ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts of key concepts discussed in this book. This book presents Serbo-Croatian epic as a living oral tradition as well as Homeric and Old English epic as examples of literature with roots in oral traditions. It describes a common practice in conversation called restarts. The book demonstrates the value of a comparative method using both conversation analysis and the study of oral traditions. Institutional talk of oral traditions has a strong preference for repair-initiation occurring close to the trouble source. This book explains how these two disciplines complement each other well in the interpretation of living oral traditions and literature with roots in oral traditions. It suggests that the openings and closings in Serbo-Croatian epic provide the context for the performance of the epic in that they recognize the type of hardships that the hero of the epic overcomes with God's help are the type of hardships faced by the audience as well.
