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Document Details :

Title: Prosopopoetics and Conflict
Subtitle: Speech and Expectations in John 8
Author(s): MYERS, Alicia D.
Journal: Biblica
Volume: 92    Issue: 4   Date: 2011   
Pages: 580-596
DOI: 10.2143/BIB.92.4.3188825

Abstract :
This article explores the conflict of John 8 within the larger context of the Gospel and in the light of the ancient rhetorical practice of prosopopoiia: the creation of speech for characters. These speeches add to the credibility of a narrative by being 'appropriate' for both the person speaking and the situation in which the speech is given. Although perhaps not prosopopoiia in the traditional sense of speeches from Greek histories, this essay argues that the Gospel nevertheless includes prosopopoetics by creating appropriate, albeit unnerving, words for Jesus that elevate the audience and add to the persuasiveness of the work.

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