Narrative criticism is an approach to analyzing and interpreting biblical texts that focuses on the narrative elements and structure of the text. It views the biblical text as a form of storytelling, with plots, characters, settings, and literary devices. The goal of narrative criticism is to understand the text as a whole, looking at how the various narrative elements work together to convey meaning.
Some key aspects of narrative criticism include:
Plot: Narrative critics pay close attention to the sequence of events, looking at how the plot unfolds and how events are connected. Things like conflict, climax, resolution, cause and effect relationships, and pacing are analyzed.
Characters: The characters in the narrative are examined, including their traits, motivations, development, and relationships with other characters. Characterization reveals themes and meanings in the text.
Setting: When and where a story takes place is significant. Narrative critics explore how the setting shapes the events and meaning of the story.
Narrator/Point of view: Narrative critics look at who is telling the story, and how the narrator’s perspective shapes the telling of the events. Is the narrator omniscient, limited, reliable or unreliable?
Literary devices: The literary techniques used in biblical narratives are studied, such as repetition, metaphors, irony, foreshadowing, and more. These devices are meaningful in understanding the narrative.
Structure: The overall structure of the narrative is analyzed to see how the ordering and arrangement of the story contributes to its effects and emphases. Things like beginnings/ends, patterns, proportions, and more reveal insight.
So in summary, narrative criticism focuses on the storytelling nature of the biblical text. It seeks to appreciate and interpret the text as a narrative whole, looking at plot, characters, setting, narration, literary devices, structure, and more. The goal is to understand the text on its own narrative terms.
Narrative criticism arose in biblical studies in the 1970s and 80s through the pioneering work of scholars like Robert Alter and Meir Sternberg. They argued that the Bible should be read as literature with a focus on the final form of the text as we have it, rather than looking solely at historical background. This was in contrast to historical criticism which dominated much of biblical scholarship up to that point.
There are several key principles that undergird narrative criticism:
1. The text should be understood as a unified whole. All the elements work together to create meaning.
2. The text has a coherent narrative logic. There is an intentionality in how the story is told.
3. The narrator has a perspective that shapes the telling of the story. We should seek to understand that narratorial point of view.
4. Literary artistry matters. The literary techniques and devices in the text are meaningful and should be analyzed. This is not haphazard storytelling.
5. The implied reader’s response is important. We should seek to hear the text as the implied original audience would have heard it.
6. Close reading matters. We should pay attention to details, patterns, repetitions, structures, contrasts, ambiguities, ironies, and nuances in the text.
7. The final form of the text holds priority over speculative reconstructions about sources and editing. The text as we have it should be the focus.
8. The world of the text takes priority over purported historical backgrounds. The meanings arise from the narrative world created by the text itself.
9. The communication and aesthetics of the text take priority over assumed authorial intentions. Authorial intention is usually unrecoverable and giving text priority guards against eisegesis.
There are several distinctive features of narrative critical analysis:
– Attention to literary artistry, techniques, and details
– Focus on final form of text
– Emphasis on coherence, unity, and narrative logic
– Exploring implied reader’s experience
– Analyzing plot, characters, setting, narrator’s perspective
– Tracing patterns, irony, ambiguity, intertextuality
– Prioritizing world of text over background
– Bracketing out historical referentiality
– Suspending judgments about historicity
– Avoiding atomization of text
The steps in a narrative critical analysis generally include:
1. Identify the boundaries of the narrative unit to be studied. This could be a discrete story, a unified cycle of stories, or a larger narrative book.
2. Read through the entire narrative unit to get a feel for the overall flow and emphasis.
3. Analyze the plot structure and plot devices employed.
4. Study the characters, their actions, motives, relationships.
5. Examine the patterns of repetition and contrast.
6. Explore temporal and spatial features of the setting.
7. Analyze the narrator’s perspective and narrating techniques.
8. Identify literary artistry, devices, details, ironies, ambiguities.
9. Note intertextual echoes and allusions to other biblical texts.
10. Analyze the beginning and ending of the narrative for clues.
11. Synthesize the analysis into unified interpretation of the narrative meaning and effect. Avoid atomizing the text.
12. Compare scholarly interpretations and appropriate extra-textual sources.
13. Draw theological and contemporary significance from the textual interpretation.
Narrative criticism has numerous strengths as an approach:
– Takes the biblical text seriously as literature
– Focuses on final form of canonical text
– Brings out literary artistry and aesthetics
– Values coherence and unity of text
– Recovers implied reader’s perspective
– Helpfully analyzes plot, characters, setting
– Provides effective close reading strategy
– Guards against decontextualization
– Brackets out historical background constructively
– Yields theologically meaningful interpretation
Like any approach, narrative criticism also has certain weaknesses and limitations:
– Can ignore or downplay historical contextual matters
– May ignore moral and theological problems in the texts
– Could miss social, political dimensions of the narratives
– May not account well for complex editorial layers
– Could avoid difficult questions of historicity
– Might not address contemporary ethical application
– Can sometimes be too subjective and imaginative
Overall, narrative criticism remains a valuable and insightful approach to biblical interpretation. When employed judiciously and supplemented by other methods, narrative criticism can open up rich understandings of the theological meanings and literary artistry of biblical narratives. It calls attention to the remarkably crafted stories that make up such a central part of the biblical literature.
Here are some examples of key Bible passages and books that have been fruitfully studied using narrative criticism:
Genesis: Narrative critics have explored the overall plot structure tying together the primeval history (Gen 1-11) and the patriarchal narratives (Gen 12-50). Attention is given to plot patterns, character development, irony, intertextual echoes, and more in these foundational stories.
Exodus: The Exodus narrative has been examined as a unified story with a conflict-resolution plot structure. The narration traces the oppression of Hebrews, the rise of Moses, the plagues, redemption through the Red Sea, the giving of the Law, the golden calf debacle, and finally the Tabernacle as partial resolution. Literary devices, characterization, settings, and narrative emphases yield theological meaning.
2 Samuel: TheSuccession Narrative (2 Sam 9-20; 1 Kgs 1-2) recounts David’s decline and Solomon’s rise. Narrative critics analyze plot tensions, character contrasts, irony, inclusions, chiastic patterns, spatial movement, and the gap between narrator/reader knowledge and character knowledge. This exposes the ambiguity around David and Solomon.
Amos: The Book of Amos has been studied as a narrative whole with a plot conflict between God and Israel. Amos’s prophecies are structured around three judgment oracles alternating with three symbol narratives. These narratives act as metaphorical enactments of coming judgment, driving the plot forward. Descriptive praise hymns also add to the literary artistry and ironies.
Mark: The Gospel of Mark displays vivid narration in presenting Jesus’ identity and mission. Narrative critics examine Mark’s use of irony, foreshadowing, framing devices, spatial movement, misunderstanding-revelation patterns, characterization, and more to show how the narrative discloses Jesus’ messianic identity and the necessary road of suffering.
John: The Gospel of John is appreciated by narrative critics for its symbolic settings, dualistic characterization, irony, misunderstanding-revelation exchanges, and overt narrator commentary. These literary techniques subtly portray Jesus as the divine Messiah and Son of God. The plot moves towards generating faith in the reader.
In conclusion, narrative criticism focuses on the storytelling nature of biblical texts. It analyzes plot structure, characterization, settings, narration, literary devices, and overall narrative shaping in order to interpret the theological meanings and artistry of the text as a unified whole. This approach opens up new vistas into the remarkably crafted stories that form such an essential part of the Bible’s literature. When employed in tandem with other methods, narrative criticism can yield rich understandings for contemporary readers seeking to hear these texts on their own narrative terms.
