in otherwords, is not at all what will happen;we know,genericallyatleast, whatwill eventuallytakeplace. Thequestionamounts o howtheexpectedwill happen,how the fundamentalraditional deawill takeshapeinthisparticularmanifestation.In Kukuruzovic'ssongs we likewise know the end (orwe thinkwe do) soonafterthe storyopens; afterall, the hero is describedas loudly bewailinghis im-prisonment,an act dependably,becausemetonymically, ndicativeof the Returnpattern o follow. And from the banica's reportof the clamor o herhusband,herconferencewith the prisoner,and the captive'srelease and ourney,the narrativeappears o be fulfilling its announcedpurposeandtypically drawing ts contextextratextually.But at the pivotal testingscene the audience'sexpectationscrum-ble, for thePenelope figure s revealed o be akindof SouthSlavicKlytaemnestra,andthe way in which the text andtraditionhavetaughtus to interprets shown tobe false. Oris it? Forwhatwe discoveris thattheWeddingelementprovesto beitself a multiform. From a synchronic point of view, the wife's fidelity meansclosure of the Returnpatternn anOdyssey-like ong, while infidelitymeanscon-tinuance nto a secondpartor sequel. Kukuruzovicunwittingly llustrated he ac-curacyof this modelby havingin his repertoirehreedistinctbutrelatedvariants:(1) the usual sequencewith closure in the W element, (2) a secondsong about ahero's temporaryalliance with the enemy, and (3) a versionof (1) linkedto (2)by the hero's discoveryof his wife's infidelity.Such is the natureof multiformityin SouthSlavic oralepic, and such is the contribution f traditional ontextto theprocessof text becomingwork.

Other Narrative Journeys and the Map of Return:Marko Kraljevic and Musa the HighwaymanMostof the publishedParry-Lordmaterial,andindeed themajorityof songsin the Collection, belong to a specific, quiteidentifiablepartof South Slavic oral



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epic tradition: heMoslemepic. Thesesongs, performedorthe mostpart nMos-lem areasof what s today Yugoslavia,constituteatradition f complexnarrativesfeaturing he exploits of Turkishheroes, andevolve out of a socioculturalmilieuthatencouraged heirsinging at considerable ength, often to thousandsof lines.An important actor in theirdevelopmentwas the religiousinstitutionof Rama-zan, a periodof one montheachyearwhen menfrequentedhecoffeehouses(ka-fane) each night and were entertainedby a guslar engaged by the proprietororthepurpose.Inorder o satisfythe demandsof this kind of ongoingaudience,theMoslem singersdevelopedandpreserveda traditionof longersongs, and it wasprecisely this tradition hatParrysoughtto recordfor potentialcomparisonwithHomer'slengthyepics (Lord1960:14-17).Althoughwe havealreadyprofitedmuchandwill certainlycontinue o learnfromthis carefullydrawncomparison,we should not forgetthatMoslemepic isonly one manifestation f oral traditional arrativenSouthSlavic;therearemanymoregenres andsubgenres,and ourpoetics of Serbo-Croatian ral verse will becomplete only when we have studiedandtakenaccountof thevarietyandrichnessof this oral tradition see Foley 1979b and 1981a). As a furtherexampleof thesignificanceof traditional ontext in the faithful nterpretationf oralnarrative,turnnow to one of thesegenresoutside themainstream f Moslemepic-namelyto the shorterpoems collectedby VukStefanKaradzic romtheChristian inging

tradition n the 19thcentury.9One of the more famous of these poems, MarkoKraljevicand Musa theHighwayman,10eachesonly 281 lines and is inmostformalrespectsquitetypicalof the brief narrative n Christian radition,the kind of poem that would by itsgenreallow memorizationand consciousmanipulation f traditional atternsandphraseology.For while Lord has rightlycontended hatthe Moslemoralepic ex-ists exclusively as a performanceentity or multiform hat is re-created n eachversion,we should also realize thatthere areindisputably ralpoemseven withinthe South Slavic tradition hat"violate" that"law" because theirgenrerequire-mentsadmit the kindof conscious artistrywe have too simplisticallyconfinedtoliterary exts (see furtherRenoir1976, 1981;Foley In Pressa). In thispoemaboutMarkoKraljevic,then, we mustacknowledgethe possibilitythat the guslar hasintentionallyncludedcertainelementsof phraseologyornarrativen order o fur-ther his personalaestheticdesign. He is withoutdoubtcomposingin the oraltra-ditional mode, but with this apparentlyslight but far-reachingdifference: theshorter ormatmakes it possible thatthe singercan memorizehis song and workon it in his mind, treating he workas a kind of oralpalimpsest."Thesongopens, veryconventionally, na tavernwith Musathehighwaymandrinkingwine12 andboastingthat he will takerevenge on his tsar for failing torewardnineyearsof fruitfulservice. Specifically,Musathreatensoclose off boththeferryandtheroadthatpermitpassagealongthecoast. Although hismayseeman idle threatand an impossibletask, he succeeds both in fulfillinghis boast andsoon afterin repellingthe tsar's force of 3000 men sent to breakthe blockade.Withhis armydestroyedand his vizierreturnedied to ahorse, the tsarbeginsthehighly traditional"search for a substitute/champion,13 whichpredictablybears



