Hebrew Verse StructureIn 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) |
Contents
353 Three constituent phrase lines | 358 |
THE WORDLEVEL TROPE OF REPETITION | 361 |
411 Nomina with continuity in constituent position | 362 |
412 Nomina with discontinuity in constituent position | 363 |
414 Verbs with discontinuity in constituent position | 364 |
42 Buried simple repetition and the figura etymologica | 365 |
43 Nonlocal repetition on common ground | 366 |
44 Nonlocal repetition without common ground | 367 |
| 37 | |
| 38 | |
| 39 | |
| 40 | |
| 42 | |
| 48 | |
| 50 | |
| 52 | |
| 54 | |
| 55 | |
| 60 | |
| 64 | |
144 A preliminary statement of Hebrew verse constriction | 67 |
145 Major grammatical features of the constriction | 78 |
146 A restatement of the constriction | 86 |
15 The tropes of Hebrew verse | 87 |
151 Parallelism | 88 |
152 Parallel pairs dyads orality and formularity | 96 |
153 The wordlevel trope of repetition | 109 |
binomination coordination and combination | 112 |
155 Syntax word order harmonics and iconics | 115 |
156 The linelevel trope of matching | 118 |
157 The linelevel trope of gapping | 122 |
158 The supralinearlevel tropes | 129 |
159 The system of tropes the bicolon the tricolon and related phenomena | 132 |
16 The structure system and texture of Hebrew verse | 137 |
161 Gross structural features | 141 |
162 Ornamentation | 142 |
163 Figuration | 144 |
17 The fine structure of Hebrew verse | 146 |
172 Constriction in other languages | 152 |
173 The origins of constrictional verse orality and a word on music | 159 |
18 The plan of the essay | 163 |
182 The study | 165 |
THE TEXTS | 167 |
21 Genesis 49 The Testament of Jacob | 169 |
22 Exodus 15 The Song at the Sea | 178 |
23 Numbers 2324 The Oracles of Balaam | 185 |
24 Deuteronomy 32 The Song of Moses | 194 |
25 Deuteronomy 33 The Testament of Moses | 207 |
26 Judges 5 The Song of Deborah | 218 |
27 2 Samuel JThe Lament of David | 230 |
28 Habaqquq 3 The Psalm of Habaqquq | 233 |
29 Zephaniah 1 | 240 |
210 Zephaniah 2 | 248 |
211 Zephaniah 3 | 255 |
212 Psalm 78 | 263 |
213 Psalm 106 | 278 |
214 Psalm 107 | 288 |
FINE STRUCTURE | 297 |
311 Particles | 300 |
313 Verbs | 303 |
32 Grammatical analysis | 304 |
321 Particles | 305 |
322 Clause predicators | 306 |
323 Nominal phrase structure | 308 |
324 Participles and infinitives | 311 |
325 Constituents | 313 |
326 Units | 314 |
327 A definition of the line | 315 |
328 Line types | 316 |
329 The structure of the lines of the corpus | 320 |
3210 Dependent clauses | 322 |
33 Single clause predicated lines of two or three constituents | 323 |
331 Single independent verbal clause lines of two constituents | 326 |
332 Single independent verbal clause lines of two constituents VS | 327 |
333 Single independent verbal clause lines of two constituents VO | 328 |
337 Single independent verbal clause lines of two constituents OV | 329 |
3311 Single independent verbal clause lines of two constituents PS | 330 |
3316 Single dependent verbal clause lines of two constituents | 331 |
3317 Single dependent verbal clause lines of two constituents Nonfinite clauses infinitives | 332 |
3321 Single dependent verbal clause lines of two constituents Finite clauses temporal clauses | 333 |
3324 Single verbless clause lines of two constituents SubjectPredicate | 334 |
3327 Single independent verbal clause lines of three constituents VSO | 337 |
3332 Single independent verbal clause lines of three constituents VAS | 338 |
3336 Single independent verbal clause lines of three constituents VPO | 339 |
3341 Single independent verbal clause lines of three constituents SVP | 340 |
3345 Single independent verbal clause lines of three constituents A VS | 341 |
3350 Single independent verbal clause lines of three constituents PVP | 342 |
