THE EVOLUTION OF ENGLISH LITERARY TRADITION: FROM ORAL BALLADS TO WRITTEN CANON

Abstract

This article examines the historical evolution of the English literary tradition from oral ballads to the formation of a written literary canon. Focusing on the transition from oral storytelling and folk poetry to manuscript and print culture, the study explores how social memory, authorship, and literary authority were transformed. The article argues that English literary tradition emerges through the dynamic interaction between oral and written modes rather than a linear replacement of one by the other.