Julia Palmer, a little-known religious poet, composed two centuries-collections of one hundred poems intended to be sung as hymns-in the two years between 1671 and 1673. Palmer's manuscript is unique in that its author was perhaps the only self-taught Nonconformist woman to have composed centuries during the Restoration period. Although religion shaped the lives of most British citizens at the time, the public literary expression of spiritual experiences-particularly by middle-class women-was uncommon within conventional Puritanism. The poetry's hybrid of forms, proliferation of religious themes, and undertones of political subversion offer an important glimpse into the way Puritan women writers of the seventeenth century manipulated literary discourse to meet their needs. Palmer negotiates contemporary sociopolitical issues by using poetic forms and themes consistent with biblical, puritan, and social standards. Palmer's centuries fuse the seventeenth-century spiritual journal with the eighteenth-century hymn. Applying the personal introspection of the journal to public worship would not become customary until the eighteenth century. This thesis analyzes Palmer's poetry in light of other Restoration writing as well as religious, sociopolitical, and gendered contexts in order to position it as an early form of eighteenth-century Dissenting poetry.

Li, Chit Ning. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 208-218). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

This dissertation explores the use of romance across religious poetry in late medieval England. Medieval devotional poems frequently borrow motifs and devices from romance; they might, for example, figure Jesus as a knight jousting with the devil or adopt the romance technique of interlace to narrate the Passion. Critics most frequently read these borrowings as a popularizing method, arguing that the poets of these religious texts turn to romance in order to appeal to their secular audience. I argue instead that late 14th century Middle English poets use romance to explore difficult theological paradoxes and Christian practices. In Pearl, the romance descriptio personae helps articulate the paradoxes of divine reward, at once hierarchical and egalitarian. In Piers Plowman, the romance incognito demonstrates the shifting and multivalent nature of the Trinity. In St. Erkenwald, the slow indulgence of romance wonder stands in contrast to God’s time, which is simultaneously immediate and drawn-out. In the Canterbury Tales, the romance parody of Thopas primes the reader for the prudential lessons of Melibee. This dissertation adds to a growing body of scholarship that reads medieval romance, and in particular Middle English romance, as a genre that does not simply entertain audiences but also interrogates, challenges, or reiterates medieval values and ideas. However, this project adds to current scholarship by examining romance out of its native context and inside or beside religious genres instead. In the first three chapters, I argue that by triggering a romantic reading, the Middle English poems Pearl, Piers Plowman, and St. Erkenwald enact and demonstrate the conceptual difficulties of certain theological paradoxes. In these poems, romance serves as a contemplative tool by demonstrating the reader’s comprehensive limits in the face of the divine. My fourth chapter, which explores Chaucer’s romance parody Sir Thopas alongside his pedagogical treatise Melibee, instead considers the Christian virtue of prudence; here, the exaggerated romance tropes of Sir Thopas prepare the pilgrims to pay penance prudentially by feeling and contemplating time in daily Christian life. While romance does not articulate a paradox about God in Thopas-Melibee, it still prompts contemplation about a difficult Christian virtue, prudence. In all four chapters, I find that romance serves as a vehicle for spiritual contemplation because of its own modes of thinking, whether that be social, economic, or temporal. Whether romance is set within or beside devotional texts, the secular genre allows the reader to contemplate difficult Christian theology and practices and to experience them as difficult in contemplation. Romance, I argue, is a critical tool in the vernacular theologian’s toolkit.

This study is concerned with modern Christian poetry in Afrikaans. Afrikaans poetry, which initially carried the clear stamp of the Afrikaner's Calvinistic view of life, gradually assumed a new image to the extent that it could no longer be recognised as religious and specifically Calvinistic poetry. To the contrary, modern Afrikaans Christian poetry is the expression of a contemporary conceptualisation of the very same gospel. The occasional violent reaction especially of conservative institutions to so called "unchristian" modern poetry in Afrikaans during the past three decades, has prompted this study which attempts to illustrate that modern Afrikaans poetry still exhibits a strong Christian element. The essential qualities of contemporary Christian poetry in Afrikaans are illustrated in the discussion of the works of particular leading Afrikaans poets. Chapter 3 attempts to indicate a transitional stage between traditional and modern Christian poetry by means of an overview of the latest tendencies and approaches, with brief references to the recent poetry of the Louws, the poetry of Peter Blum as the initial exponent of the poetry of the Sixties, and the poetry of Ina Rousseau. The work of Sheila Cussons, eminent Roman Catholic (and thus also Christian) poet who is probably the most impressive contemporary exponent of metaphysical/mystic poetry in Afrikaans, is discussed in chapter 4. Chapter 5 illustrates the traditional Calvinistic Christian point of view and Christian experience as represented in the poetry of I.L. de Villiers. The poetification of the ministry adds new dimension to religions poetry in Afrikaans. Chapter 6 constitutes a discussion of the works of T.T . Cloete, the most significant contemporary Reformed poet in Afrikaans indicating the extent to which the many related facets embodied in his poetry consistently reflect a Christian attitude and are unified in and encompassed by the principle of Soli Deo Gloria. Chapter 7, by way of conclusion, reviews the religious poetry of Lina Spies and Petra Müller who write accessible popular poetry, nevertheless exploring interesting references. In conjunction with the poetry of Ina Rosseau, this poetry represents a contribution to modern Afrikaans religious poetry from a feminine point of view

