Scaldic Poetry

Skaldic poetry, which was born and flourished in the pre-written period, is ideal material for analysing early stages in the development of verbal art. Studies of skaldic poetry do not usually take into account its historical specificity, but assume it to be a type of creative activity which is not in principle different from the art of a modern poet. Following M.I. Steblin-Kamensky, the authors view skaldic poetry as having emerged with the genesis of authored, personal poetry, i.e., as a natural stage in the evolution of literature. The development of authorship occurs as a result of the concentration of poetic effort on the form. The particular kind of formal perfecti...