Book Title: Elements of Biblical Poetry

Subtitle: An Introduction to Its Craft, Language, and Genres

Authors: Harry Hagan, OSB

Cover image for Elements of Biblical Poetry

Book Description: An introduction to the craft, language, and genres of biblical poetry seen in the English text of the psalms, wisdom literature, and the prophets.

License:
Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike

Contents

Book Information

Book Description

This book introduces the reader to the craft, language, and genres of biblical poetry seen in the English texts of the psalms, wisdom literature, and the prophets. After an initial chapter on basic concepts, the book divides into three parts: craft, language, and genres.

Part One discusses the craft used to construct biblical poetry. Its chapters discuss the idea of biblical poetry, repetition, word pairs, and parallel lines, both similar and sequential.

Part Two explores the literal and non-literal language of ordinary speech used in poetry. It covers literal language metonymy, metaphor, irony, over- and understatement, multiplicity or ambiguity with a note on the Hebrew and Greek languages.

Part Three examines the types of literature and their construction so that readers can recognize the genre’s tradition and also the way a poem differs from that tradition. This section includes lyric, hymns of praise and thanksgiving, (implied) narrative, prayer psalms (laments), proverbs, wisdom instructions, call narrative, judgment and salvation oracles.

The last chapter deals with questions of finding meaning. Each chapter ends with exercises. A glossary, scripture references, and a selected bibliography follow.

Authors

Harry Hagan, OSB

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Elements of Biblical Poetry by Saint Meinrad Archabbey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Subject

Old Testaments

Metadata

Title
Elements of Biblical Poetry
Authors
Harry Hagan, OSB
License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Elements of Biblical Poetry by Saint Meinrad Archabbey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Unless indicated otherwise, Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Primary Subject
Old Testaments
Additional Subject(s)
Literary studies: poetry and poets, Criticism and exegesis of sacred texts
Publisher
PALNI Press
Publication Date
August 16, 2022
Ebook ISBN
978-1-956390-07-0