Three decades ago, renowned literary expert Robert Alter radically expanded the horizons of biblical scholarship by recasting the Bible as not only a human creation but a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. In The Art of Biblical Poetry, his companion to the seminal The Art of Biblical Narrative, Alter takes his analysis beyond narrative craft to investigate the use of Hebrew poetry in the Bible. Updated with a new preface, myriad revisions, and passages from Alters own critically acclaimed biblical translations, The Art of Biblical Poetry is an indispensable tool for understanding the Bible and its poetry.
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From Library Journal
A companion volume to Alter's earlier The Art of Biblical Narrative ( LJ 8/81), this excellent book investigates both the structuresespecially parallelism, intensification, choice of detailand the effects of biblical Hebrew poetry. Not only the literary and the biblical scholar but also the relatively sophisticated general reader will profit from this clearly written book. Through many examples and through comparisons of the treatment of the same events in biblical prose and biblical poetry, Alter demonstrates how biblical authors used poetry to discover meaning: ``poetry is quintessentially the mode of expression in which the surface is the depth'' so that form and meaning are intimately united. Highly recommended. Carolyn M. Craft, English, Philosophy & Foreign Languages Dept., Longwood Coll., Farmville, Va. Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"One of the most interesting studies of poetic technique I have read in years."-New York Times Book Review"
Description:
Three decades ago, renowned literary expert Robert Alter radically expanded the horizons of biblical scholarship by recasting the Bible as not only a human creation but a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. In The Art of Biblical Poetry, his companion to the seminal The Art of Biblical Narrative, Alter takes his analysis beyond narrative craft to investigate the use of Hebrew poetry in the Bible. Updated with a new preface, myriad revisions, and passages from Alters own critically acclaimed biblical translations, The Art of Biblical Poetry is an indispensable tool for understanding the Bible and its poetry.
**
From Library Journal
A companion volume to Alter's earlier The Art of Biblical Narrative ( LJ 8/81), this excellent book investigates both the structuresespecially parallelism, intensification, choice of detailand the effects of biblical Hebrew poetry. Not only the literary and the biblical scholar but also the relatively sophisticated general reader will profit from this clearly written book. Through many examples and through comparisons of the treatment of the same events in biblical prose and biblical poetry, Alter demonstrates how biblical authors used poetry to discover meaning: ``poetry is quintessentially the mode of expression in which the surface is the depth'' so that form and meaning are intimately united. Highly recommended. Carolyn M. Craft, English, Philosophy & Foreign Languages Dept., Longwood Coll., Farmville, Va.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"One of the most interesting studies of poetic technique I have read in years."-New York Times Book Review"