F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp

In exploring the seminal works of Walt Whitman, the great American poet, many commentators have acknowledged the underlying influence of The King James Bible.However, a study has yet to elucidate the precise manner in which the Bible has shaped Whitman's poetic style.This is the deficit that F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp seeks to address in his new piece of literary scholarship: 'Divine Style: Walt Whitman and the King James Bible'. Dobbs-Allsopp, Professor of Old Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, explicitly approaches Whitman from the perspective of a biblical scholar.Utilising his wealth of expertise in this field, he constructs a compelling, erudite and methodical argument for the King James Bible's importance in the evolution of Whitman's style - from his signature long lines to the prevalence of parallelism and tendency towards parataxis in his works.'Divine Style' focuses on Whitman's output in the years preceding the release of his 1855 opus 'Leaves of Grass' through the general period of the book's first three editions. In this, Dobbs-Allsopp's exploration of the period is exhaustive - covering not just Leaves of Grass but recently recovered notebooks, newly digitised manuscripts and additions to the corpus, such as the novel 'Life and Adventures of Jack Engle'.This is a work of careful, detailed scholarship, offering an authoritative commentary that will be a valuable resource for students of Whitman, biblical scholars and scholars of literature more generally.

In exploring the seminal works of Walt Whitman, the great American poet, many commentators have acknowledged the underlying influence of The King James Bible.However, a study has yet to elucidate the precise manner in which the Bible has shaped Whitman's poetic style.This is the deficit that F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp seeks to address in his new piece of literary scholarship: 'Divine Style: Walt Whitman and the King James Bible'. Dobbs-Allsopp, Professor of Old Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, explicitly approaches Whitman from the perspective of a biblical scholar.Utilising his wealth of expertise in this field, he constructs a compelling, erudite and methodical argument for the King James Bible's importance in the evolution of Whitman's style - from his signature long lines to the prevalence of parallelism and tendency towards parataxis in his works.'Divine Style' focuses on Whitman's output in the years preceding the release of his 1855 opus 'Leaves of Grass' through the general period of the book's first three editions. In this, Dobbs-Allsopp's exploration of the period is exhaustive - covering not just Leaves of Grass but recently recovered notebooks, newly digitised manuscripts and additions to the corpus, such as the novel 'Life and Adventures of Jack Engle'.This is a work of careful, detailed scholarship, offering an authoritative commentary that will be a valuable resource for students of Whitman, biblical scholars and scholars of literature more generally.

Uniquely considering the characteristics of biblical Hebrew poetry beyond its currently best known feature, parallelism, On Biblical Poetry demonstrates the many interesting and valuable interpretations that yield from analyses of major facets of biblical verse, as well as careful attention to prosody--rhythm, lineation, and the like--and close reading. Through a series of programmatic essays, F.W. Dobbs-Allsopp argues that biblical poetry is, in most respects, just like any other verse tradition--and thus biblical poems should be read and interpreted like other poems. Using the same critical tools and kinds of guiding assumptions as traditional verse scholarship, this book also considers the historicity and cultural specificity that distinguishes the verse of the Bible. The literary and the historical, then, are in view throughout. Issues of orality, textuality, and literacy at the site of biblical poems are also probed extensively and there is a strong comparative orientation to much of the thinking in the volume.

In the face of suffering, agony, and the brutal realities of life; in the midst of divine silence and human pain, the Lamentations poems speak of faith and trust in God. This sophisticated yet accessible commentary makes the message of Lamentations come alive. All who preach and teach will benefit from this rich resource.Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

In the face of suffering, agony, and the brutal realities of life; in the midst of divine silence and human pain, the Lamentations poems speak of faith and trust in God. This sophisticated yet accessible commentary makes the message of Lamentations come alive. All who preach and teach will benefit from this rich resource.Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.