Lonesome Words: The Vocal Poetics of the Old English Lament and the African-American Blues Song

The New Middle Ages

by Margaret G. McGeachy

The tenth-century Old English lament and twentieth-century blues song each speak the language of a distinct poetic tradition, yet the voices are remarkably similar in their emotive expression of loneliness. This innovative study juxtaposes the texts of each corpus to explore the features that characterize their vocal poetics

191 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2006