The Gospel as Literary Genre and Form of Language Cover Image

The Gospel as Literary Genre and Form of Language
The Gospel as Literary Genre and Form of Language

Author(s): Pasquale Basta
Subject(s): Studies of Literature, Philology
Published by: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II - Wydział Teologii
Keywords: Gospels; literary genre; Greco-Roman bíoi; volks literature; typology

Summary/Abstract: The studies on the literary genre “gospel” are often compared with the so-called Greco-Roman bíoi and popular literature. The points of contact are numerous and undeniable. As well as the differences and peculiarities of the gospels, whose link with the Hebrew Bible is a unicum to be taken into account. In particular, the typology, with its network of references, makes the canonical gospels a text proceeding through continuous phenomena of association and repetition with the ancient Scriptures. As result, the nar-rative takes on particular tones insofar as it indulges little in the chronicle, concentrating rather on the richness of meaning hidden in entire story of Christ. Consequently, the gos-pels are evidence of a mixed genre, having some characteristics of the Greco-Roman bíoiand contemporary popular Lives, together with constant re-elaboration of OT elements re-read and applied in a typological key. And it could not be otherwise because the events and the protagonist of the gospels perfectly intersect the horizontal and vertical dimensions of a story merging with the eternal.

  • Issue Year: 11/2021
  • Issue No: 68/3
  • Page Range: 441-458
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: English