Abstract
IN the Cantar de Mio Cid, epithets serve not only as mnemonic devices, as in the ballads,l or as handy time-killers while the singer thinks of the lines to come,2 but also as poetic elements which obey a definite artistic purpose. This was suggested some years ago by Mrs. Rita Hamilton's article on Epic Epithets in the Poema de Mio Cid,3 in which a close examination of the treatment of one character-Martin Antolinez-made it possible to uncover the artistic purpose behind the epithetic presentation of that burgales leal. In a recent restatement of the definition of the epic formula Edmund de Chasca has stressed context as the variable
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have