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.

This stunning anthology gathers together the riches of poetry in Hebrew from 'The Song of Deborah' to contemporary Israeli writings. Verse written up to the tenth century show the development of piyut, or liturgical poetry, and retell episodes from the Bible and exalt the glory of God. Medieval works introduce secular ideas in love poems, wine songs and rhymed narratives, as well as devotional verse for specific religious rituals. Themes such as the longing for the homeland run through the ages, especially in verse written after the rise of the Zionist movement, while poems of the last century marry Biblical references with the horrors of the Holocaust. Together these works create a moving portrait of a rich and varied culture through the last 3,000 years.

A quantitative structural approach also helps to identify the focal message of the poems."--Jacket.

In this extensive and eclectic reconsideration of classical Hebrew poetics, O'Connor evaluates the assumptions that have guided scholars for more than two hundred years. The result is "a great leap forward in the analysis and interpretation of early Hebrew poetry." (David Noel Freedman)

A companion to Reading Biblical Narrative provides a holistic introduction to biblical poetry, offering literary examples of how the poets of the bible created their works. Original.

This volume deals with the rhetoric, the formal and thematic framework, of Psalms 90-150 (the Fourth and Fifth Book of the Psalter). It is the conclusion of the Psalms Project started with Psalms 1-41, OTS 53 (2006) , and continued with Psalms 42-89, OTS 57 (2010). Formal and thematic devices demonstrate that the psalms are composed of a consistent pattern of cantos (stanzas) and strophes. The formal devices especially include quantitative balance on the level of the cantos in terms of verselines, verbal repetitions, and (on the level of the strophes) transition markers. The quantitative approach to a psalm in terms of verselines, cola and/or words in most cases clearly discloses a focal message. This massive study is rounded off by an updated introduction to the canto design of biblical poetry (including the book of Job, Lamentations, the Songs of Songs, Deutero-Isaiah and other major poems of the Hebrew Bible).

A collection of modern Hebrew poetry that presents the poems in the original Hebrew, with an English phonetic transcription. In this new and expanded edition of a classic volume first printed in 1965, The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself adds the dynamic voices of a new generation of Hebrew poets. Each poem appears in both its original Hebrew and an English phonetic transcription, along with extensive commentary and a literal English translation. This offers readers who know little or no Hebrew a way to experience the poem in a multi-faceted way--they are able to speak and hear the lines as well as grasp the poem's meaning. Recognizing that poems have a unique order that may be missed by a reader who doesn't speak the poet's language, the editors provide the reader with an understanding of not only what the poet is saying, but how the idea is communicated. Also included in the volume is a valuable introduction to and historical overview of Hebrew poetry from 1880-1990. The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself is a must-have for lovers of poetry and Jewish literature.