Classical Hebrew Poetry: A Guide to Its Techniques

by Wilfred G.E. Watson

In spite of debatable issues, such as metre, we now know enough about classical Hebrew poetry to be able to understand how it was composed. This large-scale manual, rich in detail, exegesis and bibliography, provides guidelines for the analysis and appreciation of Hebrew verse. Topics include oral poetry, metre, parallelism and forms of the strophe and stanza. Sound patterns and imagery are also discussed. A lengthy chapter sets out a whole range of other poetic devices and the book closes with a set of worked examples of Hebrew poetry. Throughout, other ancient Semitic verse has been used for comparison and the principles of modern literary criticism have been applied.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Poetry, Reference, Old Testament

Paperback

First published August 1, 1984

Reviews

[Edwin Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended for serious students of Hebrew poetry. Does an excellent job providing categories and classifications for poetic devices. Covers a wide breadth of material.

[Matthew Bonzon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A helpful resource on the various nuances of Hebrew poetry

[Lu Tsun · Rating 5 out of 5]

The achievement of Watson's Classical Hebrew Poetry: A Guide to Its Technique is unparalleled. The style is somewhat overly technical and tedious, however we cannot analyze Hebrew poetry without this level of sensitivity and proficiency to detect the latent rhetorical devices.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very detailed reference for Hebrew poetry, it can be difficult to follow due to the use of numerous definitions to define poetic devices and divisions of verses, but it is still a worthwhile reference to have.

[Timothy Decker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't interact enough with or give credence to Kugel. Would prefer a 3.5 rating as he covers some good material.