Definition of oral-formulaic in US English:
oral-formulaic
adjectiveˌôrəlˌfôrmyəˈlāik
Relating to or denoting poetry belonging to an early spoken tradition characterized by the use of poetic formulas, e.g., the Homeric poems.
Example sentencesExamples
- Narrators are evidently able to re-create this scene by means of their oral-formulaic abilities and adapt it as necessary to fit the requirements of different tales.
- Finally, Parry's researches into oral-formulaic technique suggest that the questions raised regarding the identity "Homer" need to be revised somewhat.