The art of Biblical poetry PDF
Preview The art of Biblical poetry
w reliGioN A t l hree decades ago, renowned literary expert robert Alter radically expanded t e “one of the most interesting studies of poetic technique i have read in years.” the horizons of biblical scholarship by recasting the Bible not only as a human r —Peter Levi, New York Times Book Review creation, but also as 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 distinctive working of Hebrew poetry T in the Bible. in his path-breaking analysis of biblical poetry’s structure and function, Alter h T h e A rt o f reveals new layers of meaning in the distinctions between poetic genres that were once e A considered indistinguishable. Updated with a new preface, revised formulations, and r passages from Alter’s own critically acclaimed biblical translations, The Art of Biblical Poetry C t is an indispensable tool for understanding the Bible and its poetry. o B i B l i c A l f B “A model of what such studies should be. . . . learned and lucid, sometimes polemical but i B always with grace.” —Frank Kermode l i p o e t ry “Breathtaking in its power. [The Art of Biblical Poetry] not only reflects the increasing influence c of literary criticism in biblical studies, it advances that criticism dramatically.” A l —Christian Century p “the results of [Alter’s] work give the Bible a fresh voice for a new generation of readers.” o 5.5 x 8.25” —Christian Science Monitor e B: 13/16” t r robert Alter is professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University y robert Alter BASic pB of california, Berkeley. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of the robert Kirsch Award for lifetime contributions to American letters, he lives in Berkeley, california. 4/color $18.00 US / $21.00 CAN ISBN 978-0-465-02256-4 51800 R U FiNiSH: e v i s e d a n d p d a t e d gritty matte A Member of the perseus Books Group www.basicbooks.com 9 780465 022564 C 0465022564-Alter_Design 6/16/11 8:57 AM Page i The Art of Biblical Poetry 0465022564-Alter_Design 6/16/11 8:57 AM Page ii books by robert alter Rogue’s Progress: Studies in the Picaresque Novel Fielding and the Nature of the Novel After the Tradition Modern Hebrew Literature Partial Magic: The Novel as a Self-Conscious Genre Defenses of the Imagination A Lion for Love: A Critical Biography of Stendhal The Art of Biblical Narrative Motives for Fiction The Invention of Hebrew Prose The Literary Guide to the Bible(co-editor, with Frank Kermode) The Pleasures of Reading in an Ideological Age Necessary Angels The World of Biblical Literature Hebrew and Modernity Genesis: A Translation with Commentary The David Story: A Translation with Commentary Canon and Creativity The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary Imagined Cities The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary Pen of Iron The Wisdom Books: A Translation with Commentary 0465022564-Alter_Design 6/16/11 8:57 AM Page iii T H E A RT O F B I B L I C A L P O E T RY R O B E R T A L T E R A Member of the Perseus Books Group New York 0465022564-Alter_Design 7/5/11 11:28 AM Page iv Copyright © 2011 by Robert Alter Original edition published in 1985 by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group New and revised edition published in 2011 by Basic Books. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810. Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected]. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alter, Robert. The art of Biblical poetry / Robert Alter. p. cm. Originally published: 1985. With new pref. Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 978-0-465-02256-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Hebrew poetry, Biblical—History and criticism. I. Title. BS1405.52.A48 2011 223'.066—dc23 2011025930 E-book ISBN: 978-0-465-02819-1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0465022564-Alter_Design 6/16/11 8:57 AM Page v For Carol ‘ayelet ‘ahavim veya’alat h.en 0465022564-Alter_Design 6/16/11 8:57 AM Page vi 0465022564-Alter_Design 6/16/11 8:57 AM Page vii contents preface to the revised edition ix preface xiii 1 The Dynamics of Parallelism 1 2 From Line to Story 29 3 Structures of Intensification 75 4 Truth and Poetry in the Book of Job 105 5 Forms of Faith in Psalms 139 6 Prophecy and Poetry 171 7 The Poetry of Wit 205 8 The Garden of Metaphor 231 9 The Life of the Tradition 255 notes 269 general index 277 biblical reference index 293 vii 0465022564-Alter_Design 6/16/11 8:57 AM Page viii 0465022564-Alter_Design 6/16/11 8:57 AM Page ix preface to the revised edition Rereading this book carefully sentence by sentence after the passage of twenty-five years, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how well it held together. Though before 1985 I had occasionally written an arti- cle on poetry (modern rather than ancient), this was my first book de- voted to poetry, and I myself might have expected some telltale signs of a critic venturing beyond his familiar territory of narrative and the novel. In retrospect, I think several elements in my own literary for- mation came together in the critical synthesis of this book—my read- ing of the American New Critics as an undergraduate, my later acquaintance with Russian Formalism and with the Soviet semiotic theorists of poetry, a splendid course with Reuben Brower at Harvard on English Augustan poetry that made me appreciate the wit and sub- tlety of the heroic couplet and so better understand how poetry worked in Proverbs, and a passionate attachment since adolescence to the He- brew of these biblical poems, their powerful rhythms pulsating within me and impelling me to strive for a better account of their poetic power than the ones in circulation. The Art of Biblical Poetry has continued to be used as a classroom text and to reach general readers, but it is my impression that it has had less of an impact on the academic field of biblical studies than my book on biblical narrative. Because poetry is an intricate formal system that often involves minute linguistic maneuvers, the analysis here is in some ways more intricate than that in The Art of Biblical Narrative, though I did my best to frame it in terms that would be intelligible to ix
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