The Invention of Dialogue in the Bible is an examination of the Bible's use of dialogue, a feature of literary writing often seen in prose, drama, and verse. Perhaps best known for its use in novels, it reflects characters' temperaments, social and educational backgrounds, their psychology, and their relationships with their interlocutors-and its use is rarely acknowledged within the narratives of the Bible.
Comparing a wide range of dialogue specimens in the Hebrew Bible with examples from the works of writers such as Henry Fielding, George Eliot, Henry James, and E. M. Forster, author Robert Alter demonstrates that all the features we attribute to the dialogue in novels are also present in that of the Bible. Alter speculates that the principal reason for this innovation is the fact that the Bible's narratives were composed not orally, nor in verse, but in prose. While verse's formal requirements do not allow the flexibility that is crucial for novelistic dialogue, prose allows a writer to manipulate language and reshape syntax to reflect the character of the speakers, their relationships, and the narrative moment.
An insightful look into one of Western culture's most important texts, The Invention of Dialogue in the Bible will be a useful resource for anyone studying the Bible, religion, literature, or narratology.
| ISBN: | 9780253076854 |
| Publication date: | 3rd November 2026 |
| Author: | Robert Alter, Robert Alter |
| Publisher: | Indiana University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 102 pages |
| Series: | Biblical Literature |
| Genres: |
Criticism and exegesis of sacred texts Literature: history and criticism |
The Invention of Dialogue in the Bible is an examination of the Bible's use of dialogue, a feature of literary writing often seen in prose, drama, and verse. Perhaps best known for its use in novels, it reflects characters' temperaments, social and educational backgrounds, their psychology, and their relationships with their interlocutors-and its use is rarely acknowledged within the narratives of the Bible.
Comparing a wide range of dialogue specimens in the Hebrew Bible with examples from the works of writers such as Henry Fielding, George Eliot, Henry James, and E. M. Forster, author Robert Alter demonstrates that all the features we attribute to the dialogue in novels are also present in that of the Bible. Alter speculates that the principal reason for this innovation is the fact that the Bible's narratives were composed not orally, nor in verse, but in prose. While verse's formal requirements do not allow the flexibility that is crucial for novelistic dialogue, prose allows a writer to manipulate language and reshape syntax to reflect the character of the speakers, their relationships, and the narrative moment.
An insightful look into one of Western culture's most important texts, The Invention of Dialogue in the Bible will be a useful resource for anyone studying the Bible, religion, literature, or narratology.
The Invention of Dialogue in the Bible features in the following genres: Criticism and exegesis of sacred texts, Literature: history and criticism
The Invention of Dialogue in the Bible is available in Hardback
The Invention of Dialogue in the Bible was written by Robert Alter, Robert Alter and published by Indiana University Press
The Invention of Dialogue in the Bible has 102 pages
Yes it is part of Biblical Literature series
£72.00