Synchrony, Diachrony, and the Deseterac
From what, we may ask in beginning our inquiry, does this spectrum of diction evolve? How are we to explain its development to the point at which we observe the range of formulaic structure in, for example, the recorded repertoires of Mujo Kukuruzovic[*] and Halil Bajgoric[*] ? First, we must observe that Lord's theory, although illuminating certain aspects of the multiformity of the guslar's poetic language, homogenizes its inherent complexity[34] and deemphasizes the fact that phraseology is not a static collection of items but a dynamic inventory ever in a state of flux or evolution. Such a view opens up valuable perspectives on the relationship among elements, but it does so at the cost of certifying these elements' phraseological equivalence. If formulas are understood as generated by patterns, and the patterns are seen as the source of all diction, then each and every element of diction must be functionally equivalent. More significantly for the history and development of oral literature research, the synchronic model of generation from pre-existent patterns seems to validate the determination of orality on the basis of the formulaic-density test. If we construe oral traditional phraseology as atoms of diction which are in turn the issue of formulaic patterns, then proof of a critical density of atoms and patterns should constitute proof of that particular type of phraseology. From a set of definitions proceeds evidence for a mode of composition.
For Lord, then, the synchronic model provides a way of illustrating multiformity in the guslar's language, but it blocks the path to further understanding because it does not account for the observable fact that all formulas are not created equal. Likewise, the same discrepancy among units goes a long way toward invalidating the formulaic-density test for orality; if we are testing for identical phraseological units, and if what we actually have in the texts is a spectrum of decidedly unequal elements, then our analysis cannot bear fruit. In addition to the principles of tradition-dependence and genre-dependence discussed in chapter 1, we thus discover another necessary complication which oral literature research must recognize: the natural heterogeneity of traditional phraseology.
Instead of locating the pivot of formulaic structure at a hypothetical point of balance between patterns and the formulas that seem to depend on those patterns, let us take the investigation a step further to the elemental prosody of the deseterac , the epic decasyllable that supports the diction we are now examining. We recall from chapter 3 that the outer metric, the usual representation of trochaic pentameter, proved illusory and misleading, the result of a flawed set of assumptions. Prosodic structure in the deseterac amounts to the inner metric, the system of cola that comprise the line and the inter- and intra-colonic relationships. In addition to a regular syllable count of ten and a caesura between positions 4 and 5, the deseterac exhibits the Indo-European principle of right justification in a number of features: the four-plus-six inner structure of the whole line; the placement of ictus (emphasis on syllables 1, 3, 5, and 9); three complementary distribution rules and a general limitation on allowed configurations in the second colon; and the shorter-before-longer, highly variable make-up of the first colon. All of these prosodic rules are active in the shaping and maintenance of traditional phraseology in Serbo-Croatian epic—not just as a template for one formula or set of formulas, but as the group of rules within which all formulaic diction must be made and re-made. Thus these rules, as opposed to the assortment of patterns that the synchronic model uses to rationalize formulas, are the most general parameters, the universal guidelines for an ever-evolving Kunstsprache and the supports that assist in preserving phraseology over time.
Apart from the vast disparity between the number of formulaic patterns affected by the two sets of constraints, perhaps the most telling difference between this modest set of prosodic rules and the dictionary of patterns demanded by conventional formulaic theory is that the rules leave the way open for what is prima facie observable in Serbo-Croatian oral epic texts: a true spectrum of phraseology. Indeed, it hardly seems possible that they could do anything else: not only would such basic prosodic parameters admit to the guslar's wordhoard initially inequivalent units of diction (verbatim repeats alongside systems and other patterns), but they would also leave room for differential development. Phrases employed by a singer could answer very
Figure 5.
Generation of Poetic Phraseology
dissimilar descriptions: one might be a six-syllable name-plus-patronymic unlikely ever to change; another might be a verb-direct object phrase "to mount a horse" that admitted a multitude of functional synonyms for "horse" into the system; while a third might amount simply to a particular placement of a given word on the basis of its metrical type. All of these and myriad more kinds of phrases could enter a guslar's repertoire and could evolve toward or away from absolute stability within the range permitted by prosodic rules.
Furthermore, the postulating (and demonstration, see below) of phraseological rules to reflect the laws of prosody in the deseterac makes the role of obvious formulaic patterns clearer. These patterns are unarguably more exacting, but nonetheless nominal, specifications of prosodic rules; in applying strictly to a small but well-defined group of actual lines or cola, they serve as situation-specific intermediaries between universal prosodic rules and certain groups of related lines. To put the matter schematically (figure 5), we can say that formulaic patterns, the molds that Lord sees as the source of formulas, act as linguistic lenses that focus the more general rules. As the diagram indicates, however, not all verse lines can be derived from such patterns; as we shall see in the discussion that follows, there are lines and cola that reveal the operation of traditional prosodic rules without the interposition of formulaic patterns. This model allows us to explain the variant phraseological structures encountered in the spectrum of Serbo-Croatian epic diction as the natural conclusion of a two-level process: lines and cola are all traceable to a few fundamental prosodic rules, and a certain number of lines and cola are further structured by a large number of formulaic patterns.
Of course, there are many more factors to be considered in describing the source, shape, and relative stability of the diction. Some of these include sound-patterning in its various types (assonance, alliteration, different kinds of rhyme), syntactic parallelism, terracing, and thematic focus. While each is a significant force in phrase generation and maintenance, we should keep in mind that all are at least as situation-specific as the formulaic pattern. Each, like that pattern, applies to a limited number of lines rather than informing the traditional phraseology as a whole, and therefore none has even a fraction of the overall significance of prosodic rules. With the understanding that more than one situation-specific feature may help to focus the underlying rules, we may picture the process of creation and preservation of formulaic phraseology as in figure 6. Once again we take account of the possibility that diction can
Figure 6.
Focusing, or Second-Level, Processes
become part of the singer's poetic language without focusing by any of these second-level processes. And while actual lines and cola do appear in Serbo-Croatian oral epic that show no allegiance whatsoever to any of the intermediaries listed above, absolutely none of the 7,286 lines (or their 14,572 cola) examined for the present purpose reveals an important departure from the traditional prosody of the deseterac (see chapter 3). Traditional prosodic rules, the idiosyncratic reflex in the deseterac of ultimately Indo-European characteristics, constitute the primary basis for traditional composition.
As will be illustrated below, prosodic rules and the various focusing effects collectively produce a diction that cannot fairly and accurately be described as one of equivalent units. Some verse lines and cola take their structure only from phraseological constraints that reflect these primary rules; in such cases one is hard pressed to stretch the definitions of formula and system to accommodate the phrases, and solid or broken underlining seems more misleading than informative or analytical. Only by the most literal application of definitions, one that subverts the whole notion of multiformity by claiming genetic connection between phrases only superficially similar, can the categories hold up. And, more than occasionally, even stretching definitions beyond the limits of credibility will not bring elements of phraseology into the fold. Nevertheless, we shall discover relationships of various sorts—some formulaic, some not —that persist in the singers' repertoires examined and are clearly traditional. This spectrum of relationships, whether dependent on none or on one or more of the focusing features, will all show evidence of the operation of traditional rules. From the invariable noun-patronymic formula secured by sound-patterning to the merest, most nominal phrase without any apparent formulaic identity, all elements of diction in Serbo-Croatian oral epic conform to prosodic and phraseological rules. Their own obvious heterogeneity aside, the singer's phrases are thoroughly and fundamentally traditional.