Oral-Formulaic Theory: Annotated Bibliography

Douglas J. McMillan. "A Survey of Theories Concerning the Oral Transmission of the Traditional Ballad." Southern Folklore Quarterly, 28:229-309.

A historical survey of four basic trends, with oral transmission seen as (1) primarily a deteriorating process, (2) primarily a re-creating process, (3) both a deteriorating and a re-creating process, with neither aspect predominant, and (4) a phenomenon receptive to special studies of various kinds. Under the fourth category he includes the work of J.H. Jones (1961), who applies the scholarship of Parry and Lord to the ballad tradition.
Area: FB, BR