Lawrence: “Parry . . . demonstrated that . . . there was an intricate system of metrical alternatives for the recurring names of heroes, gods and objects. . . .”
These are extremely well-known bardic tricks for keeping track of the story you are reciting in song. If your lyre playing goes haywire, you can catch up using a substitution. Slam poets and rappers do the same thing.
Musicians don't usually have it that easy. There's the famous story of Fritz Kreisler and Rachmaninoff performing a Beethoven sonata for violin and piano. Kreisler got lost in some passage work, fell into the wrong key briefly, improvised a repeat, turned to Rachmaninoff and whispered, "Sergei, where are we?"
"Carnegie Hall," Rachmaninoff is reputed to have replied. Eric ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
