An astonishingly rich oral epic that chronicles the early history of a Bedouin tribe, the Sirat Bani Hilal has been performed for almost a thousand years. In this ethnography of a contemporary community of professional poet-singers, Dwight F. Reynolds reveals how the epic tradition continues to provide a context for social interaction and commentary. Reynolds’s account is based on performances in the northern Egyptian village in which he studied as an apprentice to a master epic-singer. Reynolds explains in detail the narrative structure of the Sirat Bani Hilal as well as the tradition of epic singing. He sees both living epic poets and fictional epic heroes as figures engaged in an ongoing dialogue with audiences concerning such vital issues as ethnicity, religious orientation, codes of behavior, gender roles, and social hierarchies.

Si rat Bani Hilal, the oral epic of the Bani Hilal tribe, recounts the 10th-cent ury migration of this Bedouin tribe from their homeland in the Arabian peninsula to North Africa, their conquest of the region of Ifri qiya, and their eventual defeat at the hands of the Moroccan Almohad dynasty in the mid-12th century. The se historical events have given rise to a folk narrative tradition found through out the Arab world. This dissertation focuses on the social life of this epic-si nging tradition within a single village, one which is home to the largest commun ity of hereditary epic poets known in the Arab world. The regional renown of thi s community of poets, and their social status as ghajar or Gypsies, sets into sh arp relief many of the social tensions which surround the role of epic poet in r ural Egyptian society. The dissertation is divided into three parts: (1) The Eth nography of a Poetic Tradition, (2) Composition, and (3) Textual and Performance Strategies. The first section presents a general ethnographic portrait of the v illage, followed by a detailed examination of the epic poet community and their relationship to the larger society in which they live. The implications of this relationship are then traced through various traditional contexts for epic-singi ng, the story of the epic itself, and recurring structures of social interaction observed in epic performances. The second section addresses the questions of ap prenticeship, transmission, and oral-formulaic composition; a several month peri od of apprenticeship was undertaken by the author in conducting this research. F inally, an examination of the epic as frame for social interaction and criticism is presented through the analysis of performance texts from a single context, t he sahra, or private evening gathering. The figures of (living) epic poets and ( fictional) epic heroes are presented as engaged in an on-going dialogue concerni ng honor, social status, and manhood, represented not only through the narrative of the epic, but also in the parallel 'ways of speaking' of poets and heroes.

This volume, a double issue of the CSANA Yearbook, containing articles from some of the leading scholars in Irish, Welsh, and medieval studies, honors Patrick K. Ford, the retiring Margaret Brooks Robinson Professor of Celtic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, and a founding member of the Celtic Studies Association of North America.

Byron’s and Shelley’s experimentation with the possibilities and pitfalls of poetic heroism unites their work. The Poet-Hero in the Work of Byron and Shelley traces the evolution of the poet-hero in the work of both poets, revealing that the struggle to find words adequate to the poet’s imaginative vision and historical circumstance is their central poetic achievement. Madeleine Callaghan explores the different types of poetic heroism that evolve in Byron’s and Shelley’s poetry and drama. Both poets experiment with, challenge and embrace a variety of poetic forms and genres, and this book discusses such generic exploration in the light of their developing versions of the poet-hero. The heroism of the poet, as an idea, an ideal and an illusion, undergoes many different incarnations and definitions as both poets shape distinctive and changing conceptions of the hero throughout their careers.

Byron’s and Shelley’s experimentation with the possibilities and pitfalls of poetic heroism unites their work. The Poet-Hero in the Work of Byron and Shelley traces the evolution of the poet-hero in the work of both poets, revealing that the struggle to find words adequate to the poet’s imaginative vision and historical circumstance is their central poetic achievement. Madeleine Callaghan explores the different types of poetic heroism that evolve in Byron’s and Shelley’s poetry and drama. Both poets experiment with, challenge and embrace a variety of poetic forms and genres, and this book discusses such generic exploration in the light of their developing versions of the poet-hero. The heroism of the poet, as an idea, an ideal and an illusion, undergoes many different incarnations and definitions as both poets shape distinctive and changing conceptions of the hero throughout their careers.