Orality and the Ballad Tradition

Citation

Gilbert S (2012) Orality and the Ballad Tradition. In: Norquay G (ed.) The Edinburgh Companion to Scottish Women's Writing. Edinburgh Companions to Scottish Literature. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, pp. 35-43. https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/series-edinburgh-companions-to-scottish-literature.html

Abstract
Presenting a vexing problem for female aspirations to authorship, women and orality have been so close aligned as to be nearly indistinguishable,configured in a context which emphasises the national dimension to their creativity. This chapter traces the ways in which Scottish women have been associated with orality, with particular emphasis on the ballad, where authorship, gender, and nation are closely joined.

Keywords
orality; oral tradition; ballad; Scottish literature; women's writing