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no fruit:manyleave Stambolto fightMusa andrecapture he tsar'sterritory,butnone return.The prospectsforresolvingthe situation ook very grimindeed.But at thispointthe vizierCuprilicsuggeststhe servicesof the incomparablehero MarkoKraljevic,theonly championwho mightbe able to defeat Musa.Thetsarnotillogically assumes thatMarkohasdied, sinceit has been threeyearssincehis imprisonment,and Turkish amniceor "jails," situatedbelow groundandfullof scorpionsand snakes, are not renowned for promoting heirinhabitants' on-gevity. After a discussion, Cuprilic in fact produces Marko, albeit in woefulshape:his hair has grownout nearlyto the ground,his nails are as long as plow-shares,andthe memla'4emanating rom the dampsurroundings as exacerbatedhis already ll health. Onbeing asked whetherhe will helpthe tsar to remedythe

situation,Markoreplies thathe needs some time for recuperation ndprescribesfor himself a diet of wine, plumbrandy,lamb, and white bread. Thetsaragreesto his demandsand all that Markorequests s done for him.Afterthreemonths the tsargrows impatientand asks his championwhetherhe is readyto meet Musa in single combat. The exchangethenproceedsas fol-lows:105 Markopoke othehonorablesar:"Bringme adrydogwood ranchNineyearsold from hetopof thehouse,15So that canseewhatmaybepossible."Hebrought im hedrydogwood ranch.110 Markograsped he twig in his righthand;Thewoodsnappednto wo and hreeparts,Butnosapflowedout."ByGod,tsar, t'snotyettime!"Soanothermonth f dayspassed115 WhileMarko ontinuedo mendhimself;Whenhe sawthathewasreadyorcombat,Heaskedagain or thedrydogwood ranch.

TheybroughthedogwoodoMarko;Whenhegraspedhetwig n hisrighthand,120 Itsnapped, seless, nto woand hreepartsAnd wodrops f sap eaped ut.ThenMarko nnouncedo thetsar:"Itis time,tsar, orbattle."Withconfidencebornof a ritualtest, Markoproceedsto Novakthe armorerto arrange or special weapons andreceives a magic swordthat is forgedwhileMarkodrinkswine at a nearbytavern(as beforea topographicndicationof bor-

der-crossingandimplicitlyof upcomingmartial ngagement).Novakindiscreetlyreveals, however, thathe once made a yet more powerfulsword for Musa andimmediatelyhas his right arm amputated or that indiscretion.With his newweapon at the ready, Marko soon findsMusaand, afteran exchangeof insults,they commence a day-long strugglethat drawsto a close with Musagainingtheupperhand. As so often happensin the cycle of tales associated with his name,Markothen calls to his protectingvila, or mountainnymph;her responsesuffi-



