Tradition and Influence in Anglo-Saxon Literature

Transcription

1 Tradition and Influence in Anglo-Saxon Literature

2 Previous publications by Michael D. C. Drout Print Beowulf and the Critics by J.R.R. Tolkien (editor). How Tradition Works: A Meme-Based Cultural Poetics of the Anglo-Saxon Tenth Century. J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment (editor). Beowulf and the Critics by J.R.R. Tolkien, Revised and Extended Edition (editor). Tolkien Studies, volumes 1 10 (coeditor). Drout s Quick and Easy Old English Audio Rings, Swords and Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature. From Here to Infi nity: Science Fiction. A Way With Words: Rhetoric, Writing and the Art of Persuasion. The History of the English Language. A Way With Words II: Approaches to Literature. Beowulf : Masterpiece Library. Old English Edition. Beowulf Aloud. A Way With Words III: Grammar for Adults. A Way With Words IV: The Understanding Poetry. Anglo-Saxon Aloud: Greatest Hits. The Anglo-Saxon World. Tolkien and the West: Reclaiming Europe s Lost Literary Tradition. The Norsemen: Understanding the Vikings and their Culture.

3 Tradition and Inf luence in Anglo-Saxon Literature An Evolutionary, Cognitivist Approach Michael D. C. Drout

4 TRADITION AND INFLUENCE IN ANGLO-SAXON LITERATURE Copyright Michael D. C. Drout, Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition All rights reserved. First published in 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number , of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN ISBN (ebook) DOI / Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Drout, Michael D. C., 1968 Tradition and influence in Anglo-Saxon literature: an evolutionary, cognitivist approach / Michael D. C. Drout. pages cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. English literature Old English, ca History and criticism Theory, etc. 2. English language Old English, ca Texts. 3. Civilization, Anglo-Saxon, in literature. 4. Civilization, Medieval, in literature. 5. England Civilization To Exeter book. 7. Memetics. I. Title. PR173.D dc A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: July

5 Die Kette der Kultur und Aufklärung reicht aber sodann bis ans Ende der Erde. Johann Gottfried von Herder

6 For my teachers. Allen J. Frantzen John Miles Foley Peggy Knapp I have been remarkably fortunate in my academic career to have studied under a number of superb teachers. Although I worked most closely with Peggy, John, and Allen, I would not have had the capability to benefit from their instruction if I had not been well-prepared by the training and encouragement of others, who invested more time, energy, and kindness in me than any student could deserve. In particular I want to thank: Florence Mintz, Claflin School, Newtonville, MA. Eleanor Hamer, Ocean Township School, Ocean Township, NJ. Louis Madonna, Ocean Township Intermediate School, Ocean Township, NJ. Judith Busacca, Ocean Township Intermediate School, Ocean Township, NJ. Barbara Spencer, Ocean Township Intermediate School, Ocean Township, NJ. Elinor Stiller Feldman, Ocean Township Intermediate School, Ocean Township, NJ. Vicki Bejda, Ocean Township High School, Ocean Township, NJ. Ronald A. Ryner, Ocean Township High School, Ocean Township, NJ. George L. Ripley, Ocean Township High School, Ocean Township, NJ. Margot Livesey, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Martin Camargo, the University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO. Some of the research upon which this book draws (particularly material in chapter 2 ) was supported in part by two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Digital Humanities Start-Up Grant HD and Preservation and Access Grant PR Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

7 CONTENTS List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgments ix xi xiii Introduction Tradition and Inf luence 1 One A Theory of Influence 11 Two Influence and Its Detection with Lexomic Analysis 47 Three Cultural Selection Pressure: Mnemonic and Cognitive Aesthetics 83 Four Adaptive Landscapes, Cognitive Prototypes, and Genre 111 Five Application of the Theory: Genre and Adaptive Radiation in Poems of the Exeter Book 135 Six Authorship, Authors, and The Anxiety of Influence 171 Conclusion This View of Culture 211 Notes 217 Works Cited 265 Index 279

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9 F IGU R E S Simplified inf luence model Detailed inf luence model Plot of the relative frequency of blue and green in four texts Constructing a dendrogram (1) Constructing a dendrogram (2) Constructing a dendrogram (3) Sample dendrogram of three texts Relationship of Daniell to Azarias Dendrogram showing the results of cluster analysis of Daniell and Azarias Dendrogram showing the results of cluster analysis of Genesis Dendrogram showing the results of cluster analysis of Daniell Relationship of Latin sources of Daniell to the Anglo-Saxon poem Dendrogram showing the results of cluster analysis of Christ I, II and IIII Dendrogram showing the results of cluster analysis of Guthlac A and B Dendrogram showing the results of cluster analysis of the signed poems of Cynewulf plus Guthlac A and B Simplified authorial inf luence model Detailed authorial inf luence model Simplified representation of the morpho-semantic hierarchy in a poem Representation of feature interlink across levels of the morpho-semantic hierarchy in poems Representation of the relative fitness of morphotypes of Cædmon s Hymn, line 5 Skyscraper adaptive landscape An adaptive landscape populated with entities Entities trapped at local maxima in a rugged landscape Cognitive categorizations on two axes