Summaries in English and German / Text in German / The question is dealt with, whether or not the calls to joy in the book of Qoheleth are dependend from another source. Seven key-texts are taken as a basis (2:24-26; 3:12.13; 3:22; 5:17-19; 8:15; 9:7-10; 11,7-12,7) which have the form of ::titl"[i'~]-sayings and share the root "1.liU. Three further texts (2:1-11; 6:9; 7:14) are also relevant. In the exegesis the content, reasoning and contextual function of these texts are analyzed. Qoheleth quotes, comments on and corrects traditional views of wisdom. He sets them in polar structured arguments in which the calls to joy are significant since the arguments always lead to a double conclusion: a vanity statement and an ethical instruction. The latter form the books teaching on wisdom which consists of joy and the fear of God. In this way the calls to joy in the key texts function as a refrain which increases as the book progresses and becomes the main message. The theme of the joy of life is next examined in Old Testament, Egyptian, ancient Near Eastern, Greek and apocryphal texts. These leads to the conclusion that the call to joy in the book of Qoheleth comes closest to the Egyptian "heretical" harper's songs. These texts agree not only in the content and reasoning of joy, but also in the use of idioms und comparisons. These occur not just in the key texts but throughout the whole book. The "heretical" harper's songs were originally used in the cult of the dead. Later they were used at feasts and banquets. This makes it possible to interpret them in the same Egyptian complex of tradition as other belletristic texts, especially love songs. They can therefore be assigned with the calls to joy to the genre of feast and banquet poetry. Since the adoption of the Jove songs in the Song of Songs has already been shown, the same can now be said for the harper's songs. Presumably this happened through Canaanite influences in premonarchic times. / Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob in den Aufforderungen zur Lebensfreude des Buches Kohelet eine Vorlage rezipiert worden ist. Dazu werden sieben Kerntexte (2,24-26; 3,12.13; 3,22; 5,17-19; 8,15; 9,7-10; 11,7-12,7) zugrunde gelegt, welche durch die Wurzel n~tu und die Form des l11'"[1'~]-Spruchs miteinander verbunden sind. Drei weitere Texte gehiiren der Sache nach dazu (2,1-11; 6,9; 7,14). Diese Texte werden exegesiert, um sie nach ihren Inhalten, Begriindungen und ihrer kontextualen Funktion zu erfassen. Der Verfasser des Buches Kohelet zitiert, kommentiert und korrigiert traditionelle Ansichten der Weisheit. Dazu stellt er sie in polar strukturierte Argumentationseinheiten, in welchen die Aufforderungen zur Lebensfreude Signifikanz haben, da diese Argumentationseinheiten jeweils auf eine Nichtigkeitsaussage und eine ethische Anweisung hinaus laufen. Letzere bildet die Lebenslehre des Buches, die auf den Sii.ulen Lebensfreude und Gottesfurcht fuBt. Dabei bilden die Kerntexte der Lebensfreude einen Refrain, der im Fortgang des Buches gesteigert wird und am Ende als Hauptanliegen hervortritt. Dem Motiv der Lebensfreude wird daraufhin in alttestamentlichen, ii.gyptischen, altorientalischen, griechischen und apokryphen Texten nachgegangen. Dabei stellt sich heraus, da8 die Aufforderungen zur Lebensfreude im Buch Kohelet die griiBte Nii.he zu den "haretischen" Harfnerliedern Agyptens aufweisen. Zu diesen Texten gibt es Ubereinstimmungen nicht nur in den Inhalten und Beweggriinden des Lebensgenusses, sondern auch in der Verwendung einzelner Idiome und Vergleiche, und zwar nicht nur in den Kerntexten, sondern verstreut im Buch. In der Verwendungssituation der "hii.retischen" Harfnerlieder Iii.flt sich eine Verschiebung vom Totenkult zu Fest und Gelage aufzeigen. Dariiberhinaus lassen sie sich in Agypten in einen Traditionskomplex mit anderen Texten der schiinen Literatur, insbesondere den ii.gyptischen Liebesliedern stellen. So kann eine gemeinsame Gattungszuweisung mit den Aufforderungen zur Lebensfreude in der Fest- und Gelagepoesie erfolgen. Da fiir die Liebeslieder eine alttestamentliche Rezeption schon wahrscheinlich gemacht worden ist, kann diese nun auf die Harfnerlieder ausgedehnt werden. Dieser Traditionsweg verlief vermutlich iiber kanaanii.ische Vermittlung in vormonarchischer Zeit. / D.Th.(Old Testament)

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Santiago de Compostela, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [239]-259) and index.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Santiago de Compostela, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [239]-259) and index.

