Contents -- ASPECTS OF INDO-EUROPEAN POETICS -- I. The Field of Comparative Poetics: Introduction and Background -- 1. The comparative method in linguistics and poetics -- 2. Sketch for a history of Indo-European poetics -- 3. Poetics as grammar: Typology of poetic devices, and some rules of poetic grammar -- 4. Poetics as repertory: The poetic traditions of the Indo-European world-sources and texts -- 5. The Indo-European poet: His social function and his art -- 6. The poet's truth: The power, particularity, and preserveration of the word -- II. Case Studies -- 7. Greece and the art of the word -- 8. Vedic India and the art of the word -- 9. Ireland and the art of the syllable -- 10. Saxa loquuntur: The first age of poetry in Italy-Faliscan and South Picene -- 11. Most ancient Indo-Europeans -- 12. The comparison of formulaic sequences -- 13. An Indo-European stylistic figure -- 14. A late Indo-European traditional epithet -- 15. An Indo-European theme and formula: Imperishable fame -- 16. The hidden track of the cow: Obscure styles in Indo-European -- III. The Strophic Style: An Indo-European Poetic Form -- 17. Some Indo-European prayers: Cato's lustration of the fields -- 18. Umbria: The Tables of Iguvium -- 19. Italy and India: The elliptic offering -- 20. Strophic structures as "rhythmic prose"? Italic -- 21. Strophic structures in Iranian -- 22. 'Truth of truth', 'most kavi of kavis', 'throng-lord of throngs': An Indo-Iranian stylistic figure -- 23. More Strophic structures -- 24. Early Irish rosc -- 25. The Aśvamedha or Horse Sacrifice: An Indo-European liturgical form -- 26. Orphic gold leaves and the great way of the soul: Strophic style, funerary ritual formula, and eschatology -- HOW TO KILL A DRAGON IN INDO-EUROPEAN: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE THEORY OF THE FORMULA -- IV. The Basic Formula and Its Variants in the Narration of the Myth.

27. Preliminaries -- 28. The root *g[sup(u)]hen-: Vedic han- -- 29. The root *g[sup(u)]hen-: Avestan jan- -- 30. The root *g[sup(u)]hen-: Hittite kuen- and the Indo-European theme and formula -- 31. The slayer slain: A reciprocal formula -- 32. First variant: The root *udeh- -- 33. 'Like a reed': The Indo-European background of a Luvian ritual -- 34. Second variant: the root *terh[sub(2)]- -- 35. Latin tarentum, the ludi saeculares, and Indo-European eschatology -- 36. The myth in Greece: Variations on the formula and theme -- 37. Expansion of the formula: A recursive formulaic figure -- 38. Herakles, the formulaic hero -- 39. Hermes, Enualios, and Lukoworgos: The Serpent-slayer and the Man-slayer -- 40. Nektar and the adversary Death -- 41. The saga of Iphitos and the hero as monster -- 42. The name of Meleager -- 43. The Germanic world -- 44. Thor's hammer and the mace of Contract -- V. Some Indo-European Dragons and Dragon-Slayers -- 45. Fergus mac Léti and the muirdris -- 46. Typhoeus and the Illuyankas -- 47. Python and Ahi Budhnya, the Serpent of the Deep -- 48. Azi dakāka, Viśvarupa, and Geryon -- VI. From Myth to Epic -- 49. From God to hero: The formulaic network in Greek -- 50. The best of the Achaeans -- 51. To be the death of: Transformation of the formula -- 52. The formula without the word: A note on Euripides and Lysias -- 53. The basic formula and the announcement of death -- 54. Further Indo-European comparisons and themes -- 55. The song of victory in Greek -- VII. From Myth to Charm -- 56. From dragon to worm -- 57. The charms of Indo-European -- 58. Indo-European medical doctrine -- 59. The poet as healer -- Abbreviations -- References -- Indexes of names and subjects -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z -- Index of passages.

Index of words.