Setting the Stage: The Theatricality of Jewish Aramaic Poetry from Late Antiquity
In this article, various elements of late ancient theatrical practices are used to inform the subject of the theatricality of Jewish liturgical poetry (piyyut). Evidence from handbooks of ancient oratory and declamation (the progymnasmata), discussions of Late Ancient theater (particularly mime and...
| Published in: | The Jewish quarterly review |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Penn Press
2014
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| In: |
The Jewish quarterly review
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| Further subjects: | B
Theater
B liturgical poetry B Oratory B Progymnasmata B Aramaic B Rhetoric B Shavuot B Late Antiquity B Performance B Piyyut |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | In this article, various elements of late ancient theatrical practices are used to inform the subject of the theatricality of Jewish liturgical poetry (piyyut). Evidence from handbooks of ancient oratory and declamation (the progymnasmata), discussions of Late Ancient theater (particularly mime and pantomime), and material artifacts suggest ways in which piyyutim were both performed and received. By viewing piyyutim through this lens, this paper sheds light on performative elements of Jewish religious poetry even as it situates these works in Late Ancient culture more broadly. The importance of this approach is illustrated through a study of four Aramaic poems associated with the festival of Shavuot that expand and retell biblical narratives: the binding of Isaac, the death of Joab, Moses' ascent of Sinai, and Potiphar’s wife. (Translations of the poems constitute an appendix to the article.) |
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| ISSN: | 1553-0604 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Jewish quarterly review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/jqr.2014.0039 |