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The bacteria would become an archive of a certain idea of poetry, a poem actually alive, a poem that would likely endure longer than any reader or any concept of poetry d. Book 1 is not that story, not that poem. All along it was understood that the poem was not going to be the verbal icon, and not the book either, but the work of the poem in its trying to get made. It is strange then that most of that work on the bioart poem goes unmentioned in Book 1.
Instead, the book consists of five sections containing a mix of prose and poetry, whose form and content are structured in varying degrees by some aspects of genomics. With the genome as muse and medium, this is really a DNA text. The book fits somewhere in the early twenty-first century between J. This was a time when one could openly question whether skill at synthetic genetic modification or care for a biodiverse world stood as the highest mark of intelligence. Many of the poems in the book take on the visual and organizational feel of nucleic material. Writing with the genome requires working with its generative and generational properties that occur at micro and macro scales.
How do you write and read for at least a ten-thousand-year time span? There are clocks made to keep time for ten thousand years, and writings inscribed on tombs for radioactive nuclear waste meant for any possible reader who might stumble upon such a toxic archive. Xenopoetics involves reading and writing in varying time scales and from varying points of view in addition to the human perspective.
All texts have xenopoetic qualities as they ask: In addition to form and content, the question of contact becomes paramount for the poem. The next section to be covered, the Poetical , is a much smaller section consisting of five books—Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Before examining them, we should note certain characteristics that all of these five books have. The seventeen books which lie behind us are historical. These five poetical books are experiential.
The seventeen historical books are concerned with a nation , as such. These five poetical books are concerned with individuals , as such. The seventeen have to do with the Hebrew race. These five have to do with the human heart. There are stretches of unexcellable poetry in the writings of the prophets, which we shall come to later …. It must not be thought to imply that they are simply the product of human imagination. Especially too they concern themselves with the experiences of the godly , in the varying vicissitudes of this changeful life which is ours under the sun … Song of Solomon— Bliss through Union.
While Hebrew poetry occurred throughout Old Testament history, there were three primary periods of poetic literature. As noted previously, Christ, the Messiah, is the heart of all the Bible. With the two disciples on the Emmaus road who were so saddened and perplexed over the events of the previous days as the crucifixion, death, and reports of the resurrection, the resurrected Savior came along side and explained the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures Luke Then later when he appeared to the eleven and He said: With this in mind, before launching into the overview of each of these poetical books, it would be well to get their Christological perspective.
Regarding this element Geisler writes:. Whereas the foundation was laid for Christ in the Law and preparation was made for Christ in the books of History, the books of Poetry reveal the aspiration for Christ in the hearts of the people. They aspired to a life fulfilled in Christ in both an explicit and an implicit way, both consciously and unconsciously. The following list will serve as an overall guide to the Christ-centered aspirations of the poetical books:.
Song of Solomon—aspiration for union in love with Christ. Hebrew poetry, so characteristic of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon , is unlike English poetry which emphasizes rhyme and meter. Hebrew poetry relies on other characteristics for its impact. Parallelism is the chief characteristic of biblical poetry, but it has other features that distinguish it from the typical prose or narrative we find in the rest of Scripture.
First, there a relatively greater conciseness or terseness of form, and second there is a greater use of certain types of rhetorical devices. These are parallelism, rhythm, a rich use of imagery, and figures of speech. There are three kinds of poetry: In contrast to English verse which manipulates sound and emphasizes rhyme and meter, Hebrew poetry repeats and rearranges thoughts rather than sounds. Synonymous --the thought of the first line is basically repeated in different words in the second line 2: Antithetical --the thought of the first line is emphasized by a contrasting thought in the second line 1: Synthetic --the second line explains or further develops the idea of the first line 1: Climactic --The second line repeats with the exception of the last terms Emblematic --One line conveys the main point, the second line illuminates it by an image Like the Hebrew language itself, Hebrew poetry uses vivid images, similes, metaphors, and other rhetorical devices to communicate thoughts and feelings.
Some of these are as follows:. This is the simplest of all the figures of speech. A simile is a comparison between two things that resemble each other in some way cf. This occurs when there is only an implied comparison between two things in which the name of one thing is used in place of the other cf. This is the use of exaggeration or over statement to stress a point Ps.
