Books
The Ballad and t h e Folk,
Northeast c o l l e c t o r s and
I
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by David Buchan. Pp. xii-326. Appendix of
c o l l e c t i o n s , bibliography, g e n e r a l index, glossary,
index of b a l l a d s , map.
London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972.
$15.00.
by Sandra Brown Eminov.
I n s p i r e d by c u r r e n t t r e n d s i n s t r u c t u r a l i s m and functionalism, David Buchan
has employed an e c l e c t i c approach i n t h i s e x c e l l e n t c o n t r i b u t i o n t o b a l l a d
scholarship. The b a l l a d t r a d i t i o n of one region i n Northeast Scotland, as
exemplified by i t s most outstanding p r a c t i t i o n e r s i n each of t h r e e periods,
i s viewed i n i t s s o c i a l - h i s t o r i c context (here, t h e influence of Linda Degh ' s
seminal work, F o l k t a l e s and Society, i s r e f l e c t e d ) . This t r a d i t i o n i s then
described s t r u c t u r a l l y , using t h e approach of Milman Parry and Albert Be Lord
he Singer -of ~ a l e s )as a b a s i s .
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M r . Buchan d i s t i n g u i s h e s t h r e e periods which correspond t o s t a g e s i n t h e
development of t h e Northeastern b a l l a d t r a d i t i o n . These periods a r e based
p r i m a r i l y on t h e e x t e n t of l i t e r a c y and p r i n t e d m a t e r i a l i n t h e region, b u t
h i s t o r i c a l , s o c i a l , and technological developments also a r e taken i n t o account. The b a l l a d t r a d i t i o n of t h e Northeast i s t h u s divided i n t o o r a l ,
t r a n s i t i o n a l , and modern periods.
A s f o r t h e s t r u c t u r e of t h e old ( o r a l ~ e r i o d )b a l l a d s , M r . Buchan d i s c e r n s
t h r e e major l e v e l s : s t a n z a i c ; c h a r a c t e r ; n a r r a t i v e . While t h e c h a r a c t e r
and n a r r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e s may be schematized f a i r l y e a s i l y , t h e s t a n z a i c
s t r u c t u r e i s p o t e n t i a l l y q u i t e complicated. The old Northeast b a l l a d s were
characterized by balances, a n t i t h e s e s , appositions, and p a r a l l e l i s m s ; s t r u c t u r e s , says Buchan, " i n t r i n s i c t o t h e o r a l mind" (p. 88). These s t r u c t u r a l
u n i t s permeate t h e b a l l a d s i n such frequent p a t t e r n s as plan and a c t , command and execution, question and answer. This 'binary' p r i n c i p l e operates
t o b u i l d up i n d i v i d u a l stanzas and p a i r s of stanzas.
Buchan a l s o emphasizes t h e tendency of o r a l l i t e r a t u r e t o g ; ~ o w . i t sm a t e r i a l
i n t h r e e s . This ' t r i n a r y ' f o r c e may occur as three-fold r e p e t i t i o n within
a stanza, a t r i a d of stanzas, o r i n a t r i a d of balancing stanzas. The trinary p r i n c i p l e i s found t o be an important method through which t h e o r a l
a r t i s t dramatically expands t h e b a r e e s s e n t i a l s of h i s / h e r ballad- s t o r y .
Along with t h e balances and t r i a d s , a t h i r d major aspect of b a l l a d construct i o n i s t h e 'frame': "1n i t s simplest forms a frame c o n s i s t s of a balancing
p a i r of stanzas which f l a n k a s i n g l e stanza o r a balance o r a t r i a d . The
complete u n i t , a framed balance o r t r i a d , i s what normally c o n s t i t u t e s a b a l k
l a d scene" (p. 95). The frame, then, shapes t h e b a l l a d i n t o manageable u n i t s .
It holds t h e b a l l a d m a t e r i a l together l i k e "a p a i r of a u r a l bookends" (p. 96).
E s s e n t i a l n a r r a t i v e i n g r e d i e n t s are contained i n t h e s e frames, while intervening stanzas f l e s h out t h e s t o r y b u t a r e not necessary t o t h e f u r t h e r i n g
of t h e p l o t . Combining Idre Buchants concept of frame with a phrase coined
by Gummere, then, w e might say t h a t it i s from frame t o frame t h a t t h e b a l lad-story "leaps and l i n g e r s . "
The s t a n z a i c p a t t e r n s described above may occur i n much more co~nplicated
forms, while c h a r a c t e r and n a r r a t i v e s t r u c t u r e s a r e developed concurrently
during t h e course of an o r a l r e - c r e a t i o n of t h e ballad-story.
