The Elusive Macrostructure of the Apocalypse of John: The Complex Literary Arrangement of an Open Text

ISBN-13: 9783631669846 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 429 str.

Roman Mach;Stephen I Wright

Opis

The author applies Umberto Eco's literary theory of the open work to the perennial problem of the literary macrostructure of the Apocalypse. Revisiting the complexities of its genre, intertextuality, language and communication, he cumulatively traces all indications of literary openness in Revelation. Then the book discusses the extraordinarily diverse scholarly approaches and analyses from this viewpoint. As a result, John's multiple and varied structural signals are recognised as demonstrably clustered within specific subsections - complex transitions creating a specifically open literary arrangement. More generally, the wider concept of literary openness is offered as a theoretical framework applicable to the specific complexities of some apocalyptic writings.

Recenzje

«Nous ne pouvons que recommander ce précieux vol. d'un haut niveau scientifique qui demande patience et attention soutenue pour produire tous ses fruits chez le lecteur.»
(J. Radermakers, Nouvelle revue théologique 139/1 2017)

Spis treści

Contents: Umberto Eco - The open literary work - Literary criticism - Apocalyptic genre - Genre analysis - Multiple genres - Order versus disorder - Field of communication - Allusively referential and evocative - Imprecise reader-response - Structural analysis - Complex regularities - Composite transitions - Interrelational openness - Open literary arrangement.

O autorze

Roman Mach, a pastor and a seminary teacher, studied at Newbold College (Bracknell, England) and at the International Baptist Theological Seminary (Prague). He received his PhD in Biblical Studies from the University of Wales and his major research interest is in the area of specific literary hermeneutics of creative texts.