This reader was particularly struck by his comparisons of like grammar elements within his genre categories. The point is well worth reviewing even by those who have previously read this work. Hymns, Songs of Yahweh's Enthronement, Communal Complaint Songs, Royal Psalms, Individual Complaint Songs, and Individual Thanksgiving Songs. This list remains today the gold standard for genre division of the psalms proper and the other examples of poetry in the whole of the Hebrew text. One cannot overlook, however, that despite the genius of the work, it can at times seem foreign.
Arguments take place that have long ago disappeared in the scholarly discussion.
Take for example Gunkel's argument contra Mowinckel about the cause of the distress in the lament psalms. Mowickel argued that the enemies are magicians. In addition, Gunkel gives a multitude of other examples for the enemies as real people. Yet even these exchanges offer a glimpse into the history of psalms research which is lively and vigorous. Another difference in Gunkel's work is his insistence that the words of the psalms are taken literally.