Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-04-25
POETRY or THE BIBLE.


is meant when It is said that the Bible
prophets are also poets ana that parts
Of the Bible are In poetry,
Since very few parts of the Bible are
IN rhymed lines. and since only part
Of It Is in verse, and that part Is
Arranged as If it were prose. most peo-
Pile are puzzled when any speaker or
writer refers to the poetry of the
sacred volume,
"Poet" Is. as is wen known,
the Greek word for maker the
poet is the maker or creator
or author of what is called ere
atlve literature--that in which some
thing is added i'm au imaginative OF
ideal way to the known facts. Thus
1t Isl said that Shakespeare created the
character of Hamlet Sophocles that
OF d1dipus.
Both these characters may have real
~ existed but the poets have localized
them by working up the incidents of
their lives IN such way as to pre-
sent more vlvidly the lesson which
their actions faithfully recorded would
more dimly teach
The poet thus adds something to the
sum of known cxistences; he creates
characters that make an appeal to our
minds independently Of their historical
reality, The poet may therefore be
said TO be the nearest representative
of the Divine Maker of the universe
for the poet is likewise a creator,
In the English version, Paul says
1--WE are Gods Workmanship; but In
the Greek the reading is, I'VE are
Gods poems" The Greek rendering
shows the Identity in meaning between
creator and poet"
The historian, philosopher, or orator
states facts only; the singer the au-
thor of a drama, the poet may accord
ing to certain laws rise above the lirni-
tations of fact aud reach truth by H.
lustration As Prof. Moulton says
'''rhe philosopher argues what good
ness is; the dramatist creates a good
man; both are helping us TO be good"
WE have said that rhyme is not nee
essary 10 poetry. In Latin and Greek
the verse depends upon what Is called
the quantity of the successive syliables
in Old English, alliteration-th recur
renee OF similar sounds in the same lin
constituted verse. Thus
In somcr seson when soft was thu
SON
j shope me In shroudes as | shep
We're.
In Hebrew poetry the literary form
consists in a recurrence OF the SAINT
thought in another form or in the re
petition of a similar clause; so tina
the foundation of Hebrew verse Is
recurrence, not OF sounds but Of par
alIcl clauses" Thus in Proverbs 4:23-2
we have:
Keep thy heart with all diligence;
For out OF il are the issues OF life.
Put from thee u forward mouth,
Aud pcrverse lips put far from thee.
Let thine eyes look straight on
Aud let thine cyclds look straight be
fore thee.
Ponder the path of thy feet
And let all thy ways be established,
Turn not to the right hand nor to tn
left
Remove thy foot from evil.
This simple parallelism is favorit'
but not the only form Of poetic dress
the Psalms Thus we have In 1903: So
He turneth the wilderness into
standing water,
And dry ground into water springs.
And there he maketh the hungry
dwell,
That they may prepare a city for hal
itation.
And SOW the fields and plant vineyard
Which may yield fruits OF increase.
He blesseth them also, so that they al
multiplied greatly,
And suffereth not their cattle To d'
crease.
But IN other verses OF the same psal
there are recurring refrains in additi'
20 the simple parallels in twos so tn
the structure OF the verse is quite cor
plex
BY reading only the first line of I
poetic verses given above, It win
seen that the poetry has been chang
into prose. Thus:
Keen thy heart with all diligence,
Put from thee a forward mouth
Let thine eyes look straight on.
Ponder the path Of thy feet
Turn not to the right hand not to t
left.
SO in Numbers go $40 we read
poetlcal form the declaration of Bala'
beginning
How shall curse whom God hath !
cursed?
And how shall | defy whom the Ii
hath not dehed?
Tho language is majesty Itself, d
stnl remains noble prose II we ol
each Of the second lines; yet that on
sion changes the poetic into the pr
form.
so in Psalms lO7 the recurrence
certain lines al regular intery
verses o, 10 ana TO- also In verses s.
and n, constitutes refrains that serve
divide the poetry I'm complex stan
similar to certain forms employed
the English poets
So the Lamentations Of Jeremiah I
=; go often take similar poetic fori
the "soug AZ Songs which Is 81
mons" is am poetry while many OF
prophecies OF Isaiah exhibit that par
ism OF structure, that recurrence
pasHogep similar i'm thought or @
hirgrilon chat bi-lateral or multi
tral symmetry which is the basis OF
beauty Of form or sound.
Sometimes Hebrew poetry consist.
an alphabetical arrangement; e.