Old Icelandic, an Introductory Course by Sigrid Valfells end Jemes E. Cethey (review)

300ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW entire history ofthought before 1940. He hes extrepoleted in feet thet by the yeer 2039 there will be more students of metephor on this eerth then there ere people (p. 47). Perheps Booth wes ß little cerried ewey in his extrepoletion. And perheps the blurb on the beck cover of On Metaphoris speeking metephoricelly when itseys thet metephor hes become "e central conceptin the study of humen understending." But Booth is probebly not exeggereting when heseys "...the quelity ofeny culture will in pert be meesured both by the quelity of the metephor it induces or allows end the quelity of the judges ofmetephor thetiteducetesend rewords" (p. 62). Using this es o stendord, I feel thet On Metaphor does ß good job to help edúcete the students of metephor in our perticuler culture. DON L. F. NILSEN Arizona State University Leurence Urdeng end Nency LeRoche. Picturesque Expressions: A Thematic Dictionary. Detroit: GeIe Reseerch Co., 1980. 408p. The line between ß cliché end ß picturesque expression is ß nerrow but useful one. The difference is essentielly ß metter ofmentel acumen; the clichéster — to coin a term — picks up a phrase long since worn smooth and it leaves no mark on the conversation. The inventor of the picturesque expression on the other hand takes an ordinary idea and lends ita little fillip so thatit never looks quite so plain agein. Many of the expressions are probably just happy accidents, but there are with us certain people whose world and way ofobserving itare several shades brighter than those of the rest of us. The editors of this dictionary have not only collected some 3,000 such phrases, but have tried where possible to find where they came from, have further provided an apt quotation in which each one is employed, and finally have sorted them — as the title indicates — under the thematic heading that appeers most fitting. Since a phrase will go to work in a number of situations, there are cross-references, and for someone who has simply picked up a phrase like "fussy as a hen with one chick," or "go around Robin Hood's barn," or "redneck," there is a copious index. For anyone "into" words and phrases, it is most useful. J.J. LAMBERTS Arizona State University Sigrid Valfells end Jemes E. Cethey. Old Icelandic, an Introductory Course. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. 379p. The euthor of en introduction to eny typicel foreign lenguege — especielly ß deed one — feces ß dilemme. Are the students to receive ß solid end cerefully programmed grounding in grammar with cherecteristicelly jejune sentences et the Dick-end-Jene level, or do they plunge heedlong into the Eddas or the Anglo-Sexon Chronicle or Wulfila's version of St. Mark end fumble ebout in ß glossery end lists of noun declensions? Book Reviews301 Velfells end Cathey heve essumed thet there will be time enough to sevor the delights of Norse literature. Consequently Old Icelandic is heevily oriented in the direction of grammar qua grammer end the vocebulery lists ere formideble — 60 or more items to e chapter. To make certain that the student does more than merely translate words, the authors provide sentences to be translated into Old Icelandic. There is a key to these at the back of the book. Old Icelandic is intended for the serious student of Old Icelandic literature and language. The eddas and sagas will be little more than a breeze to anyone who has mastered it. True, the authors toss in some snippets from some of the classic writings, but those of us who contended with E.V. Gordon's Introduction to Old Norse will feel that Valfells and Cathey's student is missing something in the process of acquiring a feel for the language — certainly an acquaintanceship, however hard earned — with Thor and Loki, with Sigmund and Signy, with Leif Erickson, and not least of all, some of the poetry. J.J. LAMBERTS Arizona State University Tino Villanueva. Chícanos/antología histórica y literaria. México D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1980. 536p. El prólogo de esta antología de literatura chicana es tal vez el más importante texto sobre el asunto publicado hasta ahora. Es por...