English Department                                                               The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

B.A. 3rd yr., sems. A and B                                              Prof. Lawrence Besserman
tashs”ad/2003-04                                                                 Wed: 8.30-10.00

The Bible and English Literature

Course Description:

The course focuses on the diction, imagery, narrative techniques, and principal thematic concerns of the English Bible, a literary masterpiece in its own right, and the single most important influence on English literature throughout the ages.  Readings include complete works or substantial selections from major books of the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha.  Though our reading is in English, we consider the generic conventions and the social, cultural, and historical contexts in which biblical literature was produced.  In addition to close literary study of individual biblical works from Genesis to Revelation, other topics to be considered include: the complexities of the construction of gender roles in and across various biblical texts; the problem of unity and diversity in a single book that is also an anthology of Near Eastern and Late Antique literary forms; the related problem of the canon of Scripture and its contested formation; the influential rabbinic mode of biblical interpretation known as midrash and contemporaneous Christian forms of biblical exegesis (parable, allegory, and typology); and the history and problematics of English Bible translation (with special attention to the literary and cultural landmarks of the Wycliffite Bible versions, c. 1385-95, and the King James/Authorized Version, 1611).  The influence of the Bible on English writers will occupy us throughout the course, and in their term papers students will have the option of exploring the relationship between a specific biblical text and a major English poem, play, or novel (Byron’s Cain, Milton’s Samson Agonistes, Robert Frost’s Masque of Reason, etc.).

Required text:

• The Bible: Authorized King James Version, ed. Robert Carroll and Stephen Prickett, The World’s Classics (Oxford, 1997).

Requirements/Grading:

30%: a 6-8 page term paper on the relationship between a specific biblical text and a major English poem, play, or novel; 20%: a one-hour midterm exam (IDs); 10%: one brief class-presentation outlining the major topics to be addressed in the term paper; 40%: final exam (50% IDs, 50% essay).  Participation is an essential component of this class; 3 unexcused absences will result in a lowered grade.

Semesters A: 

29.10        Introduction: the “Bible in/and/as Literature”; the Canon; “In the beginning. . .”: (Genesis 1-11).

05.11    Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 12-27) Jacob (28-36) Joseph (Genesis 37-50).

12.11    Moses (Exodus 1-20, 32-34), to Joshua (1-11, 23-24), and the Judges (1-5, 13-16, 19-21).

19.11    Samuel, Saul, David, Solomon (I Samuel 1-31, II Samuel 1-24, I Kings 1-5, 9-11, 16:29-22; II Kings 1-2, 22-25) 

26.11    “                      “                                  “                        

03.12    “                    “                                  “         

10.12    “                    “                                  “           

17.12    Wisdom Literature: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job

24.12    “                      “                                  “         

31.12    Psalms (1, 19, 23, 63, 115); Song of Songs

07.01    “                      “                                  “                     

14.01    Prophets: Isaiah 1-11, 40-66; Jeremiah 1-10, 23-24; Ezekiel 1-3, 37; Daniel 1-7, 12; Jonah

21.01    “                      “                                  “         

28.01   Midterm exam              

Semester B:

03.03    Apocrypha: Judith, Tobias

10.03    “                      “                                             

17.03    Susannah, Bel and the Dragon, Ecclesiasticus         

24.03   New Testament: Matthew, Mark              

31.03    “                      “                                             

[01-16.4 Pesach vacation]

21.04   Luke, John   

28.04    “

05.05   Acts of the Apostles                               

12.05    Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians 1-5, Ephesians, Philippians, Epistle of James

19.5     “                                  “                                  “

[25-26.5 Shavuot vacation]

02.06    “                                  “                                  “         

09.06    “                                  “                                  “

16.06    Revelation  

Reserve Reading List: “The Bible and English Literature”

•  Alter, Robert.  The Art of Biblical Narrative.   New York, 1981.  (BS1171.2 A45)
• ---.  The Art of Biblical Poetry.  New York, 1985.  (BS1405.2 .A48 1985)
• ---, and Frank Kermode, eds.  The Literary Guide to the Bible.  Cambridge, Mass.,  1987.  (BS511.2 L58 1987)
• Atwan, Robert, and Laurance Wieder, eds.  Chapters into Verse: Poetry in English  Inspired by the Bible.  2 vols.  Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 1993.   (PR 1191.C44 1993)
• Auerbach, Erich. Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature. Trans. Willard Trask. Garden City, New York, 1957 (lst publ, in German, 1946).  Pp. 1-20.  (PN56 .R3 A83)
• Bruce, F. F.  History of the Bible in English from the Earliest Versions.  3rd ed.  New York, 1978.  (BS 455. B74 1978)
• Frye, Northrop.  The Great Code: The Bible and Literature.  New York and London, 1981.  (PN56 .B5F7)
• Gabel, John B., and Charles B. Wheeler.  The Bible as Literature: An Introduction.  3rd ed.  New York, 1996.  (BS535 .G25 1996)
• Gros Louis, Kenneth R. R., James Ackerman, and Thayer S. Warshaw, eds. Literary Interpretations of Biblical Narratives.  2 vols.  Nashville, 1974, 1982.   (BS 535. G76)
• Jeffrey, David Lyle, gen. ed.  A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature.  Grand Rapids, 1992. (PR149 .B5 D53 1992 )
• Kermode, Frank. The Genesis of Secrecy: On the Interpretation of Narrative.  Cambridge, Mass., 1979.  (PN81 .K4)
• McConnell, Frank, ed. The Bible and the Narrative Tradition. Oxford, 1986.
  (BS535 .B49 1986.)
• Norton, David. A History of the English Bible as Literature. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge UP, 2000.  BS 585 .N67 2000. 
• Roston, Murray.  Prophet and Poet: The Bible and the Growth of Romanticism.  Evanston, 1965.  (PR 590 .R6 1965q)
• ---.  Biblical Drama in England: From the Middle Ages to the Present Day.  London,  1968.  (PR 635. R4 R6 1968)
• Schneidau, Herbert N.  Sacred Discontent: The Bible and Western Tradition.  Berkeley, 1977.  (BS511.2 S36)
• Schwartz, Regina, ed.  The Book and the Text: The Bible and Literary Theory.  Oxford, 1990. (BS 535. B66 1990)