Ring Composition And The Digressions Of Exodus: The 'Legacy' Of The 'Remnant'

Portnoy, Phyllis

English Studies 2001 82 (4)289-307
(ReLIS:jul:juljig:y:2001:v:82:i:4:p:289-307)

Abstract:

Ring composition is a classical structuring device that has been recognized often in Beowulf, but never in Exodus. 1 Indeed, since the publication of John Leyerle’s seminal article on interlace patterning, critics commonly view the disjointed and digressive narrative of Beowulf in the context of over-arching structures, whereas no similarly redeeming rationale has yet been proposed for the digressive narrative of Exodus. In the most notorious of the poem’s digressive pas-sages, the stories of Noah and Abraham intrude upon the narrative of the Red Sea crossing just as the Israelites begin their march into the sea. A similar disruption occurs at the climax of the poem, where the poet interrupts the joyful emergence from the sea with a homiletic digression on the Mosaic Law and the Day of Judgment. Early scholarship treated both episodes as interpolations, and although critics have since amassed a wealth of typological connections to account for the digressive material, these passages continue to be perceived by many as structural flaws in an otherwise excellent poem.

Keywords: Estructura conceptual ; Poesía ; literatura inglesa
Pages: 289-307
Volume: 82
Year: 2001
Issue: 4

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