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ciently distractsMusa to allow Marko o deal him a stealthyandfatal blow. Withhis enemy laid open from waist to neck, Markonow sees that the fallen herohasthreehearts, n the thirdof which resides a snakethat,remarkably nough,deliv-ers Musa's eulogy. On these grounds,as well as on the basis of his own percep-tions of the battle, Markopronounceshis foe better than himself. Althoughhedutifullyenough bringsMusa's head to thetsarto fulfill theiragreement,his vic-toryseems hollow, and his report o the tsarlackseven therespectdemandedbyprotocol.The song closes quietly, with a tersecoupletas epitaph:"Markowentoff to white Prilip, / MusastayedatopKacanik."Withinthe Markocycle, and also within thepoetictraditionas a whole, thisis in its contentand toneanunusualsong. Clearlyenough,it belongsto thatchap-ter of the hero's mythic biography n whichhe was capturedby theenemyTurksand forced to serve the tsar,often againsthis own Christianpeople. This uneasyallegianceof hero andcaptor,which randirectlycounter o theprevailingenmitybetweenChristianand Turk n the 16thcenturyandearlier,accountsforsome oftheambiguityof Marko'sheroicportrayal.Whenwe add to this situation hefactthat Markobehaves (to put it mildly) idiosyncratically hroughout he cycle oftales thatmemorializeshis adventures-often perpetratinguch unheroicdeeds ascholerically relieving a woman of her head or appendages,refusingto takeup achallengewhen confronted,andcomplainingquiteopenly of his problems-webegin to understand ow this tale mightcontain as manysuggestionsof qualifiedor flawed heroism as of untaintedheroicapotheosis.So much for the qualityandmoodof MarkoKraljevicandMusa theHigh-wayman;buthow are suchintangiblesexpressed angibly n an idiomdesignedtocontinueandpreserve hetellingof tales? Oral iterature esearchandscholarshiphave led us to believe that the strengthof the traditionalmethod-its veryraisond'etre-lies in following preexistingpatterns ather hancreating hemanew.Par-ticularlyin Homeric studies, where such researchbegan, scholars lean towardexplicatingthe narrative n the basis of a limited numberof genericframes,andlean stronglyagainstadmittingany text thatlooks "new" or "creative" to thehallowed canonof traditional ompositions.Butherewe apparently avethe im-possible:a unique song thatwe know to have been composedwithinanoral tra-dition by a Serbianguslar. Once again, then, how and, to return o our initialemphasis, in whatkindsof units is the song composed?Perhapswe recognize alreadywhat seem to be eithervestiges of orscattereddetails associated with the ReturnSong pattern,even thoughthe song itself iscertainlynot a memberof the epic subgenreof Return.Forexample, Markohasbeenimprisoned or a considerableperiod;when he emerges,he looksverymuchlike hundredsof othercognateheroeswho have long languished n captivity.Herequires ime forbarbering,eatinganddrinking,andgeneralrecuperation eforehe can answer the tsar's call to rid the land of the threatrepresentedby Musa.Readers or listeners)well versed in theReturnSongandother raditional atternswill also recognize moreminorsignals:the tsar'ssearchfor a substitute,a ubiq-uitous themepresentin virtuallyall modes of epic in SouthSlavic; the mentionof Marko's bones rotting,always a concernor partof a threat n dealingwith the



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imprisonedhero(cf. Foley 1978:7-8);16 notherubiquitous heme,thatof armingthe hero;and the verbaltrickery,this time imaged in Marko'scomplaintto thevila, usedby thehero in defeatinghis foe. As a generalprinciple,what confrontsus is neither a wholly invented narrativenor anotherexampleof an expectablewhole, but rathera new storybasedupona fresh combinationof highlytraditionalunits. That is, while the quality, mood, and even sequence of actions may beconstruedas originalor individual,the primamateria hatconstitute hatquality,mood, and sequence are to be found serving myriadother narrativepurposesthroughout he survivingcorpusof South Slavic epic.In terms of themethodologydescribedandexemplifiedabove, we encounterin MarkoKraljevicand Musa the Highwaymana narrative hatmakes sense initself anddrawsdeepermeaningfromextratextual ontextscalled intoplayby thestructures hat make up the song. In orderto trackthrough he storywith some-thingapproaching he properdegree of understanding,we must make use of theReturnSong mapand of otherepic mapsthattheguslarPodrugovichasprovidedfor us. If we fail to recognizethe importanceof thesemapsfor ourreadingof thetext, for ourextrapolationof text to experiencedwork, thenwe fail to fulfill thereading mperative.Let us then rereada portionof the song, illustratinghow theprocess of logically construing his oral traditional ext depends cruciallyon re-cognizing the metonymicrepresentationswe have calledreadingsignals.

After the reportof Musa's blockade and the defeat of the imperialarmy,therange of narrativeoptions narrowsto the familiar "Search for a Substitute"theme. Absolutelypredictably, he tsar's call for a championresultsin a numberof warriorswilling to trythe renegadeMusa but none who is able to defeathim,and the Turkishsovereign is plunged yet deeperinto despairthrough his tradi-tional device. At this point, preciselywhen the hero-to-bemagicallyturnsup inmost versionsof thetheme, the tsar'svizierbroaches hepossibilityof animpris-oned Christian andthereforeenemy) hero, MarkoKraljevic.Thus it is thatPo-drugovicintegrates he "Search for a Substitute"theme, the imprisonedhero ofthe ReturnSong pattern,and the ambiguoussituationof the Christianenemy inthe Turkishcampat one andthe same narrativenexus, and the resultis resonantwithpredictiveovertones.First, since the searchhasreacheda dead endand thenculminatedin the stock "unconsideredpossibility," poetic traditionforecastssuccess for the designatedindividual,whoever he may be. Second, if this indi-vidual is still alive at the bottomof the hatefulprison, and if he is released andbroughtback to health, poetic traditionargueshis ultimateReturnandRetribu-tion;it maybe indirector slow in comingabout,but traditionwouldprescribe hatsuccess will be his, whoever he may be. Against these sureties,thatis, againstthepromiseof metonymicreadingsignals, we hear hatnotonly is Markoa Chris-tiancaptive, but he is also unlikelyto have survivedhis three-yearncarceration.Andeven if he does live, the story argues,he mayormaynotbe willing to servehis captor.Signalsarethen added o signals, as thewoebegoneMarkoemergesfrom hiscell to speakwith the tsar and vizier. In the manner ypicalof prisoners n ReturnSongs, his overgrownhair and nails image the long Absence and Devastation