3355 Single independent verbal clause lines of three constituents SA V | 343 |
3360 Single independent verbal clause lines of three constituents PPV | 344 |
3362 Single dependent verbal clause lines of three constituents Nonfinite clauses infinitives | 345 |
3366 Single dependent verbal clause lines of three constituents Finite clauses temporal and concessive clauses | 346 |
34 Other predicated lines | 347 |
341 Double clause lines of three constituents | 348 |
342 Double clause lines of three constituents Coordinate independent verbal clauses | 349 |
343 Double clause lines of three constituents Independent verbal clauses with quotational clauses | 350 |
346 Double clause lines of three constituents Independent verbal clauses with vocatives | 351 |
349 Double clause lines of three constituents Independent verbless clauses with vocatives | 352 |
3413 Double clause lines of three constituents Subordinate verbal clauses with vocatives | 353 |
3415 Double clause lines of two constituents Coordinate independent verbal clauses | 354 |
3419 Single clause lines of four constituents | 355 |
35 Nominal lines | 356 |
351 Three constituent phraseclause lines | 357 |
45 Juxtapositions | 368 |
46 Summary | 369 |
THE WORDLEVEL TROPES OF COLORATION BINOMINATION COORDINATION AND COMBINATION | 371 |
511 Divine binomination | 372 |
512 Numinous binomination | 373 |
513 Personal binomination | 374 |
514 Social organization binomination | 375 |
515 Geographical binomination | 376 |
52 Coordination | 377 |
523 Emblematic coordination | 378 |
531 Construct combination | 379 |
533 Construct combination without repetition Three member construct chains | 382 |
534 Construct combination with repetition | 383 |
536 Adjectival combination | 384 |
537 Appositional combination | 385 |
54 Burial | 387 |
55 Summary | 389 |
THE LINELEVEL TROPE OF MATCHING | 391 |
61 Two line matches | 392 |
612 Independent verbal clause lines of three constituents | 393 |
613 Independent verbless clause lines | 395 |
615 Double clause lines with verbal coordination | 396 |
62 Three line matches | 397 |
622 Independent verbal clause lines of three constituents | 398 |
631 Independent verbal clause lines of two constituents | 399 |
65 Summary | 400 |
THE LINELEVEL TROPE OF GAPPING AND RELATED PHENOMENA | 401 |
711 Rightward verb gapping | 402 |
712 Leftward verb gapping | 404 |
73 Particle gapping | 405 |
732 Negative gapping | 406 |
THE SUPRALINEARLEVEL TROPE OF SYNTACTIC DEPENDENCY | 409 |
811 Passages with a quotative frame | 412 |
812 Other quotative passages | 414 |
821 Phrase lines | 415 |
822 Phraseclause and dependent clause lines | 416 |
823 Phrase lines phraseclause lines and dependent clause lines | 417 |
83 Passages with verbless clause cores | 419 |
84 Independent noun phrases | 420 |
THE SUPRALINEARLEVEL TROPE OF MIXING | 421 |
92 Phrase mixing | 422 |
GROSS STRUCTURE | 423 |
101 Poems with plain articulations | 425 |
1012 Deuteronomy 33 The Testament of Moses | 433 |
1013 Numbers 2324 The Oracles of Balaam | 443 |
1014 Summary | 451 |
1015 Reconsideration | 460 |
102 Poems with burdens | 466 |
1021 2 Samuel 1 Davids Lament | 468 |
1022 Exodus 15 The Song at the Sea | 471 |
1023 Psalm 107 | 475 |
1024 Summary | 481 |
103 Other individual poems | 482 |
1032 Judges 5 The Song of Deborah | 487 |
1033 Psalm 106 | 493 |
1034 Deuteronomy 32 The Song of Moses | 498 |
1035 Psalm 78 | 504 |
104 The Book of Zephaniah | 511 |
1041 Zephaniah 1 | 513 |
1042 Zephaniah 2 | 516 |
1043 Zephaniah 3 | 519 |
1044 The Poem of Zephaniah | 522 |
105 Summary | 526 |
1051 Staves | 527 |
1052 Batches | 529 |
1053 Burdens | 533 |
1055 Troping | 534 |
1057 Weight | 535 |
1059 Figuration | 536 |
10510 A last word | 537 |
THE TEXTS | 541 |
