Publisher Description

The author of this lucid and interdisciplinary study of Mark's Gospel believes that - when applied to Gospel texts - sociological analysis and literary criticism may be far closer together in purpose and intent than is often supposed. Professor Camery-Hoggatt therefore begins his work with an exploration of the social functions of narrative in general, and of ironic narrative in particular. He then turns to the literary functions of the internal elements of the narrative, and draws the two discussions together into a single framework that can be used as a lens through which Mark's Gospel can be read. The author's claim is that irony - especially dramatic irony - thoroughly permeates the Gospel, and that this evinces a rhetorical strategy central to Mark's whole narrative. The second half of the book shows that the presence of irony is especially powerful when the deeper level of meaning is somehow hidden from the story's characters.

Author Biography

Jerry Camery-Hoggatt is professor of New Testament and Narrative Theology at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California. His books include When Mother Was Eleven-Foot-Four, Speaking of God, and Irony in Mark's Gospel.

Table of Contents

Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction: the problem of irony in Mark; 2. The social functions of irony; 3. The literary functions of narrative; 4. Text and subtext: toward a rhetoric of irony; 5. Irony in the Gospel of Mark; 6. By way of summary; Notes; Bibligraphy; Index.

Review

'... rigorous, detailed and authoritative'. Church Times

Promotional

Combines a literary-critical approach with insights gained from the sociology of knowledge.

Review Quote

'... rigorous, detailed and authoritative'. Church Times

Promotional "Headline"

Combines a literary-critical approach with insights gained from the sociology of knowledge.

Description for Bookstore

An important contribution to our understanding of Marcan irony, and combines a literary-critical approach with insights gained from the sociology of knowledge.

Description for Library

An important contribution to our understanding of Marcan irony, and combines a literary-critical approach with insights gained from the sociology of knowledge.

Details