What is the main structural feature of biblical Hebrew poetry, such as the Psalms?
ARhymed couplets in iambic pentameter
BParallelism, in which paired lines restate, vary or develop each other
CA strict count of seventeen syllables per poem
DAlliteration across a fixed caesura
The eighteenth-century scholar Robert Lowth described this parallelism in his Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews (1753). It survives translation well, which is one reason the Psalms sound poetic in English. The other options describe English, Japanese and Old English verse.
Question 2 True / False
To study the Bible as literature, a reader must first accept its religious teachings as true.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Literary study looks at style, structure, genre and influence. Readers of many faiths and none analyze biblical texts this way, much as they study the Iliad without believing in Zeus.
Question 3 Multiple Choice
In 'Odysseus' Scar,' the opening chapter of Mimesis (1946), how does Erich Auerbach contrast Homer's style with the style of the Genesis story of Abraham and Isaac?
AHomer is brief and mysterious, while Genesis explains every detail
BHomer brings everything into a fully lit foreground, while Genesis leaves thoughts and motives unspoken, so the story is 'fraught with background'
CBoth use the same style, since both are ancient
DHomer writes in prose, while Genesis is a rhymed poem
Auerbach argued that Genesis's silences create depth and demand interpretation. Abraham's feelings as he travels to sacrifice his son are never described, and readers must supply them.
Question 4 Short Answer
Choose a well-known biblical story and explain how a later writer's allusion to it can add meaning to a modern work.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Example: Steinbeck's East of Eden retells Cain and Abel through two pairs of brothers. Knowing the original lets readers see the rivalry, the father's favoritism and the question of whether a person is doomed to sin, which the novel answers with the Hebrew word timshel, 'thou mayest.'
An allusion brings the earlier story's situation and moral questions into the new text. A reader who recognizes it can see how the later work repeats, revises or argues with its source.