Narrative/Literary Criticism

Narrative/Literary Criticism

A Focus on the TextA Focus on the Text

The Discipline of Lit Crit

• 1940’s - New Criticism

• Previously focus on background information

• literary work as autonomous object

• judged on intrinsic criteria -coherence, integrity, equilibrium, complexity, parts to the whole

• Implied Author and Audience

• final form- rhetoric, style, syntax, tone, point of view, imagery, setting, plot, characters, narrators

Developments

• Structuralism

• Deep Structure

• Common plots and characters

• Reader Response - meaning transcends

Redaction to Narrative

• Evangelists not just as editors, but as authors

• Lit Crit: If authors, they must be studied as other authors

• Looks for one correct theme, structure, historical setting of the author

• Lit Crit: A variety of meanings in text and among readers

“These books are stories about Jesus , not compilations of miscellaneous data

concerning him. They are meant to be read

from beginning to end, not dissected and examined to

determine the relative value of individual

passages.” Mark Alan Powell, What is

Narrative Criticism?

Timeline

1969 William Beardslee

1977 David Rhodes and Don Michie, Mark as Story

1983Kingsbury, Christology of Mark’s Gospel

Culpepper, Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel

1985Tannehill,

Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts

Advantages and Dangers?Advantages and Dangers?

Caesarea Philippi

Caesarea Philippi