8. Poetry and society
- Ruth Finnegan (author)
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| Title | 8. Poetry and society |
|---|---|
| Contributor | Ruth Finnegan (author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0428.08 |
| Landing page | https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0428/chapters/10.11647/obp.0428.08 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Ruth Finnegan; |
| Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| Published on | 2025-05-28 |
| Long abstract | The chapter ‘Poetry and Society’ delves into the complex relationship between poetic activity and the social institutions in which it is embedded. It begins by exploring how poetry reflects and is shaped by the social structures of a given society, whether through specialist poets who function within the division of labour or through poetry as a tool for cultural transmission across generations. The chapter also highlights poetry's role in unifying culturally diverse regions, such as the traveling poets of West Africa or early Ireland, emphasizing that poetry’s societal functions are often unconscious, even to the participants. However, the chapter critiques broad sociological theories that attempt to simplify this relationship, such as the idea that certain types of poetry, like heroic epics, naturally arise in ‘heroic’ societies, or that ballads belong to ‘ballad societies.’ These theories often falter under scrutiny, as poetry is shown to be far more flexible, adaptable, and influenced by various factors, including diffusion across regions and time. Ultimately, the chapter argues that while poetry is undoubtedly connected to social contexts, its free-floating nature allows it to transcend any strict social determinism, making it difficult to draw rigid, causal links between poetry and specific social forms. Instead, detailed, context-specific studies provide more meaningful insights into the dynamic interplay between poetry and society. |
| Page range | pp. 311–344 |
| Print length | 34 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
Ruth Finnegan
(author)Ruth Finnegan FBA OBE was born in 1933 in the beautiful fraught once-island city of Derry, Northern Ireland, and brought up there, together with several magical years during the war in Donegal. She had her education at the little Ballymore First School in County Donegal, Londonderry High School, Mount (Quaker) School York, then first class honours in Classics (Literae humaniores) and a doctorate in Anthropology at Oxford. This was followed by fieldwork and university teaching in Africa, principally Sierra Leone and Nigeria. She then joined the pioneering Open University as a founding member of the academic staff, where she spent the rest of her career apart from three years – and more fieldwork – at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji, and is now, proudly, an Open University Emeritus Professor. She was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1996, and is also an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford. Ruth has published two books with OBP, Why Do We Quote? The Culture and History of Quotation (2011), https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0012, and Oral Literature in Africa (2012), https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0025.