This refers to the use or repetition of words that are similar in sound, but not necessarily in sense or meaning in order to achieve a certain effect. This can only be observed by those who can read the original Hebrew text. This involves the use of redundancy for the sake of emphasis. This may occur with the use of words or sentences. May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! The use of a question to confirm or deny a fact Ps.
This occurs where one noun is used in place of another because of some relationship or type of resemblance that different objects might bear to one another Ps. While we know the title of this book obviously comes from its main character, Job, and that he was an historical person Ezek. Commentators have suggested Job himself, Elihu, Moses, Solomon, and others. It is important to distinguish between the date of writing and of the events of the book. Regarding the date, Ryrie writes;.
The date of the events in the book and the date of the writing of the book are two different matters. The events may have taken place in a patriarchal society in the second millennium B. Several facts support this dating: Three principal views exist concerning the date of writing: On the other hand, the book shares characteristics of other wisdom literature e.
Set in the time of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, the Book of Job derives its name from its chief character, a man called Job, who, experiencing extreme suffering the loss of wealth, family and health , struggles with the question of why? Earlier attempts to determine an etymology of the name have given way to evidence from a well-attested west Semitic name in the second millennium found in the Amarna Letters, Egyptian Execration texts, Mari, Alalakh, and Ugaritic documents. The book wrestles with the age-old question: Why do righteous men suffer, if God is a God of love and mercy?
It clearly teaches the sovereignty of God and the need for man to acknowledge such. All suffering is due to sin. Elihu, however, declared that suffering is often the means of purifying the righteous. This book deals with the theoretical problem of pain and disaster in the life of the godly. It undertakes to answer the question, Why do the righteous suffer? This answer comes in a threefold form: Even though man is unable to see the issues of life with the breadth and vision of the Almighty; nevertheless God really knows what is best for His own glory and for our ultimate good. A further purpose is certainly to demonstrate the conflict of the ages between God and Satan and to show the relationship of suffering to this conflict.
In the end, it demonstrates the truth of Romans 8: For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil.
After eating the fruit, Adam and Eve have lustful sex. The Arguments brief summaries at the head of each book were added in subsequent imprints of the first edition. Christ as seen in Psalms: This love affair is understood to typify the warm, personal relationship which God desires with His spiritual bride, composed of all redeemed believers who have given their hearts to Him. This answer comes in a threefold form: With this in mind, before launching into the overview of each of these poetical books, it would be well to get their Christological perspective. It is divine 8:
And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to ruin him without cause. Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.
Christ is seen in several ways in Job. Job acknowledges a Redeemer The Book of Psalms is not only the largest book of the Bible, but it perhaps the most widely used book in Scripture because of the way it speaks to the human heart in all of our experiences in life. Again and again sighing is turned into singing through prayer and praise. For the most part, though the texts of the psalms do not designate their authors, the titles do often indicate the author of the various psalms. The following chart designates the authors of these psalms as they are found in the titles: Authorship of the Psalms.
The Psalms are really five books in one. Each of the following book division concludes with a doxology while Psalm occupies the place of the doxology and forms an appropriate conclusion to the entire collection. This correspondence to the Pentateuch may be seen in the following outline: Psalms about praise and the Word of God —corresponds to Deuteronomy.
As to their types, the following illustrates a generally agreed upon set of categories:. Lament or Petition , either individual Ps. Thanksgiving or Praise , either individual Ps. Enthronement hymns of Yahweh: The psalms may also be classified according to special themes as: With their very broad chronological range, the wide thematic arrangement, and the many different audiences living under a variety of conditions, the psalms reflect a multitude of moods and experiences that make them extremely relevant to the reader regardless of the day in which he lives.
Regarding the date of the various psalms, Archer writes:. Of these, the earliest would naturally be Ps. The Davidic psalms would have originated between and b. It is hard to date the descendants of Korah and the two Ezrahites who are mentioned; presumably they were pre-exilic. Of the psalms not carrying titles, some were undoubtedly Davidic e. No convincing evidence, however, has been offered for the dating of any of the psalms later than approximately b.
A shortened form is Tillim. Only one psalm is designated Tehillah praise , but praise is the heart of the psalms. The psalms provide us with a message of hope and comfort through the common theme of worship. They are, in essence, an antidote to fear and complaining. They are an expression of the worship, faith, and spiritual life of Israel. As a collection of a psalms they naturally cover a great variety of feelings, circumstances and themes. This means it is difficult to make any generalizations about a theme or purpose, but it is safe to say that all the psalms embody a personal response on the part of the believer toward the goodness and grace of God.