The o r a l
mind, which can simultaneously generate b a l l a d s t r u c t u r e on t h r e e l e t r e l s ,
must possess a mode of s p a t i a l apprehension, says Buchan, q u i t e f o r e i g n t o
t h e l i t e r a t e mind, which orders i d e a s i n l i n e a r and s e q u e n t i a l p a t t e r n s . f i
major t h e s i s of The Ballad --and t h e Folk i s t h a t an almost-unbridgeable gep
e x i s t s between t h e s e two ways of thinking: t h e l i t e r a t e mind, imprisoned by
ways of thinking and terminology which a r e rooted i n t h e written-word, hasd i f f i c u l t y i n grasping t h e e s s e n t i a l processes of t h e o r a l mind. A s s t u d e n t s
of o r a l b a l l a d r y , we must attempt t o bridge t h i s gap, f o r it i s t o t h e spst i a l apprehension of t h e n o n - l i t e r a t e mind t h a t we owe t h e c o n s t r u c t i o ~and,
a e s t h e t i c q u a l i t y of t h e ' o l d ' b a l l a d s .
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Buchan i n v e s t i g a t e s t h e o r a l mode of composition through t h e corpus of P&s.
Brown of Falkland. I n t h e l i g h t of The Singer of 9-Tales -he surmises t h a t
t h e ballad-maker o r i g i n a l l y learned h i s / E t i n much t h e same way as t h e
Yugoslavian e p i c s i n g e r , u t i l i z i n g t h e technique of o r a l r e - c r e a t i v e compos i t i o n before an audience only a f t e r a period of apprenticeship. This o r a l
r e - c r e a t i o n was a d i s c i p l i n e d , well-structured technique f o r instantaneous
composition.
I n subsequent chapters, Buchan hypothesizes a t r a n s i t i o n a l period during
which t h e o r a l technique was breaking down. An a n a l y s i s of t h e b a l l a d s of
James Nicol r e v e a l s t h a t , although they a r e s t i l l "loosely r e - c r e a t i v e f t
(p. 243), t h e y l a c k t h e t r a d i t i o n a l s t r u c t u r a l p a t t e r n i n g s ; t h e framing
device has atrophied. This, says Buchan, i s evidence t h a t t h e f o l k " l o s t
t h e i r sense of t h e b a l l a d as a s p a t i a l l y r e l a t e d e n t i t y and began t o s e e it
as s e q u e n t i a l l y r e l a t e d u - (p. 2 3 0 ) .
I n t h e modern period, seen through t h e b a l l a d s of B e l l Robertson, t h e t r a n s i t i o n t o r o t e memorization has been completed. The l i t e r a t e ballad-singer
l e a r n s b a n a d - t e x t s , b u t l a c k s t h e technique of o r a l composition. I n t h e
Northeast, t h e f o l k t u r n t h e i r c r e a t i v e energies i n o t h e r d i r e c t i o n s .
M r . ~ u c h a n ' s main concern i n t h i s work i s t h e context, composition, and
s t r u c t u r e of t h e old b a l l a d s . H i s arguments, o f t e n s o p h i s t i c a t i o n s of
e a r l i e r t h e s e s , a r e most convincing when based on t h e concrete evidence
of h i s t o r i c a l o r t e x t u a l record. Occasionally, a s when he argues t h a t t h e
rhythms of t h e o r a l composition method "originated i n an elementary psychol o g i c a l need t o c o n t r o l t h e s t o r y material" (p. 142), t h e reader might long
f o r supporting evidence. Apart from infrequent l e a p s i n t o s u p e r f i c i a l psychologizing, however, Buchan's book i s t h o u g h t f u l l y a n a l y t i c a l . For b a l l a d
b u f f s , I should mention t h a t t h e author makes b r i e f forays i n t o s e v e r a l
controversies: t h e t r u s t w o r t h i n e s s of Peter Buchan's b a l l a d t e x t s ; whether
t h e f o l k o r i g i n a l l y distinguished a ' b a l l a d a r i s t o c r a c y ' ; more evidence
t h a t t h e couplet b a l l a d antedated t h e quatrain. However, it i s Buchan's
attempt t o understand o r a l composition i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e s t r u c t u r e and
a e s t h e t i c s of t h e old b a l l a d s t h a t makes t h i s book a major c o n t r i b u t i o n t o
r e c e n t b a l l a d scholarship.
and
Folk C l a s s i f i c a t i o n : A Topically Arranged Bibliography of Contemporary Background ~ efrences0~hrough
f
1971, by Harold C. ~ o n k l i z Pp. 501.
New Haven: Yale University Department of Anthropology, 1972. Paperback,
$4.00.