Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Paul Zellmer" <pzellmer AT sc.rr.com>]

Jack,

I'm not quite sure I follow your logic here.  You posit that the original
uses of poetry were as mnemonics, yet you seem to be arguing against the
assignment of alliteration to poetry for an oral ancient society.  Perhaps I
don't understand what is the "modern literate sense" of alliteration (or its
supposed assignment to poetry??).  Alliteration is a modern mnemonic device
often utilized in modern day prose, whether oral or written.  Since it is
not used exclusively in poetry today, I'm not aware of anyone who assigns it
exclusively to ancient poetry.  Is there someone who has taken that position
that you know of?

I would have thought from Andrew's question that he would have been
surprised if it were not found in prose.  He just couldn't think of any
examples.

All the best,

Paul Zellmer

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jack Kilmon [mailto:jkilmon AT historian.net]
> Sent: Saturday, August 24, 2002 5:03 PM
> To: Biblical Hebrew
> Subject: Re: alliteration
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andrew & Debby Kulikovsky" <hermeneutics AT kulikovskyonline.net>
> To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
> Sent: Saturday, August 24, 2002 3:14 PM
> Subject: alliteration
>
>
> > Hi All!
> >
> > I know alliteration is quite common in Hebrew poetry (eg. Ps 119) but is
> it
> > unique to poetry? Does anyone know if is used in Hebrew narrative? Any
> > examples?
>
>
> I think the assignment of alliteration to poetry, as in a literate modern
> sense, is a mistake for an oral ancient society.  In a society about 3%
> literate, stories and narratives were read to the public with devices to
> assist in memorization.  I would go as far as to say that
> effective orators
> and speakers could imbed these devices improvisationally, assonance,
> alliteration, paronomasia and rhyming meter among those tools being almost
> automatic.  Whether in the oral "common tongue" of the am
> ha'aretz (Aramaic)
> or in the written, lterate vehicle of the educated (Hebrew), these devices
> for memorization were imbedded not as much for their poetic value but for
> their mnemonic value.  I would even pose that the first uses of
> poetry were
> for mnemonic purposes rather than reading Emily Dickenson over tea.
>