Unparalleled poetry : a cognitive approach to the free-rhythm verse of the Hebrew Bible / Emmylou J. Grosser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

J. Grosser, Emmylou, author.

Series:

Cognition and poetics.

Oxford scholarship online.

Cognition and poetics

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hebrew poetry, Biblical--History and criticism.

Hebrew poetry, Biblical.

Bible (CRITICISM--DELETE THIS LINE).

Bible (CRITICISM - DELETE THIS LINE).

Bible. Old Testament--Criticism, Textual.

Bible.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (361 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2023.

Summary:

'Unparalleled Poetry' disentangles biblical poetry from parallelism and meter and provides an account of the free-rhythm versification system of biblical poetry. This cognitive approach is oriented toward how poetic structure can be heard and perceived, and it illuminates both the structures of biblical poetry and the artistry of potential effects.

Contents:

Cover

Series

Unparalleled Poetry

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

I.1. Gestalt Theory of Part/​Whole

I.2. The Significance of Lineation

I.3. Balance as a Cognitive Schema

Abbreviations and Symbols

Part I: Introductory Matters

1. Unparalleling Biblical Poetry

1.1. A Prose-​Poetry Continuum versus a Prose-​Verse Distinction

1.2. Metrical Studies and Their Decline

1.3. Parallelism and Biblical Poetry

1.4. Conformation, Not Parallelism

1.5. A Way Forward through Cognitive Poetics

2. A Preliminary Description of Biblical Verse

2.1. Biblical Poetry Is an Aural, and Not a Visual, Phenomenon

Excursus A. Ancient and Medieval Layouts of Biblical Poetry

Excursus B. What Did the Ancient Poems Sound Like?

2.2. Biblical Poetic Lines Are Not Cued by Text-​Internal End-​Marking

Rather, They Emerge in Patterned or Organized Relation to Each Other

2.3. Biblical Poetic Lines Emerge in Small Groupings, Often of Two or Three Lines, but Sometimes Larger

2.4. Biblical Poetry Is Free-​Rhythm Poetry

2.5. Lines of Biblical Poetry Are of Variable Lengths, but They Tend to Fall within Certain Ranges

2.6. Biblical Poetic Lines Are Structural Units of Poems That Are Built from All Aspects of Language

2.7. Summary

3. The Nature of the Biblical Hebrew Poetic Line

3.1. The Nonlinearity of Biblical "Lines," Graphically and Conceptually

3.2. The Emergence of Biblical Lines and Figures in Part-​Whole Relationships

Part II: Gestalt Principles: Emergence of Biblical Poetic Structure

4. Perceptual Organization and the Law of Simplicity, Proximity and Similarity

4.1. Gestalt Part-​Whole Perceptual Organization

4.2. The Fundamental Gestalt Law: Simplicity

4.3. The Principle of Proximity

4.4. The Principle of Similarity.

5. Symmetry, Balance and Imbalance

5.1. The Principle of Symmetry

5.2. A Sampling of Symmetrical Line-​Pairs

5.3. The Equilibrium of Symmetry

5.4. Weaker Symmetry, Near-​Symmetry, Partial Symmetry

5.5. Balance and Leveling

5.6. Imbalance and Sharpening

5.7. Larger Patterns of Symmetry

5.8. A Symmetrical Poem: Qešet, "Bow" (2 Samuel 1:19-​27)

5.9. The Perceptibility of Symmetry

6. Good Continuation, Closure, Requiredness, and Principled Lineations

6.1. The Principle of Good Continuation

6.2. The Principle of Closure

6.3. Requiredness

6.4. From Gestalt Principles to Principled Lineations

Part III: Remaining Issues

7. Integration and Unintegrated Lines, Rhythm in Lamentations, and Line-​Length Constraints

7.1. Integration and Unintegrated Lines

7.2. Rhythm and Lines in Lamentations 1-​4

7.3. Constraints on Short and Long Lines

7.4. Conclusion

8. Biblical Poetry and Prose

8.1. Prose and Verse, Verse and Poetry

8.2. Biblical Parallelism: Poetic Structure and Poetic Function Confusion

8.3. The Problem of a Features Approach to Identifying Biblical Poetry

8.4. Distinguishing Contextually between Prose and Verse

8.5. "Parallelism" in Prose Narrative

8.6. Elevated Style and Mixing of the Modes in the Prophets

8.7. Conclusion

9. Conclusion: Unparalleled Poetry

9.1. Psalm 23 Revisited

9.2. Implications for Biblical and Comparative Studies

References

A Selective Index of Authors, Subjects, and Biblical Texts.

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2023.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on August 30, 2023).

ISBN:

0-19-090238-8

0-19-090239-6

0-19-090237-X