Repetition in Old Norse Eddic Poetry: Poetic Style, Voice, and Desire
Repetition in Old Norse Eddic Poetry: Poetic Style, Voice, and Desire Peter Benedict Sandberg University College London PhD in Scandinavian Studies January 2018 1 I, Peter Benedict Sandberg, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 Abstract This thesis examines the use of repetition as a poetic device in Old Norse Eddic verse from a primarily stylistic point of view. Previous studies have noted the prominence of repetition as a feature of Eddic poetry, but without engaging in an in-depth analysis of the use and significance of Eddic repetition as this thesis does. The analysis begins at the level of syntax in the Eddic strophe, establishing in the first place the syntactic formulae that constitute the most basic building blocks of repetition in Eddic poetry, focusing closely on individual lines and strophes from a broad range of texts. From there the analysis follows the increasing complexity of Eddic repetition, moving from pure syntax to the use of deictic markers in dialogic repetition, as well as the distinct yet clearly related style of repetition of individual words in Eddic poems. These strands of analysis are finally synthesized in the examination of the sophisticated programs of repetition in certain individual poems, particularly Skírnismál and Vǫlundarkviða. Through an analysis of the stylistic structure of repetition in these texts, a completely new reading and fresh understanding of them is possible. The methodological basis of the thesis is close reading and linguistic and stylistic analysis, with extensive reference to a wide range of linguistic, literary, and critical theory.
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