10 x Figures 4.6 Simplified influence model Elaborated influence model A cognitive prototype influences the shape of an adaptive landscape Areas of morphospace that appear separate during a particular time interval are continuous if viewed historically Dendrogram of cluster analysis of the Booklet II poems Dendrogram of cluster analysis of the wisdom poems of the Exeter Book Representation of Clinamen in an adaptive landscape Representation of Tessera in an adaptive landscape Representation of Kenosis in an adaptive landscape Representation of Daemonization in an adaptive landscape Representation of Askesis in an adaptive landscape Representation of Apophrades in an adaptive landscape 203

11 TABLES 2.1 Number of appearances of blue and green in four hypothetical texts Relative frequencies of blue and green in four hypothetical texts List of poems by Booklet and Genre Features in Booklet II poems Canons of Wisdom poems according to three authorities 154

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13 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book was some years in the making, so I have had the chance to be helped by many people. Most of all I want to thank Jack Zipes, whose unexpected encouragement was a Tolkienian eucatastrophe: a sudden and unexpected turn of events that converts a looming disaster to a happy ending. I doubt there would be a book without his support. My research has been assisted by many institutions and people. Most important of these is Wheaton College, my academic home, which has not only given financial support but has surrounded me with excellent colleagues and remarkable students. I want especially to thank Provosts Susanne Woods, Molly Easo Smith, and Linda Eisenmann, who have put up with many requests and found creative ways to encourage research. I also thank the Mars, Hood, Arnold, and Gebbie families, whose generosity has enabled faculty student research collaborations that are in part reflected here. Colleagues Betsey Dyer, Beverly Lyon Clark, Sam Coale, Dana Polanichka, and Evie Staudinger have contributed to this work more than they know. Tom Dolack allowed me to read his research before its publication and suggested significant improvements to several of the chapters in this book. Two grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) supported the Lexomics project, which has borne so much fruit. I would like to thank Fran Jeffries, Wendy Faxon, and David Nerenberg for their help and patience. The Lexomics research arose out of Wheaton s innovative Connections curriculum and was jump-started by a Teagle Foundation grant. My research collaborators Mark D. LeBlanc and Michael J. Kahn turned a small classroom exercise into a successful, multi-year research project, and it is inspiring to work with and learn from them. Professors in Computer Science, Statistics, and English really can have fun working together! The support of the NEH allowed for two summers of research that have been the intellectual highlights of my academic career thus far. As well as thanking Mark and Mike, I want to thank the student research partners who accomplished so much: Donald Bass, Rosetta Berger, Emily Bowman, Phoebe Boyd, Elie Chauvet, Alisha Herbert, Namiko Hitotsubashi, Amos Jones, Courtney LaBrie, Richard Neal, Rachel Scavera, Leah Smith, and Shiqi Zhen. Visiting research students

14 xiv Acknowledgments Douglas Raffle, Veronica Kerekes, and Carol Mannix also contributed to the project s successes. The members of the Fall 2011 Tradition and Influence senior seminar, by reading the book in draft and engaging with and challenging its ideas, made Tradition and Influence significantly better (sorry about the 27 red panda references on one page!). Thanks to Mary Bisbee, Emily Bowman, Phoebe Boyd, Dawson Durrett, Simone Hartwell-Ishikawa, Namiko Hitotsubashi, John Kramer, Mackenzie Morris, Laura Norton, Kristin Petroff, Ann Rosenblad, Rachel Scavera, and Bridget Swift. Thanks also to the Fall 2006 One Seminar to Rule Them All, whose questions about How Traditon Works got the present volume started. Colleagues at other institutions have also helped me with encouragement and good criticism. Thanks to Tom Shippey, Helen Damico, Damian Fleming, and Britt Mize. Mercedes Salvador Bello allowed me to read her work before its publication and provided guideance and encouragement. Research partners Yvette Kisor, Sarah Downey, and Scott Kleinman have fundamentally shaped this work, and I am grateful not only for their collaboration but for their willingness to let me modify our joint work to make it fit into this volume. Two anonymous referees from Oral Tradition massively improved material in chapter 4, as did Lori and Scott Garner. An anonymous referee for Palgrave went far beyond the call of collegial duties and gave me a blueprint on how to fix the mess that was the first submitted version of this book. Slavica Rankovi s editing significantly improved my expression of the ideas behind chapter 6, and John Hill s editing those behind chapter 3. I would also like to thank the Santa Fe Institute, where I developed and refined some of the most significant ideas in the book. Thanks especially to the participants in the 2010 Santa Fe Institute workshop on Computational Cultural Evolution, especially Manfred Laubichler, and to Harold Morowitz, who set me straight on some problems of theoretical biology. Namiko Hitotsubash has been my research assistant and partner for all four of her years at Wheaton, and I could never have finished this work without her contributions and those of previous partners Lauren and Jason Rea and Tara McGoldrick. Leah Smith designed the book cover and has contributed immensely to the lexomic research and to my thinking about Anglo-Saxon. Thanks also to Andy Howard, who did the impossible with the book jacket photo. Without the constant help and friendship of Paula Smith-MacDonald, neither my teaching nor my research would ever get done. Finally, for their patience and love, I thank my wife, Raquel D Oyen, our daughter Rhys Miranda Drout, our son Mitchell D. C. Drout, and, of course, Lancelot.