“It is those who would look through the text, who, disconcertingly, see least; those who would look at it and study the detailed patterning of its surface as an artifact, who discover most.” Stephen Prickett
“The Bible has had a literary influence . . . not because it has been considered literature, but because it has been considered the report of the Word of God.” T. S. Eliot
“From the beginning the word and the world together shape, as shaped syllables in the mouth, a poem to the beloved, an invitation to unbroken communion with the Other.” David Lyle Jeffrey
“It is by words and the defeat of words,
Down sudden vistas of the vain attempt,
That for a flying moment one may see
By what cross-purposes the world is dreamt.”
Richard Wilbur
Course Objectives
I have two goals for this course: first, to learn how to read the Bible with attention to its literary, verbal qualities, and second, to consider how the Bible’s self-understanding of language might shape our reading of all literature. As you can see from our reading schedule below, we’ll be reading the Bible with the help of both scholars and literary artists, and these two perspectives will hopefully complement each other. While this will be a demanding course and may stretch your view of language and divine revelation, I think that by learning to attend to the “detailed patterning” of biblical language, we will discover great riches of meaning.
Course Documents
Please upload your pre-class reflections to the appropriate folder here. In order to upload files, you’ll need to select “Join folder to receive updates” on the right side of the screen. You can also find all of the assigned essays, stories, and poems in this folder.
Grading Breakdown:
- Write 7 pre-class reflections on the assigned stories or poems and 8 on the assigned text from the Bible (only one per class period) 30%
- Midterm 15%
- Final 25%
- Final essay 30%
Course Grading Scale: A 100-93; A- 92-90; B+ 89-87; B 86-83; B- 82-80; . . . F 59-0.
Texts
- The Bible. I recommend either the KJV, RSV, or ESV. The Blue Letter Bible allows you to follow the original languages, which will be important for close analysis.
- The Art of Biblical Narrative, by Robert Alter. ISBN: 978-0-465-02255-7 (ABN)
- The Art of Biblical Poetry, by Robert Alter. ISBN: 978-0-465-02256-4 (ABP)
Course Calendar
Course meets MWF from 8:55-9:55 in SDH 209
If you need to join class via Zoom due to COVID-19 quarantine, you may use this link to do so. Let me know if you need to participate via Zoom as I won’t set up Zoom unless it is necessary.
This schedule is subject to change.
Week 1
- Wednesday 1/27: Introduction
- Friday 1/29: Stephen Prickett, Words and the Word Chapter 1
Week 2
- Monday 2/1: Galatians 1-6; “What is the Bible?“
- Wednesday 2/3: ABN (The Art of Biblical Narrative) Intro and Chapter 1; “Lying,” by Richard Wilbur; “The Story of the Bible“
- Friday 2/5: Genesis 1-2; John Milton, Paradise Lost 8.249-499; “Literary Styles in the Bible“
Week 3
- Monday 2/8: ABN Chapter 2; “Plot in Biblical Narrative“
- Wednesday 2/10: Genesis 3-11; Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The Problem“; David Lyle Jeffrey, Christianity and Literature Chapter 3; “Character in Biblical Narrative“
- Friday 2/12: no class
Week 4
- Monday 2/15: Genesis 12-19; Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Man of Adamant“; “Setting in Biblical Narrative“
- Wednesday 2/17: Genesis 20-23; Eric Auerbach, Mimesis “Odysseus’ Scar”; “The Bible as Jewish Meditation Literature“
- Friday 2/19: Genesis 24-29; ABN Chapter 3; “Design Patterns in Biblical Narrative“
Week 5
- Monday 2/22: Genesis 30-39; ABN Chapter 5
- Wednesday 2/24: no class
- Friday 2/26: Genesis 40-50; ABN Chapter 8
Week 6
- Monday 3/8: Exodus 31-32; Wendell Berry, “Don’t Send a Boy to do a Man’s Work”; “The Law“
- Wednesday 3/10: Exodus 33-34; II Cor. 3; Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Minister’s Black Veil”
- Friday 3/12: I Sam 16-20; ABN Chapter 7
Week 7
- Monday 3/15: I Sam. 21-31; ABN Chapter 4
- Wednesday 3/17: Focus
- Friday 3/19: II Sam 1–II Sam. 6; ABN Chapter 6
Week 8
- Monday 3/22: Midterm
- Wednesday 3/24: II Sam 7-II Sam 14
- Friday 3/26: Ruth; John Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale”
Week 9
- Monday 3/29: ABP (The Art of Biblical Poetry) Preface and Chapter 1; “The Art of Biblical Poetry“
- Wednesday 3/31: Judges 4-5; ABP 2; “Metaphor in Biblical Poetry“
- Friday 4/2: Good Friday
Week 10
- Monday 4/5: Easter Monday
- Wednesday 4/7: Job 1-3; Elizabeth Sewell, “Job“; Gerard Manly Hopkins, “Thou art indeed just, Lord”; ABP 3
- Friday 4/9: Job 4-14; ABP 4
Week 11
- Monday 4/12: Job 38-42; Gerard Manly Hopkins, “I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark” and “No Worst”
- Wednesday 4/14: Psalm 1; ABP 5; Wendell Berry “This is a poet of the river lands“; John Milton, Psalm 1; “The Book of Psalms“
- Friday 4/16: Psalm 19; Margaret Avison, “Ps. 19”; David Jeffrey, People of the Book Chapter 1; C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms Introduction and Chapter 6
Week 12
- Monday 4/19: ABP 6; Isaiah 49; “The Prophets“
- Wednesday 4/21: ABP 7; Proverbs 4-8; “The Books of Solomon“
- Friday 4/23: ABP 8; Song of Songs 4
Week 13
- Monday 4/26: ABP 9; George Herbert, “Antiphon 1” (or here); “Antiphon 2” (or here); Paper Proposal meetings due; make appointment here
- Wednesday 4/28: David Jeffrey, People of the Book Chapter 2; John 1; “The Gospel“
- Friday 4/30: Luke 1-7; Richard Wilbur, “A Christmas Hymn”; Wendell Berry, “As a child, the Mad Farmer saw easily”
Week 14
- Monday 5/3: Luke 8-15
- Wednesday 5/5: Luke 16-22; George Herbert, “The Sacrifice”; Giles Fletcher, “Redemption”; Elizabeth Jennings, “Act of the Imagination”
- Friday 5/7: Luke 23-24; John Updike, “Seven Stanzas at Easter”; Wendell Berry, “Early in the year by my friend’s gift”; Rowan Williams, “Resurrection: Borgo San Sepolcro”
Week 15