Biblical Literature / RELB/LITR 366

Perhaps the most influential critical text reading the Bible as a work of literature. Frye explains how the Bible provides its own code for interpretation, but also a code that applies to other works of literature, historical events, and even world views.

Shows how the primitive elements of myth have over the centuries given our literature its structures and power. The book is a continuation of Frye's first study, THE GREAT CODE. One must not read the first to gain from the second.

By complementing the Biblical tradition with the Classical, this volume provides a comprehensive introduction to Western mythology. Engaging and accessible, Biblical and Classical Myths represents a unique achievement in scholarship and is an essential volume for students and others interested in literature and cultural studies.

Ryken is very respectful of the spiritual aims of the text, while he reads the Bible as a work of literature. Unlike many critical texts, this one is entirely aimed at believers (or those who are sympathetic to the Bible's claims).

The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery is dedicated to exploring the images, symbols, motifs, metaphors and literary patterns found in the Bible. It examines the Bible's universal archetypes or master images--including the plot motifs and character types that recur throughout life, literature and the Bible. --From publisher's description.

Ryken reads the New Testament as not merely a religious text, but as a literary text. He notes the narrative beauty and power in the gospels, as well as the profound thought of the epistles.