Exodus 15 The Song at the Sea | 543 |
Numbers 2324 The Oracles of Balaam | 544 |
Deuteronomy 32 The Song of Moses | 546 |
Deuteronomy 33 The Testament of Moses | 550 |
Judges 5 The Song of Deborah | 552 |
2 Samuel 1 The Lament of David | 555 |
Habaqquq 3 The Psalm of Habaqquq | 556 |
Zephaniah 1 | 558 |
Zephaniah 2 | 559 |
Zephaniah 3 | 561 |
Psalm 78 | 563 |
Psalm 106 | 567 |
Psalm 107 | 570 |
| 573 | |
| 601 | |
| 615 | |
| 619 | |
WORD INDEX | 624 |
| 628 | |
| 629 | |
Errata to the First Printing | 630 |
AN AFTERWORD TO HEBREW VERSE STRUCTURE | 631 |
Common terms and phrases
alliteration argument basic batch begins Biblical burden Chapter Class clause predicator combination common complex consider Constellation construct contains core corpus Cross Dahood dependency described discussed elements English examples fact figure final four Freedman further gapping grammatical heavy lines Hebrew verse important includes independent verbal clause involved language length less lines batch lines of three linguistic major marked matching meter metrical mixing nominal phrases noted noun Number of lines object occur opens oracle oral pairs parallelism particles passage pattern phenomena poem poetic poetry position possible prepositional prose Psalm range reading refer regularities relation repetition separated simple Single independent verbal Standard Description stave structure suggests syllables syntactic term third three constituents tradition treated troping types units verb verbal clause lines verbless whole Yahweh
Popular passages
Page 13 - The poetic function projects the principle of equivalence from the axis of selection into the axis of combination.
Page 7 - The English Language is perhaps of all the present European Languages by much the most simple in its form and construction. Of all the ancient Languages extant That is the most simple, which is undoubtedly the most ancient ; but even that Language itself does not equal the English in simplicity.
Page 3 - If external action is effete and rhyme is outmoded, I shall revert to you, Habakkuk, as on a recent occasion I was goaded into doing by XY, who was speaking of unrhymed verse. This man said — I think that I repeat his identical words: Hebrew poetry is prose with a sort of heightened consciousness.
Page 6 - The poetic resources concealed in the morphological and syntactic structure of language, briefly the poetry of grammar, and its literary product, the grammar of poetry, have been seldom known to critics and mostly disregarded by linguists but skillfully mastered by creative writers.
Page 56 - ... structure — he uses the phonological principles that he controls to determine a phonetic shape. The hypothesis will then be accepted if it is not too radically at variance with the acoustic material, where the range of permitted discrepancy may vary widely with conditions and many individual factors. Given acceptance of such a hypothesis, what the hearer "hears" is what is internally generated by the rules.
Page 15 - Many such seemingly radical changes in poetic form are actually more or less automatic responses to linguistic change. Alliteration, for example, seems to be found as an obligatory formal element only in languages where the stress regularly falls on the same syllable in the word, which then must be the alliterating syllable.
Page 61 - No doubt, verse is primarily a recurrent "figure of sound." Primarily, always, but never uniquely. Any attempts to confine such poetic conventions as meter, alliteration, or rhyme to the sound level are speculative reasonings without any empirical justification. The projection of the equational principle into the sequence has a much deeper and wider significance. Valery's view of poetry as "hesitation between the sound and the sense