Cecil Maurice Bowra
Description
In preliterate societies poetry rarely exists apart from melody to which it is chanted or sung, the two elements forming an indissoluble whole except
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for purposes of analysis. Students of literature will find this work a stimulating and provocative study of the origins of poetry. Five stages in the evolutionary process of primitive song are recognized by the author: first, the single meaningless line, like that of the Yamana; second, the single intelligible line, which is often repeated to make its impact felt; third, lines accumulated either in a straightforward sequence or to make a single stanza; fourth, stanzas accumulated as the accompanying dance is repeated, or single lines expanded into larger units; and fifth, the accumulation of stanzas and the arrangement of songs into coherent sections or cycles.
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