Basic Plots in the Bible: A Literary Approach to Genre. (November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hagan, Harry
• Is Part Of: Biblical theology bulletin. Volume 49:Number 4(2019)
• Page Start: 198
• Page End: 213
• Publication Date: 2019-11
• Subjects: narrative -- plot -- genre -- form criticism -- battle -- quest -- journey -- comedy -- tragedy -- rebirth -- call narrative -- temptation -- trial; 230.041
• DOI: 10.1177/0146107919877640
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0146-1079

Abstract

In The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories (2004), Christopher Booker names seven basic plots: overcoming the monster (battle), rags to riches, the journey quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth; to these he adds three subplots: call and commission, trials, and temptations. Booker argues that these plots shape the stories we tell and provide a key to their meaning for us. This article shows that biblical stories from both the Old and New Testaments use and combine these basic plots and subplots to create biblical narratives. Besides providing a way of identifying the connection between stories, these categories also offer a context for understanding what is distinctive about each story and about the biblical narrative tradition. As such, these basic plots and subplots offer another strategy for the analysis of genre (form criticism).