In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

: : : : : : : : : MOVI Folk Narratives : : : : : : : : : : The Structure of the Turkish Romances ilhan Ba~goz Structure is a conceptualization ofhow parts are related-to one anotherandto the whole they comprise. To say.that a genre has a panic#Jar structure is to argue that the ways in which the pans of different texts are arranged are in some basic respects similar. There are several perspectives that have been applied to the analysis of folk narrative structure. Most have centered either on plot structure (Propp 1968) or thematic structure (Levi-Strauss 1963b, 1967). The stfWctures ofthe component parts themselves can also be analyzed, such as the relations that govern the elements in a particular story scene (Olrik 1909). Most folklorists have been content merely to identify narrative structures. Fewer have attempted to interpret them. In the following essay, llhan Balgoz not only attempts to outlinethe plot structure ofTurkish romances, but he goes on to characterize a relationship between that structure and the Turkish minstrels (ashiks) who perform them. For more on pJot structure in folie narrative see Dundes (1963) andthe response by Georges (1970). Further discussion of structuralism and folklore can be found in Dundes (1976), Hendricks (1970), and Waugh (1966). Some other examples of the relationship of folklore to individual psychology may be found in Burns with Burns (1976), Jones (1975:34-103), and Dring (1984). I. A structural study of folk narrative that challenged type and motif oriented research was designed by Vladimir Propp.l In his analysis of the Russian magic tale, Propp identified the functions of the dramatis personae as the most constant aspect of tales. My study is an attempt to outline the apparent structure, the compositional structure, of the Turkish romance of the minstrel (ashi!e) by means of basic plot actions. I will not Reproduced by permission of the Indiana University Board of Trustees, from Folklore Today: A Festschrift for RichardM. DOf'son, ed. Linda Degh, HenryGlassie, and Felix Oinas (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1976), 11-23. Not for further reproduction. 197 ilhan Ba§goz be content, however, with the delineation of the romance structure in isolation from the socio-cultural milieu, but I will explore the meaning for the teller within the Ottoman-Turkish culture. The data on which our analysis is based came from nine romances, some of them existing in several variants.2 Though limited, the material is representative of this genre which narrates the life story of the ashi!e in prose interspersed with song. The plots, motifs, and characters, as well as the historical and geographical settings of the romances, vary considerably, but all nine exhibit a compositional unity, which persists despite the changes introduced by the individual tellers or by temporal or spatial distribution. The romances of the ashi!e arise, I believe, from this unique romance pattern which can be outlined in three parts,consistingofa limited number of basic units of plot action, six altogether: A. THE DISINTEGRATION OF A FAMILY Plot Action 1: Crisis. Following some introductory songs, which are a traditional part of story-telling but have no connection to the plot, the romance begins with what Propp called the H initial situation." Here a family is introduced in a particular social milieu within a historical and geographical setting. The teller strives to convince the audience that such a family really existed at a historical time in a certain area. The social and economic standing of the family is briefly described, and the names of the members are given. These temporal-spatial elements of the romance are all variable except for the pseudonym (mahtas) of the hero. The romance takes its title from this unchanging mahlas, which is usually paired with the name of the heroine. The title of the story of Kerem and AsH is an example. The first plot action consisting of one of the following crises comes after the initial situation: a. The father dies (romance 1,2, 3). b. Both parents (the mother, then the father) die (romance 5). c. The couple has no child (romances 7, 8). d. The family escapes from their native land for fear of persecution (romances 4,9). e. One of the members of the family is cursed by an old woman to lead a tragic life (romance 6). No matter what the individual nature of the crisis is, it destroys the equilibrium of the family structure and after that the happy family unity will never be restored. If the crisis is childlessness, however, it is temporarily solved, following...

Share