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throughwhich he has suffered, andhis shrunkenbody is afflictedby the memlaso characteristically featureof Turkishprisons n suchsongs. If this were a Re-turnSong, the next majoraction would consist of the released hero's Return ohis homeland,with his bedraggledappearance ervingas a disguise by means ofwhich he could avoidrecognitionwhile he tested thefidelityof his wife andcom-patriots.Butwhile thenarrativedoes not follow thispattern, heReturnmap,withits carefullydrawn and powerfully metonymictopography,directs the programand process of the story. The prisoner'sappearance/disguises only one moreindication hathe will accomplishsome sort of Retribution, ven if thatrevengeis undertakenor the sake of the enemy tsar.Marko'srecuperation,aided by sustenance hat traditionmarks as ritualis-tic,17comes along well, but after threemonths the tsarlearns thathis substitutehero is notyet ready.Theexchangebetweenthe twofigures lines 105-123, trans-latedabove) illustrates he mutualattractionbetweenmythicpatternand folklor-istic detail, as Markoessentially aligns the annualvernal Returnwith his own;not, he says, until the sap flows in the branchesof the dogwood (and, symboli-cally, springhas once morearrived)will he venture orthon thetsar's errand.Or,to put it at once more immediatelyand moremythically,the flowing of the sapandresuscitationof life in the dogwoodwill imagehis recuperationromimpris-onmentand the attackof the memla. Whenone considersAlbertLord'sproposal(1972) that he Returnpatterns basedon the seasonaland sacralmythof thedyinggod who returns o life, as well as the numeroussignalsof both deathandstag-nationsurrounding he prisonand of life andrevivificationsurrounding eleasefromcaptivity,'8it is easier to understandhe power of the ReturnSong patternimbedded n this song andto sense how Marko'striumph, houghcharacteristi-cally qualified,is inevitable.19In virtuallyall epic songs in South Slavic tradition,whetherwithinthe Re-turngenreor not, the hero about to embarkon a quest goes through he requisitearmingscene beforedeparture,and this storydoes notdeviatefrom thatstandard.Marko'sarmingconsists of a visit to Novak, the South Slavic equivalentof theGermanicWelund or ancient GreekHephaistos,to procurea "special weapon"appropriateo the task(cf. Lord1976). While thusfarthe visit echoes numerousotherarmingmotifs, the peculiarnatureof Marko'sconfrontationwith the smithemphasizesin its departure romexpectationthe peculiarnatureof Marko'sad-venture.The sword he receives from Novak is only second best to Musa'ssword(a reflex of the rankingof heroes later made by Markohimself), and Marko'stypically intemperateamputationof Novak's armbreaksthe traditionalpatternonce again. Workingwithinhis tradition,andtakingfull advantageof its extra-textualechoes, the singer Podrugovichas it bothways: once again, the ultimatemessage is that the hero will succeed, but the incongruityof detailprompts hereader o doubtthatall will be broughtabout n the usualway.Likewise, the verbaltrickeryentailedin Marko'sconversationwiththeviladraws contextualsignificancefrom the traditionas a relativelycommon meto-nym. Implyingthe kind of Athena-Odysseusprotectoratewe see in manytalesassociatedwith his heroic enterprises,Markocomplainsaloud thathis guardian



