Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

John H. McDowell. "The Mexican Corrido: Formula and Theme in a Ballad Tradition." Journal of American Folklore, 85:205-20.

Employs Parry-Lord theory to study this ballad tradition, with adjustments made for (1) shift in genre, (2) the nature of the ballad formula, and (3) the range of the corpus. Notes the role of memorization in this shorter form and describes the shape and flexibility of the formula and theme. Compares compositional units to those of epic and delineates a story-pattern for a typical corrido.
Area: HI, FB