TIP OF THE DAY 83: Dialogue, comparative characterization

MJ. Smith
MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 53,405
edited December 4 in English Forum

I am adding these posts to the previous tip list L/V 10 Tip of the Day ;

QUESTION: How does one analyze dialogue?

ANSWER: from Perplexity:

Analyzing dialogue in ancient texts, particularly the relationship between lines and their implications, involves several key approaches:

1. Contextual analysis: Examine the broader context of the dialogue, including cultural, historical, and literary factors that may influence the characters' responses.

2. Linguistic analysis: Study the specific language used, including word choice, grammatical structures, and rhetorical devices that may indicate how a character understood the previous line.

3. Character motivation: Consider the goals, beliefs, and personalities of the characters involved to understand why they respond in certain ways.

4. Narrative structure: Analyze how the dialogue fits into the overall structure of the text and its role in advancing the plot or themes.

5. Intertextual comparison: Compare similar dialogues across different ancient texts to identify patterns or conventions in response styles.

6. Conversation Analysis (CA): Apply CA techniques to examine turn-taking, adjacency pairs, and other conversational structures that reveal how characters interpret and respond to each other.

7. Textometric approach: Utilize digital tools to analyze word frequency, syntagmatic or paradigmatic uses of word meaning, and word evolution within the dialogue.

8. Cultural norms: Consider the social and cultural expectations that may influence how characters respond to each other.

9. Authorial intent: Examine how the author's use of dialogue contributes to characterization, theme development, or philosophical arguments.

10. Metaliterary analysis: Investigate how the dialogue itself may comment on or reflect upon the act of communication or interpretation.

By combining these approaches, scholars can gain deeper insights into how ancient dialogues functioned and what they reveal about the understanding and communication patterns of the time.

QUESTION: How is comparative characterization used as a method of literary criticism in Biblical studies?

ANSWER: For an explanation of the method and a demonstration of its use see Lawrence, Arren Bennet. Comparative Characterization in the Sermon on the Mount: Characterization of the Ideal Disciple. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2017.

from Perplexity:

Comparative characterization is a literary criticism method used in Biblical studies to analyze and understand characters by comparing them to other characters. In this approach, one character serves as a foil to highlight or contrast specific traits of another character.

When applied to the Bible, comparative characterization allows scholars to gain deeper insights into how biblical authors portrayed different figures. For example:

1. In the Gospels, Jesus is often characterized in comparison to other religious leaders like the Pharisees. This contrast emphasizes Jesus' unique teachings and authority.

2. Old Testament prophets may be compared to kings or other authority figures to highlight their role as voices of divine justice.

3. Positive and negative examples of faith or behavior are frequently juxtaposed, like the faithful centurion compared to skeptical religious leaders in the Gospels.

This method recognizes that biblical authors intentionally used character comparisons as a literary device to convey theological and moral messages. By examining these comparisons, scholars can better understand the authors' intentions and the text's meaning within its literary and historical context.

Comparative characterization is just one tool within the broader field of literary criticism applied to biblical texts. It allows for a nuanced analysis of how characters are constructed and portrayed, revealing layers of meaning that may not be immediately apparent from a surface reading.

QUESTION: How does comparative characterization enhance our understanding of biblical characters?

ANSWER: from Perplexity:

Comparative characterization significantly enhances our understanding of biblical characters in several ways:

1. Reveals nuanced traits: By comparing characters, subtle aspects of their personalities and motivations become more apparent. For example, contrasting Jesus with other religious leaders in the Gospels highlights his unique teachings and authority.

2. Illuminates character development: Comparing a character's actions and attitudes at different points in their story can reveal growth and transformation. The changes in Moses from a reluctant leader to a capable one illustrate this.

3. Provides context: Comparing characters within their historical and cultural settings helps readers better grasp their roles and significance. This approach allows for a more nuanced analysis of how characters are constructed and portrayed.

4. Highlights theological themes: Character comparisons often serve to emphasize important theological concepts. The contrast between faithful and skeptical figures in the Gospels, for instance, underscores themes of belief and doubt.

