Signs that Sing: Hybrid Poetics in Old English Verse

This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.

In Signs that Sing, Heather Maring argues that oral tradition, religious ritual, and literate Latin-based practices are dynamically interconnected in Old English poetry. Resisting the tendency to study these different forms of expression separately, this book contends that poets combined them in hybrid techniques that were important to the early development of English literature.

Maring examines a variety of texts, including Beowulf, The Battle of Maldon, The Dream of the Rood, and the Advent Lyrics, and shows how themes from oral tradition became metaphors for sacred concepts in the hands of Christian authors and how oral performance and religious liturgy influenced written poetry. The result, she demonstrates, is richly elaborate verse filled with shared symbols and themes that a wide range of audiences could understand and find meaningful.