英語学 The progressive of the verbs in Wulfstan's prose

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Alfric and Wulfstan were two eminent prose writers that lived in England during the Middle Ages. In this paper, all the examples of the progressive used in Wulfstan's writings are analyzed stylistically, especially in comparison with other Old English prose. Previous studies by Mosse (1938), Nickel (1966), and Raith (1951) have dealt with some of the works of Wulfstan, but an exhaustive study of the use of the progressive of the verbs in Wulfstan's prose has not yet been accomplished on account of the problem of authorship. This paper deals with Wulfstan's works comprehensively, covering not only homiletic documents but also legal and liturgical writings. The following four findings are demonstrated: first, we can find 41 examples of the progressive in total; however, by reducing the number of examples by omitting those that were repeated and dubious, the frequency of the progressive is quite rare in Wulfstan. Second, we can detect some examples of the progressive of the "weortan + ende" form, which is rarely found in other Old English prose works. Third, the progressive in Wulfstan is mainly used emphatically and is often used with the adverb geornlice or georn(e). Lastly, in almost all texts, Wulfstan avoids using the progressive and even when he does use it, he employs it in some formulaic expressions repetitively.
千葉経済大学の論文
2009-07-27