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has not fulfilled herpledgeto helphim in his timeof need. Andif we areeffective"readers," we mustagree: he traditionalbond betweenpreternaturalemaleallyandthe heroshehassworntoprotectdoes seemtobe violatedbythevila's chidingMarko orenteringa fighton Sundayandby her observation hatthetwo-against-one situationhe is requestingwould be unfair.But, as we shouldby this time havecome to expect, extratextual traditional)meaningwill out-one way or another.One line after her apparentrefusal to enter the fray she asks "Where are yoursnakes in hiding?" Only Marko and those familiarwith his cycle of tales knowthathe carries wo daggershidden n his belt, and,whileMusagazes at thecloudsand wonders about the disembodiedvoice from above, Marko uses his "secretsnakes" to wound his adversarymortally.The vila does indeed fulfill herrole ashelpmate,albeitduplicitously,and that which traditionhas taughtus to expect isin factbroughtabout. What s more,Podrugovic'saestheticcontrol s so surethattheguje, or snakes, foreshadow he viperthatwill awakein Musa's thirdheart odeliver his eulogy.In summary,then, in MarkoKraljevicandMusa theHighwaymanwe havean example of an apparentlyuntraditional ale told quitetraditionally.Althoughthe superficial torymay seem (andis) virtuallyunique n South Slavic narrative,the elements or units that make it up areubiquitous n tale-telling.Each unit-whetherthe imprisonment,appearance/disguise,and release from captivityas-sociatedwith the ReturnSong or the themesof searching or a substitute/cham-pion, arming,and intercessionby a female preternaturalhatare found in manytypesof songs-must be understoodas havingnotonly thetextualshapeencoun-tered n thisparticular ongbutalso, and much moreimportantly,heextratextualresonanceof recurrence n otherperformances hroughouthe audience'sexperi-ence. By metonymicreference to the wordhoardof tradition,each patterncallsinto play an expectable dynamics, againstwhich genericbackgroundhe partic-ularindividualdrama s playedout. Actions in this or anyothersong do not takeplace in an aesthetic or mythicvacuum,but rather n the fertilecontext of tradi-tional expectation. Podrugovicactively uses this natural ension of generic andspecific to poetic advantage,as he qualifiesthe hero's inevitablefateby makinghis expectedpassage from one situation o the next extremelyandunusuallydif-ficult, so that Marko'ssuperficiallyuncertain uturereflectsquitesensitivelytheambiguityof his forcedservice to theenemy. Inthis oralnarrativentheChristiantraditionas recordedby Vuk Karadzic,we have a fine illustrationof how aes-theticsand oral traditional tyle, far frombeing mutuallyexclusive as arguedbyso manyscholars,can mergeto producememorableworks of art.20

Epilogue: Some Implications for Other Traditional StructuresIf patterns uchas theReturnSong proveactive in thereader'sextrapolationof text to experiencedworkthrough heirmetonymicreference o tradition, s itnot logical thatothertraditional tructures r units shouldoperatesimilarly?Or,to putthe samematteranotherway, shouldnot the ormula andtheme,identifiedaboveas, respectively,thephraseologicalandnarrative uildingblocksof theoral



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poet's tectonicscheme, also conjure he extratextual ealityof the wordhoard ysynecdoche?Although t would notbe appropriateo discuss thesepossibilitiesatany length in the presentstudy, I would like to close with a few remarkson theextensionof thereader-response rReceptionalistmethodology o other evels oftraditional tructure.First, it seems clear that the theme, which as Lord has shown is botha unitin itself and a multiform appropriate o many sequences in traditionalsong(1960:68-98), brings with it a wealth of extratextual eference.Such a textualdatum,when properlyperceivedagainstthe subjectiveexperienceof an oral nar-rativetradition,forecastsboth immediateandlong-rangedevelopments.When-ever, forexample, we find a captivecmilinjeor "shouting,lamenting" n prison

in South Slavic epic, we can be relativelycertain that his loud and continuedracketwill keepthecaptor'sson(andusuallysole heir)fromsleepingandnursing,and that this turnof events will prompt he captor'swife to takedesperatemea-sures in orderto convince herhusband o aid in silencingthe noise. By the sametoken, this shoutingalso augurs heReturn,Retribution,andWeddingof the im-prisonedhero, however untowardhis presentsituationmay seem. The disparitybetweenthesegenericinevitabilitiesandstory-specificdevelopments s bothnom-inal andfunctional,since traditional xpectationswill somehowobtainandsinceour engagementas "readers" co-creatingthe work from the text may be con-struedas our activity in bridgingthe gaps betweenthe singer'sgenericthematicpatternand the idiosyncrasiesof the presentnarrative.Second, theold and bothersomeproblemof thenoun-epithetormulaand itspossibilitiesfor meaningcan be illuminatedby understandinghe phraseologicalmetonymas likewise a key to the wordhoard.We need notsettle for eitherof thetwo conventionalexplanationsof such combinationsas "swift-footedAchilles"or "blamelessAegisthus," thatis, eitherforthe view thatsuchnoun-epithetor-mulasaresimplymetricalfillerswith no specialcontentother thanthepersonorgod they name or for the contradictory pinionthatthey are somehow context-sensitive. Ratherwe can recognize that a phraselike "swift-footed Achilles"calls to narrativeprominencenotjust one featureof the herobut his entireheroicpersonality.By synecdoche, by referenceto tradition, he effect of this kind ofrecurrentphraseis to epitomize the mythic identityof Achilles in, as it were, ashorthand r code, anda code pregnantwith extratextualmeaning.Whether heAchaeanherois racingafootor sulkingin his tent, the formula s universallyap-plicable-not becauseit bearsonly a dilutedgenericmeaningor can somehowbemade to resonatein immediatecontext, butbecause the heroic identityit meto-nymically summonsis always and everywhere applicableand active. We readsuch "counters" best when we recognize theirdynamicrole in the traditionalnetworkof ideas andactions(see furtherFoley In Pressb, In Pressc).All of theexamplescitedabove, then,pointtowardessentiallythe samecon-clusion:namely, that the unitsof oral traditionalnarrativemustbe addressednotas objectiveentitiescompletein themselvesbutas necessarily ncompletecues tobe contextualizedby an audience'ssubjectiveparticipationn thetale-tellingpro-cess. Withoutthatsubjective participation, tself the productof priorexperience