Summaries in English and German / Text in German / The question is dealt with, whether or not the calls to joy in the book of Qoheleth are dependend from another source. Seven key-texts are taken as a basis (2:24-26; 3:12.13; 3:22; 5:17-19; 8:15; 9:7-10; 11,7-12,7) which have the form of ::titl"[i'~]-sayings and share the root "1.liU. Three further texts (2:1-11; 6:9; 7:14) are also relevant. In the exegesis the content, reasoning and contextual function of these texts are analyzed. Qoheleth quotes, comments on and corrects traditional views of wisdom. He sets them in polar structured arguments in which the calls to joy are significant since the arguments always lead to a double conclusion: a vanity statement and an ethical instruction. The latter form the books teaching on wisdom which consists of joy and the fear of God. In this way the calls to joy in the key texts function as a refrain which increases as the book progresses and becomes the main message. The theme of the joy of life is next examined in Old Testament, Egyptian, ancient Near Eastern, Greek and apocryphal texts. These leads to the conclusion that the call to joy in the book of Qoheleth comes closest to the Egyptian "heretical" harper's songs. These texts agree not only in the content and reasoning of joy, but also in the use of idioms und comparisons. These occur not just in the key texts but throughout the whole book. The "heretical" harper's songs were originally used in the cult of the dead. Later they were used at feasts and banquets. This makes it possible to interpret them in the same Egyptian complex of tradition as other belletristic texts, especially love songs. They can therefore be assigned with the calls to joy to the genre of feast and banquet poetry. Since the adoption of the Jove songs in the Song of Songs has already been shown, the same can now be said for the harper's songs. Presumably this happened through Canaanite influences in premonarchic times. / Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, ob in den Aufforderungen zur Lebensfreude des Buches Kohelet eine Vorlage rezipiert worden ist. Dazu werden sieben Kerntexte (2,24-26; 3,12.13; 3,22; 5,17-19; 8,15; 9,7-10; 11,7-12,7) zugrunde gelegt, welche durch die Wurzel n~tu und die Form des l11'"[1'~]-Spruchs miteinander verbunden sind. Drei weitere Texte gehiiren der Sache nach dazu (2,1-11; 6,9; 7,14). Diese Texte werden exegesiert, um sie nach ihren Inhalten, Begriindungen und ihrer kontextualen Funktion zu erfassen. Der Verfasser des Buches Kohelet zitiert, kommentiert und korrigiert traditionelle Ansichten der Weisheit. Dazu stellt er sie in polar strukturierte Argumentationseinheiten, in welchen die Aufforderungen zur Lebensfreude Signifikanz haben, da diese Argumentationseinheiten jeweils auf eine Nichtigkeitsaussage und eine ethische Anweisung hinaus laufen. Letzere bildet die Lebenslehre des Buches, die auf den Sii.ulen Lebensfreude und Gottesfurcht fuBt. Dabei bilden die Kerntexte der Lebensfreude einen Refrain, der im Fortgang des Buches gesteigert wird und am Ende als Hauptanliegen hervortritt. Dem Motiv der Lebensfreude wird daraufhin in alttestamentlichen, ii.gyptischen, altorientalischen, griechischen und apokryphen Texten nachgegangen. Dabei stellt sich heraus, da8 die Aufforderungen zur Lebensfreude im Buch Kohelet die griiBte Nii.he zu den "haretischen" Harfnerliedern Agyptens aufweisen. Zu diesen Texten gibt es Ubereinstimmungen nicht nur in den Inhalten und Beweggriinden des Lebensgenusses, sondern auch in der Verwendung einzelner Idiome und Vergleiche, und zwar nicht nur in den Kerntexten, sondern verstreut im Buch. In der Verwendungssituation der "hii.retischen" Harfnerlieder Iii.flt sich eine Verschiebung vom Totenkult zu Fest und Gelage aufzeigen. Dariiberhinaus lassen sie sich in Agypten in einen Traditionskomplex mit anderen Texten der schiinen Literatur, insbesondere den ii.gyptischen Liebesliedern stellen. So kann eine gemeinsame Gattungszuweisung mit den Aufforderungen zur Lebensfreude in der Fest- und Gelagepoesie erfolgen. Da fiir die Liebeslieder eine alttestamentliche Rezeption schon wahrscheinlich gemacht worden ist, kann diese nun auf die Harfnerlieder ausgedehnt werden. Dieser Traditionsweg verlief vermutlich iiber kanaanii.ische Vermittlung in vormonarchischer Zeit. / D.Th.(Old Testament)

