 2014 - 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 0690-2723-01 | Esotericism and Poetics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| FACULTY OF HUMANITIES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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University credit hours: 2.0
Course description
Esotericism and Poetics
Poetry and mysticism often go together, at least in their authors' self-perception. Jewish mystics don't necessarily think highly of literature and poetry but nevertheless when they write an esoteric text they find that poetic means are the best tools for their purposes, and similarly when they describe their experiences of soaring to the deity. On the first part of this course we will delve into classical Jewish mystical text (such as Yezira or the Zohar) and see what poetical and literary means they use and for what purposes.
On the second part of the course we will delve into the wide influence of Jewish mysticism on literary and poetical text. We will try to see what motifs tend to be transmitted from the field of mysticism into the general fields of Hebrew literature and poetry and what their new poetical function is. Do they serve religious sentiments or maybe emotional or aesthetical ones? On this part of the course we will read a variety of different texts written by Agnon, Bialik, Pedaya and many others.
Poetry and mysticism often go together, at least in their authors' self-perception. Jewish mystics don't necessarily think highly of literature and poetry but nevertheless when they write an esoteric text they find that poetic means are the best tools for their purposes, and similarly when they describe their experiences of soaring to the deity. On the first part of this course we will delve into classical Jewish mystical text (such as Yezira or the Zohar) and see what poetical and literary means they use and for what purposes.
On the second part of the course we will delve into the wide influence of Jewish mysticism on literary and poetical text. We will try to see what motifs tend to be transmitted from the field of mysticism into the general fields of Hebrew literature and poetry and what their new poetical function is. Do they serve religious sentiments or maybe emotional or aesthetical ones? On this part of the course we will read a variety of different texts written by Agnon, Bialik, Pedaya and many others.