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with other performances, the gaps between generic pattern and story-specific de-tails cannot be closed, simply because the "reader" will not interpret the presentstory against the background of the patternthat both diachronically and synchron-ically gives it life and meaning. Once these gaps are made apparent by an ac-quaintance with the extratextual significance of such structures, the reader's im-perative is to solve the riddle of closing them. In the process, of course, he be-comes engaged in faithful interpretation of the text, that is, in making that textinto an experienced work. And that process, as we have seen, operates on alllevels as a general phenomenon of interpretation: the story-pattern provides a mapfor construing the narrative as a whole, the theme forecasts further developmentsboth immediate and long-range, and the noun-epithet formula reaches far beyondits metrical slot to the mythic identity of its phraseological designate. In this wayall such units find completion only outside of the nominal texts in which we meetthem, and consequently our successful reading of traditional units and the worksthey embody depends crucially on our own extratextual experience.2' But with aknowledge of the oral narrative tradition we are studying, and with the realizationthat the ultimate meaning of unit and work lie outside the text in the collectivityof the wordhoard, we can indeed embark on a faithful reading of an oral traditionaltext, one that does justice to the many-layered and resonant work of art.

Notes'For anintroductory istoryof these issues anda systematicbibliography, ee Foley 1985,whichcontainsovernineteenhundred tems in more than90 languageareas hrough1982.The bibliographywill be updatedannually n the thirdnumberof thejournalOral Tradi-tion.2Fora bibliographyon studies of story patternand the ReturnSong, see Foley 1980:174,n. 5, to which shouldbe addedFoley 1979a and Parks 1981. In regard o this andothermultiform ale-types,Lord(1969:18) states:"My basicassumptions that n oraltraditionthereexist narrativepatterns hat, no matterhow muchthe storiesbuilt around hem seemto vary, have great vitality and function as organizingelements in the compositionandtransmissionof oral storytexts." The Returnsequence, to be describedandexemplifiedbelow, is one of the most common of thesepatterns.3Themost thoroughavailable summaryof the early Parry-Lord ollection trips is Lord1951. The materialthey recordedhas been depositedin the MilmanParryCollectionofOralLiterature t HarvardUniversity,andselections have beenpublished n Parry,Lord,and Bynum 1953-. Vuk Stefan Karadzicpublishedthe first five volumes of his Srpskenarodnepjesmebetween 1841 and 1862;they areconvenientlyavailable n the 1969 edi-tion by VladanNedic.4Fora surveyof the early stages of this field, see Mailloux 1977. Important ontributionsincludemanyworksby Hans RobertJaussandWolfgangIser;amongthose most readilyavailable areJauss 1974 and Iser 1971, 1974a, 1974b.5Hedescribes such gaps as "the 'unwritten'partof a text [that]stimulatesthe reader'screativeparticipation" 1971:280).



