The art of biblical narrative /

Alter, Robert

The art of biblical narrative / Robert Alter. - New York : Basic Books, 2011. - xvi, 253 pages ; 21 cm

Since it was first published nearly three decades ago, "The Art of Biblical Narrative" has radically expanded the horizons of biblical scholarship by recasting the Bible as a work of literary art deserving studied criticism. Renowned critic and translator Robert Alter presents the Hebrew Bible as a cohesive literary work, one whose many authors used innovative devices such as parallelism, contrastive dialogue, and narrative tempo to tell one of the most revolutionary stories of human history: the revelation of a single God.

Preface --
A literary approach to the Bible --
Sacred history and the beginnings of prose fiction --
Biblical type-scenes and the uses of convention --
Between narration and dialogue --
The techniques of repetition --
Characterization and the art of reticence --
Composite artistry --
Narration and knowledge --
Conclusion.

9780465022557 0465022553


Bible. --Old Testament --Language, style.
Narration in the Bible

BS1171.3 / .A45 2011