Poetic and Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament

REL 310


Study Topics and Assignments
Week 1 - Poetry

Class Notes

Textbook Readings : Pages 15 - 18 "The Characteristics of Hebrew Poetry"

InterNet Resources

This Week's Assignment : Twenty Questions

As your answers will be taken mainly from the Bible and the textbook, you do not need to check with Turnitin

  1. If something rhymes, is it necessarily good poetry? Give examples
  2. According to the textbook, roughly what proportion of the Old Testament is written in poetic form
  3. According to the textbook, who elucidated the primary characteristic of Hebrew poetry, and what is it
  4. What is synonymous parallelism
  5. Give an example of synonymous parallelism other than those given in the textbook. You may find an example in the Psalms, or you may write one of your own
  6. What is chiastic parallelism
  7. Give an example of chiastic parallelism other than those given in the textbook. You may find an example in the Psalms, or you may write one of your own
  8. What is antithetic parallelism
  9. Give an example of antithetic parallelism other than those given in the textbook. You may find an example in the Psalms, or you may write one of your own
  10. What is alliteration
  11. Which epic poem from Old English also uses alliteration. Write out two lines of this poem to show the alliteration
  12. What is paronomasia
  13. What is an acrostic
  14. Give an example of an acrostic in the Old Testament. You do not need to write it out
  15. What is ellipsis
  16. Write out an example of ellipsis from the Book of Psalms. You may use the example given in the textbook.
  17. Write out an example of poetic imagery from the Old Testament, other than that given in the textbook
  18. What are the 6 main meters found in English poetry. Give their rhythm in "duh-DAH" form
  19. A. Write out the metric scheme for a verse of "The Lord's my Shepherd", using "duh-DAH" and showing feet with a slash /
    B. What is the name for this meter
    See the InterNet links for the words and music for this hymn
  20. A. Write out the metric scheme for a verse of "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty", using "duh-DAH" and showing feet with a slash /
    B. What is the name for this meter
    See the InterNet links for the words and music for this hymn

Remember to cite your sources
Use MSWord or a text editor such as Notepad to prepare and save your work, then send it as an Attachment to, or pasted into, an email message to Dr. Rollinson at rollinsondr@yahoo.com,rollinsondr@hellokitty.com,rollinsondr@mail2world.com.
Please use all 3 email addresses in case any of the mailboxes go down.

Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved

Dr. Rollinson

Station 19, ENMU
Portales, NM 88130

Last Updated : August 2, 2011

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