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6On he significanceof theritualcontestinvolved, see Ong 1981 on the "agonisticnoetic"andits cultural unction. As will be explainedbelow, the Returnsequenceneed not endwithElementW, that s, withthe herodiscoveringhis wife's fidelityand theirconsequentremarriage; e may find that she has been unfaithfulandrespond n quiteanotherway. Onthis secondpossibility, see Foley 1980:134-136.7From hispointon I use the term"reading"and its related orms to indicatea subjectiveparticipant's pprehensionof a work, whether hat work be experienced n the form mostconventional or us (a book or perhapseven a learned ournal)or in the form of oralper-formance,as was the case for the Homericpoems-at least originally. See furtherLord1960, Ong 1982, andFoley 1977.8Kukuruzovic's ecordedrepertoirereveals a single-partsong equivalentto Part I of theamalgamand anotherequivalent o PartII.9Fora discussion of the parameters f comparison,see Foley 1981band 1983.'lMarkoKraljevici Musa Kesedzija, text from Karadzic1841, vol. 2, no. 66 (pp. 251-256); Englishtranslationmine."I note brieflythatanotherdifference betweenthis type of shorterChristian ong and theMoslem epic of Basic andKukuruzovi6, n additionto the possibilityof what we mightcall "sophisticated"artisticcraftin the Christiangenre, is that the longer song's functionas what Eric Havelock has called the "tribalencyclopedia"of culturalattitudes,beliefs,andso on could not be performed to anythingresembling he samedegree) by the shortersong.t2Theopening scene in a tavern,markedby the first-line ormula "Vinopije X" ("X is/was drinkingwine"), serves as the beginning of countless songs in both ChristianandMoslemepic tradition.Far frombeing a staticcommonplace,however, sucha scene im-plies importantaction on the narrativehorizon.'3Customarilyuch a search is mountedby a leader n severetrouble,andonly after con-ventionalmethods for defeating an adversaryhave failed. Many prospectivechampionsanswer the call, and all are defeatedby the opponent.After the potentialsubstitutesareexhausted,anunwittingor at leastunexpected ndividualappears n the sceneand,throughsome sort of transformation, rovesworthyto takeup the gauntlet.14Benson1971) defines memla as "humidity" or "stale air," and Recnik srpskohrvat-skogaknjizevnog ezika as "vlaga;vlazan, usmajaovazduh"or "dampness;moist, staleair," and metaphoricallyas "nezdravna duhovnaatmosfera,ucmalost" or "unhealthyspiritualatmosphere, anguor." The memla is understoodas a disease-bearing aporthatemanates rom the dankbottomof the Turkishcell, andshould be comparedwith the Ser-bian folk conceptof the nine ill winds that bear a varietyof maladies(see KerewskyHal-pernandFoley 1978).15That s, the top of the house as opposedto the bottomof the prison, where the memlaoriginates.16ThusSvetozar Koljevic's (1980:196-197) argument hat "the descriptionof Marko's'rottingbones' in the prisoncomes from the storyabout'Akir the Wise' which was wellknown n Serbianmedievalliterature"s both correct npointing o ananalogandmistakenin treating hatanalogas theuniquesource.In thelargercontext,this notionof aprisoner's



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Foley, JohnMiles1977 The TraditionalOral Audience. BalkanStudies 18:145-154.1978 The TraditionalStructureof Ibro Basic's "Alagic Alija and Velagic Selim."Slavic and EastEuropeanJournal22:1-14.1979a Narrativity n Beowulf, the Odyssey,andthe Serbo-CroatianReturnSong. In

Proceedingsof the IXthCongressof the InternationalComparativeLiteratureAsso-ciation. ZoranKonstantinovic,WarrenAnderson,andWalterDietze, eds. Pp. 295-301. Innsbruck:Universityof Innsbruck.1979b Epic andCharm n Old EnglishandSerbo-CroatianOralPoetry.ComparativeCriticism2:71-92.1980 Beowulfand TraditionalNarrativeSong:The Potentialand Limits of Compari-son. In Old EnglishLiteraturen Context:Ten Essays. John D. Niles, ed. Pp. 117-136, 173-178. London andTotowa, NJ: BrewerandRowman& Littlefield.198 a OralTexts, TraditionalTexts:Poetics and CriticalMethods.Canadian-Ameri-can Slavic Studies 15:122-145.198 b Umetnost tradicijau srpskoj staroengleskojnarativnoj oeziji. Knjizevna s-

torija14:3-24.1983 LiteraryArt andOralTraditionn OldEnglishand SerbianPoetry. Anglo-SaxonEngland12:183-214.1984 EditingOralEpic Texts:Theoryand Practice.Text 1:75-94.In Press a The Oral Traditionin Literature:nterpretationn Context. J. M. Foley,ed. Columbia:Universityof MissouriPress.In Press b Reading the Oral TraditionalText: Aestheticsof CreationandResponse.In Current ssues in OralLiteratureResearch:A Memorial or MilmanParry.J. M.Foley, ed. Columbus,OH: Slavica.InPress c Formula in Yugoslav andComparativeFolkEpic:Structure nd Function.Bealoideas.

Havelock, EricA.1963 Prefaceto Plato. Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress.1982 The LiterateRevolution in Greece and Its CulturalConsequences.Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress.1983 TheLinguisticTask of the Presocratics. nLanguageandThought nEarlyGreekPhilosophy.KevinRobb, ed. Pp. 7-82. LaSalle, IL: The HegelerInstitute.Hormann,Kosta, ed.1888-89 Narodnepjesme muslimanau Bosni i Hercegovini.2 vols. Zagreb:MaticaHrvatska.