But whether the psalmist is occupied with a mournful or a joyous theme, he is always expressing himself as in the presence of the living God. There are a few psalms, of course, which mostly contain the thoughts and revelations of God Himself, such as Ps. Many of the psalms survey the Word of God, His attributes, and are Messianic in their scope in anticipation of the coming Messiah.
In thought, worship , is certainly a key word as expressed in the theme above. In this regard, praise , which occurs some times and some form of the word bless, blessing, bless , occurs over a times in the NASB. How do you list key verses in a book like psalms where nearly everyone is bound to have his or her own special verses that have been dear to their heart, but the following is a suggestion:. By keeping it according to Your word. As with the verses, so we also face difficulty in selecting key chapters, but the following are suggested.
Psalm 1, 22, 23, 24; 37; 78; ; ; , and Psalm beautifully unites to central themes of praise and worship. Though the titles to the psalms do sometimes point to the subject or author of the psalm, like David or Korah, the text of the psalms does not. Rather, the focus seems to be more on the people of God in their worship and walk with Lord. Many of the psalms are Messianic and speak of the person and work of Christ. They fall into falling categories:. These psalms are less obviously messianic. The psalmist in some way is a type of Christ cf.
Perhaps, in this case Jesus and the apostles were applying familiar psalmic expressions to their experiences e. According to 1 Kings 4: And while he wrote most of proverbs in this book, later chapters indicate that he was not the only author of the book. Three sections of the proverbs are ascribed to Solomon; chapters 1: However, the proverbs in the latter section Chapter 30 is specifically attributed to Agur, son of Jakeh, and As a book of wisdom, Proverbs is not an historical book but rather the product of the school of wisdom in Israel.
O may your sceptre num'rous nations sway, And all with love and readiness obey! But how shall we the British king reward! Rule thou in peace, our father, and our lord!
Great God, direct, and guard him from on high, And from his head let ev'ry evil fly! And may each clime with equal gladness see A monarch's smile can set his subjects free! Wheatley was the first African-American to publish a book, man or woman, and the first to achieve an international reputation when she traveled to London to publish Poems on Various Subjects in Wheatley was unable to publish any additional poetry.
Between 30 October and 18 December , she ran six advertisements soliciting subscribers for " pages in Octavo", a volume "Dedicated to the Right Hon. As with Poems on Various Subjects , however, the American populace would not support one of its most noted poets. An estimated total of of Wheatley's poems have been lost. Thomas Jefferson panned Wheatley's ability in his Notes on the State of Virginia , writing that "[r]eligion, indeed, has produced a Phillis Wheatley; but it could not produce a poet.
The compositions published under her name are below the dignity of criticism. George Washington responded to a poem Wheatley had composed for him, writing that "however undeserving I may be of such encomium and panegyrick, the style and manner exhibit a striking proof of your great poetical Talents. In addition, Johnson notes that her poetry was simply the poetry of the time, that is, the 18th century, and that she was very much influenced by Alexander Pope.
Johnson concludes by stating that "her work must not be judged by the work and standards of a later day, but by the work and standards of her own day and her own contemporaries. By this method of criticism she stands out as one of the important characters in the making of American literature, without any allowances for her sex or her antecedents". It is also argued that Wheatley's position as a slave did not afford her the freedom to truly speak her mind in her poetry.
Scholars have recently uncovered poems, letters and facts about Wheatley and her association with 18th-century black abolitionists, and "charted her notable use of classicism and have explicated the sociological intent of her biblical allusions. All this research and interpretation has proven Wheatley's disdain for the institution of slavery and her use of art to undermine its practice".
This poem can be said to be among the most controversial poems in African-American literature, as it overlooks the brutality of the slave trade, the horrors of the middle passage and the oppressive life of slavery. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Sewell On the Rev. Richard Wilson To S. An Answer to ditto, by Phillis Wheatley [9]. The Book of American Negro Poetry.
Referenced 28 April Including all the essays, and exhibiting the more important alterations and corrections in the successive editions published by the author. Little, Brown and Company, Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime. University of California Press, , Archived from the original on 4 January Referenced 2 May Referenced 14 May Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral.