Stereotypes in English Folk Song

Description

[M.A.] dissertation which suggests that male stereotypes are identifiable by their occupational name, and that from a reference in a song to a man of a certain occupation, a great deal can be predicted (namely, his character and what he does). Likewise, female stereotypes can be distinguished by character and events, but here the element of predictability is lessened by the lack of a convenient label in the form of an occupational name. The contention is that here the stereotype appearing in a song is only discernible once the female in question has actually been described as being and doing those things which differentiate her type from others. It is claimed that such descriptions (e.g. lovely Nancy, a damsel fair, crafty maid), in themselves, tell very little about what the reader/listener can expect from them in the song where they appear. By comparison, a clergyman, for example, is defined by an occupation which, in the context of English folk song, connotes an inescapable set of stereotyped characteristics. In concluding, the study suggests that although the female descriptions tell us little about the characters, such epithets bring with them an element of surprise which is important in female characterisation. The study focusses on three male occupations, the tailor, the clergyman and the miller, with a further section on female stereotypes. Each is accompanied by a Song Bibliography. Further stereotypical figures are suggested, including the lawyer, law-breaker, nobleman and king, the beggar, ploughman, shepherd, farmer, soldiers and sailors.

Metadata

Identifier vd16m62b
IRN 409988
Class Mark LAVC/SRP/1/092
Level File
Type of Record Archives - ISAD(G)
Peristent Link http://prototype1.library.leeds.ac.uk/vd16m62b
Collection(s) Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture
Category Archive
Parent Record Postgraduate Theses and Dissertations
Creator(s) Ferris, Deborah Morwenna
Date 1981
Size and Medium 62 unbound typed leaves.

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