Iser, Wolfgang1971 Indeterminacy nd the Reader'sResponsein Prose Fiction. In Aspectsof Nar-rative. J. Hillis Miller, ed. Pp. 1-45. New York:ColumbiaUniversityPress.1974a The ImpliedReader:Patternsof Communicationn Prose Fiction fromBunyanto Beckett. Baltimore:JohnsHopkinsUniversityPress.1974b The ReadingProcess:A PhenomenologicalApproach.In New DirectionsinLiteraryHistory.Pp. 125-145. Baltimore:JohnsHopkinsUniversityPress.Jauss,HansRobert1974 LiteraryHistoryas a Challengeto LiteraryTheory.ElizabethBenzinger,transl.In New Directions n LiteraryHistory. Pp. 11-41. Baltimore:JohnsHopkinsUniver-

sity Press.Karadzic,Vuk Stefan, coll. anded.



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1841- Srpskenarodnepjesme.VladanNedic, ed. Belgrade:Prosveta.(Reprinted1969,Belgrade:Prosveta.)Kelber,WernerH.1983 The Oral and the WrittenGospel:The Hermeneutics f SpeakingandWriting nthe SynopticTradition,Mark,Paul, andQ. Philadelphia:FortressPress.Kellogg, RobertL.1974 OralLiterature.New LiteraryHistory5:55-66.KerewskyHalpern,BarbaraFoley, and John Miles Foley1978 The Power of the Word:HealingCharmsas anOralGenre. Journal f AmericanFolklore 91:903-924.Koljevic, Svetozar1980 The Epic in the Making.Oxford:ClarendonPress.Kulisic, Spiro, et al.1970 Srpskimitoloski recnik. Belgrade:Nolit.Lord,Albert B.1951 Yugoslav Epic FolkPoetry.International olk MusicJournal3:57-61.1960 The Singer of Tales. Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress. (Reprinted1968,New York:Atheneum.)1969 The Theme of the WithdrawnHeroin Serbo-CroatianOralEpic. Priloziza knji-zevnost, jezik, istoriju folklor 35:18-30.1972 The Effect of the TurkishConqueston BalkanEpicTradition. n Aspectsof the

Balkans:Continuityand Change. HenrikBirbaum and Speros Vryonis, eds. Pp.298-318. The Hague:Mouton.1976 The TraditionalSong. In Oral Literatureandthe Formula.BenjaminA. StolzandRichardS. Shannon,eds. Pp. 1-15. Ann Arbor:Center orCoordination f An-cient andModer Studies.Mailloux, Steven1977 Reader-ResponseCriticism?Genre 10:413-31.Marjanovi6,Luka,ed.1898 Hrvatskenarodnepjesme. Vols. 3-4. Zagreb:MaticaHrvatska.Nagy, Gregory

1979 The Best of the Achaeans:Conceptsof the Hero in ArchaicGreekPoetry.Bal-timore:JohnsHopkins UniversityPress.Ong, Walter1967 The Presenceof the Word: Some Prolegomena or CulturalandReligious His-tory. New Haven: Yale UniversityPress. (Reprinted1970, New York: Simon andSchuster;1981, Minneapolis:Universityof MinnesotaPress.)1981 Fightingfor Life: Contest, Sexuality, andConsciousness.Ithaca:Cornell Uni-

versityPress.1982 OralityandLiteracy:The Technologizingof theWord.London andNew York:Methuen.Parks,WalterWard1981 GenericIdentityandthe Guest-HostExchange:A Studyof ReturnSongs in theHomeric and Serbo-CroatianTraditions.Canadian-Americanlavic Studies 15:24-41.Parry,Milman1937 AboutWingedWords.ClassicalPhilology 32:59-63.Parry,Milman,Albert B. Lord,and David E. Bynum



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1953- Serbo-CroatianHeroic Songs (Srpskohrvatkeunacke pjesme).Vols. 1-4, 6,14. Cambridge:HarvardUniversityPress;Belgrade:SerbianAcademyof Sciences(copublishers,vols. 1 and2).Renoir,Alain1976 OralTheme and WrittenTexts. NeuphilologischeMitteilungen77:337-346.1981 Oral-FormulaicContext:Implications ortheComparativeCriticismof Mediae-val Texts. In Oral TraditionalLiterature:A Festschrift orAlbertBatesLord, 2d ed.J. M. Foley, ed. Columbus,OH: Slavica.Recniksrpskohrvatskoga njizevnog ezika1967 Novi Sad andZagreb:MaticaSrpskaand MaticaHrvatska. Reprinted1982.)Segal, CharlesP.1982 Tragedie,oralitd,ecriture.VincentGiroud,French ransl.InGenealogiesde l'e-criture,(special issue) Poetique50:131-154.Vivante, Paolo1982 The Epithets n Homer:A Studyin Poetic Values. New Haven:Yale UniversityPress.

foley tradtion and collective talent

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