178 W. THALBITZER. 
The poetical effect is produced by choice and yet natural words 
in whose rhythms and tones vibrate the feelings of the poet, words 
without great brilliance, but often with sensitive contents and of 
intense colouring — plain, poor and simple as the flowers on the 
rocks of Greenland. There is a small group of poetical words and 
expressions, partly, of course, taken from the ritual language, »sacred 
words«, but they play no important part outside of the poems that 
have a religious character, which, however, make up a considerable 
portion of this unwritten literature. | 
The principal effect is gained by repetition, the variation of the 
expression or of the entire subject in new turns. The same thing is 
said like this the first time, is then repeated in another way, perhaps 
slightly more emphatically the second time than the first, but equally 
briefly and concisely both times, with echoic reverberation of the 
thought as of the rhythm. Then add to this the assonances and 
the rhymes. By analyzing the poems we should easily find typical 
examples; the ones already given testify to the same principle. 
Text no. 3. TE mo 29). 
ifiwagin anitoa up'a ta‘ina panianiartino 
itiwagin isertiwa up'a ta'ina pit'arlino 
The beauty of the repetition receives a solemn, pathetic expres- 
sion in the religious hymn “the Raven Song” (no. 107). 
‘The division into stanzas which is a repetition in the formal 
composition of the poem, is not of very common occurrence apart 
from the drumsongs, but on the other hand not at all unknown. 
Besides the examples already given no. 108 (text) may be quoted here. 
The song consists of six verses of unequal length the four midmost 
of which are introduced by the same word (although’), and the 
three lines following it are repeated alike in each verse. 
No. 192 occupies a special place amongst the drum-songs: the 
melody is composed with more consciousness, and is more regular in 
rhythm and time than we are accustomed to in these songs, which 
seems to be due to a special ability on the part of the composer. 
The relation between the refrain and burden of the song is as follows 
(cf. Melodies no. 82). Each stanza consists of three lines thus: A Bb 
С except the first stanza which has four lines (АТА? Bb С). The 
burden (b) of the song is introduced by a mere rudiment of a refrain 
(B) or as it were, a musical rise, which clings to it. This conglom- 
erate is enclosed by the lines of the refrain just as is the kernel of 
a nut by the shell, resulting in a definite type that is repeated alike 
for each stanza. 
Final rhymes are rare, but do occur. They are favoured by the 
