Editing Beowulf (section)

=== Debate over oral tradition ===
The question of whether ''Beowulf'' was passed down through [[oral tradition]] prior to its present [[manuscript]] form has been the subject of much debate, and involves more than simply the issue of its composition. Rather, given the implications of the theory of [[oral-formulaic composition]] and oral tradition, the question concerns how the poem is to be understood, and what sorts of interpretations are legitimate.<ref name="COLORING210-217">{{cite journal |last=Blackburn |first=F. A. |title=The Christian Coloring of Beowulf |journal=PMLA |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=210–217 |year=1897 |doi=10.2307/456133 |jstor=456133|s2cid=163940392 }}</ref><ref name="BENSON193-213">{{cite book |last=Benson |first=Larry D. |chapter=The Pagan Coloring of Beowulf |title=Old English Poetry: fifteen essays |pages=193–213 |year=1967 |editor-last=Creed |editor-first=R. P. |place=Providence, [[Rhode Island]] |publisher=Brown University Press}}</ref>{{Sfn|Lord|2000|p=198}}<ref name="Crowne 1960"/> In his landmark 1960 work, ''[[The Singer of Tales]]'', Albert Lord, citing the work of [[Francis Peabody Magoun]] and others, considered it proven that ''Beowulf'' was composed orally.{{Sfn|Lord|2000|p=198}} Later scholars have not all been convinced; they agree that "themes" like "arming the hero"{{Sfn|Zumthor|1984|pp=67–92}} or the "hero on the beach"<ref name="Crowne 1960">{{cite journal |last=Crowne |first=D. K. |title=The Hero on the Beach: An Example of Composition by Theme in Anglo-Saxon Poetry |journal=Neuphilologische Mitteilungen |volume=61 |year=1960}}</ref> do exist across Germanic works. Some scholars conclude that Anglo-Saxon poetry is a mix of oral-formulaic and literate patterns.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Benson |first=Larry D. |title=The Literary Character of Anglo-Saxon Formulaic Poetry |journal=Publications of the Modern Language Association |volume=81 |issue=5 |pages=334–341 |year=1966 |doi=10.2307/460821 |jstor=460821|s2cid=163959399 }}</ref> Larry Benson proposed that Germanic literature contains "kernels of tradition" which ''Beowulf'' expands upon.<ref>{{cite book |last=Benson |first=Larry D. |title=The Interpretation of Narrative |pages=1–44 |year=1970 |contribution=The Originality of ''Beowulf'' |place=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=Harvard University Press}}</ref><ref name="Foley">Foley, John M. ''Oral-Formulaic Theory and Research: An Introduction and Annotated Bibliography''. New York: Garland, 1985. p. 126</ref> Ann Watts argued against the imperfect application of one theory to two different traditions: traditional, Homeric, oral-formulaic poetry and Anglo-Saxon poetry.<ref name="Foley" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Watts |first=Ann C. |title=The Lyre and the Harp: A Comparative Reconsideration of Oral Tradition in Homer and Old English Epic Poetry |page=124 |year=1969 |place=New Haven, Connecticut |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-00797-8}}</ref> Thomas Gardner agreed with Watts, arguing that the ''Beowulf'' text is too varied to be completely constructed from set formulae and themes.<ref name="Foley"/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Gardner |first=Thomas |title=How Free Was the ''Beowulf'' Poet? |journal=Modern Philology |year=1973 |volume=71 |issue=2 |pages=111–127|doi=10.1086/390461 |s2cid=161829597 }}</ref> [[John Miles Foley]] wrote that comparative work must observe the particularities of a given tradition; in his view, there was a fluid continuum from traditionality to textuality.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foley |first=John Miles |title=The Theory of Oral Composition: History and Methodology |pages=109ff |year=1991 |place=Bloomington |publisher=IUP}}</ref>