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:44:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 1003783 bytes, checksum: 3778c74afb684b7a8992a6d39ccd6939 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-03-11 / This dissertation aims to study the group of the poems The Ark of the Covenant , part of the work The livings , by Carlos Lejar (2011), a Brazilian contemporary poet and literary critic for the bias of studies about post-modern intertextuality. The Ark of the Covenant is a representative work of Brazilian view of modern poetry and this text investigates the discursive intersections between literature and Bible because it dialogues with the two texts. Therefore, it is possible to study about the poetical productivity and the post-modern parody. Furthermore, it is considerate a peculiar literary production because it was made and incorporated to the book during twenty years of poetic growing and maturing. The first work edition was published in 1979 and the 1995 s edition includes 300 new poems as the ones will be studied. Basing on a theoretical support that offers investigative and contemplative about the work possibilities, we intend examine how the poet redesign the religious discourse by transposing it to the literary discourse in the contemporaneity, even though the contemporary poetry study is far from the criticism. Thereby, this subject is interesting once it makes possible a research about how the world is recreated by God s salvation, in a certain faith language heretofore , can express itself in a poetical language?, or how, using poetical initiative, the artist of word recreates and resets a new mythical world order of holy scripture. Thus, researching this subject is motivating and relevant in Literary Studies, which aims to contribute for the amplitude of scientific literary research. / Esta dissertação pretende um estudo acerca do conjunto de poemas A Arca da Aliança , parte integrante da obra Os Viventes, de Carlos Nejar (2011), poeta e crítico literário brasileiro contemporâneo, pelo viés dos estudos sobre intertextualidade pós-moderna. A Arca da Aliança é uma obra representativa do panorama brasileiro da poesia atual e se faz profícuo texto para a investigação das intersecções discursivas entre o literário e o bíblico, por possuir correspondências muito claras entre os dois textos, o que nos leva ao estudo sobre produtividade poética e paródia pós-moderna. Além disso, se configura como ímpar na produção literária do momento por ter sido confeccionada e incorporada ao livro no decorrer de um período de aproximadamente 20 anos de crescimento e amadurecimento poético. A primeira edição da obra foi em 1979, sendo que a edição de 1995 consta de acréscimos de cerca de 300 novos poemas, dentre eles, o conjunto a que nos propomos estudar. Com base em um suporte teórico que nos oferece possibilidades investigativas e contemplativas sobre o tema, almejamos perscrutar como o poeta reelabora o discurso religioso transpondo-o para o literário na contemporaneidade, ainda que o estudo de poesia contemporânea se limite a uma falta de distanciamento crítico. Deste modo, este tema nos interessa a partir do momento em que possibilita uma pesquisa sobre como o mundo recriado pela iniciativa salvífica de Deus, outrora numa certa linguagem da fé, pode exprimir-se, por sua vez, na linguagem de iniciativa poética?, ou como por meio da iniciativa poética, o artista da palavra recria e reconfigura uma nova ordem do mundo mítico da sagrada escritura. Assim, sondar este tema se faz, para nós, um instigante e pertinente trabalho na área dos Estudos Literários, que busca contribuir para o alargamento dos horizontes da pesquisa literária científica.

Arabic text with English summary / This research comprises a section on preliminary issues, an introduction, four chapters with sub-divisions and a conclusion. Preliminary issues focus on the research proposal. The introduction reviews factors contributing to the concealment of Muslims’ roles in Abyssinia through negligence, selective reportage and duplicitous political dealings. Chapter One tackles the varying definitions of Abyssinia diachronically and then provides valuable social, economic, political, religious and climatic information about the country and its peoples. Chapter Two analyses the varying levels of relations between Abyssinia and the Arabian Peninsula including the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, religious and political ties down the ages. Chapter Three discusses the migration of some of Prophet Muhammad’s companions to Abyssinia and possible reasons for selecting that land for settlement. It details identities of these people, their areas of arrival and domicile; together with a probe into the Christian ruler, Negus’s warm relations with them. Chapter Four overviews Muslim dynasties in Abyssinia: the causes for their formation, prosperity and decline. The bitter conflicts with Christians and followers of traditional religions are also explored; together with outcomes of these for Muslims up to the present. The Conclusion provides a resume of my most important findings. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Islamic Studies)