5. Offers multiple perspectives: By examining characters from different viewpoints, readers gain a more comprehensive understanding. This multi-faceted approach reveals layers of meaning that may not be immediately apparent.

6. Demonstrates complexity: Comparative characterization shows that biblical figures are morally complex, neither wholly good nor bad. This complexity makes characters more relatable and realistic.

7. Bridges cultural gaps: By comparing biblical characters to more familiar figures or experiences, readers can better relate to and understand them, despite the cultural and temporal distance.

8. Reveals authorial intent: The way characters are compared and contrasted can provide insights into the biblical authors' intentions and the messages they aimed to convey.

Comparative characterization thus serves as a powerful tool for deepening our understanding of biblical characters, making them more accessible and relevant to modern readers while preserving their historical and theological significance.

TRIVIA QUESTION: What are Joca Monachorum?

ANSWER: from Perplexity:

Joca monachorum, meaning "monks' pastimes" or "monks' jokes", was a genre of short questions and answers used by Christian monks. These questions and answers often covered biblical subjects, but could also include literary, philosophical, or historical topics. While some were straightforward, many took the form of riddles or jokes.

Key features of joca monachorum include:

Origin and spread: The genre originated in the Greek East but spread throughout Christendom, reaching Gaul and the British Isles by the sixth century.

Purpose: They were likely used to stimulate thought and aid memory among monks.

Format: Questions were usually prefaced with "dic mihi" (tell me) or "interrogatio" (question), while answers began with "dico tibi" (I tell you) or "responsio" (answer).

Content: Popular topics included the Old Testament and questions about biblical "firsts".

Longevity: The genre survived until the end of the Middle Ages.

A modern parallel to joca monachorum can be found in trivia games.

Example text:

Ioca MonachorumThe Jokes of Monks–which is a genre/text that is oddly understudied. I only know of an edition in French with a professor gave me a PDF of. They appear to be part of the wisdom dialogue tradition that was particularly popular in the early Middle Ages. I work a lot with wisdom texts like these, and many of those texts share similar ‘jokes’ to these.

These are from the Francois Ploton-Nicollet edition.

INCIPIT IOCAM MONACHORUM INTERGAM

1. Quid primo ex Deo processit?

Responsum: Fiat lux.

1. What first proceeded from God?

Answer: May light happen [‘let there be light!’]

2. Qui est mortuos et non est natus?

Adam.

2. Who is dead and is not born?

Adam.

3. Quis dedit et non accepit?

Eua, lacte.

3. Who gave and did not receive?

Eve, milk.

5. Quantus annus vixit Adam?

Nonugenti XXX.

5. How many years lived Adam?

Ninety-three.

6. Et ipse Adam quantus filius habuit excepto Cain et Abel et Sedh?

XXX filius et XXX filias

6. And Adam himself had how many sons excepted Cain and Abel and Seth?

Three sons and three daughters.

7. Qui primus ex ipsis optulit holocaustum?

Dum Abel agno, pro hoc Cain occisit Auel fratem suum.

7. Who first from himself gave up a burnt offering?

While Abel (offered?) with the lamb, in place of that Cain slaughtered Abel, his own brother.

8. Qui est natus et non est mortuos?

Helias et Inhoc.

8. Who was born and did not die?

Elijah and Henoch.

9. Qui est bes natus et semel mortuos?

Ionam profeta, qui tribus diebus et tribus noctibus in ventre citi [presumably ‘ceti’] oravit nec caelum vidit nec terra tetigit.

9. Who was two-thirds [maybe ‘twice’] born and once died?

The prophet Jonah,  who prayed three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, neither saw the sky nor touched the earth.

10. Qui vidit Dieu faciem ad faciem?

Abraham et hilicit [probably ‘ilicem’] Mambre. Tres vidi Te: Tecum uno locutus est. Ipse est primus sacerdus de circumcisionem.

10. Who saw God face to face?

Abraham and the oak of Mambre. Three saw You: You spoke with one.   He himself is the first priest of the circumcision.1

1 accessed 11/29/2024 11:32 PM https://unmedieval.wordpress.com/2012/06/27/ioca-monachorum-the-jokes-of-monks-1-10/

Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."