- The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Contributors
- Introduction
- The Text of The Gospel and Letters of John
- Literary Sources of the Gospel and Letters of John
- John and other Gospels
- The Story of the Johannine Community and its Literature
- The Beloved Disciple, the Fourth Evangelist, and the Authorship of the Fourth Gospel
- The Gospel of John and Archaeology
- The Jews of the Fourth Gospel
- The Johannine Literature in a Greek Context
- The Johannine Literature and Contemporary Jewish Literature
- The Johannine Literature and the Gnostics
- The Fourth Gospel as Narrative and Drama
- Ideological Readings of the Fourth Gospel
- Gender and the Fourth Gospel
- Social-Scientific Readings of the Gospel and Letters of John
- Symbolism and ‘Signs’ in the Fourth Gospel
- Dualism and the World in the Gospel and Letters of John
- Eschatology and Time in the Gospel of John
- The Person of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John
- The Purpose of the Ministry and Death of Jesus in the Gospel of John
- Faith, Eternal Life, and the Spirit in the Gospel of John
- Ethics in Community in the Gospel and Letters of John
- Temple, Festivals, and Scripture in the Gospel Of John
- The Johannine Literature and the Canon
- Johannine Commentaries in the Early Church
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Abstract and Keywords
This chapter examines the development and trajectories of the study of the Gospel of John as a unified narrative, Johannine literary techniques, and how the experience of the reader becomes a significant focus of research. Besides looking at the role of recognition and reversals in the Gospel’s plot and the distinctive features of Johannine characterization, special attention is given to the use of techniques that give the Gospel a dramatic quality. These include such things as the use of direct speech to tell the story and to serve as the main action, Johannine construction of space and time to provide a sense of ‘lived experience’, and the role of irony and suspense as a means of engaging the reader.
Keywords: drama, tragedy, mimesis, deictic, suspense, irony, ekphrasis, emplotment
Jo-Ann A. Brant is Professor of Bible and Religion at Goshen College in Goshen Indiana. She is an active member of the Johannine Literature and Ancient Fiction sections of the Society of Biblical Literature and author of Dialogue and Drama: Elements of Greek Tragedy in the Fourth Gospel (2004) and the commentary on John in the Baker Paideia Series (2011).
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- The Oxford Handbook of Johannine Studies
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Contributors
- Introduction
- The Text of The Gospel and Letters of John
- Literary Sources of the Gospel and Letters of John
- John and other Gospels
- The Story of the Johannine Community and its Literature
- The Beloved Disciple, the Fourth Evangelist, and the Authorship of the Fourth Gospel
- The Gospel of John and Archaeology
- The Jews of the Fourth Gospel
- The Johannine Literature in a Greek Context
- The Johannine Literature and Contemporary Jewish Literature
- The Johannine Literature and the Gnostics
- The Fourth Gospel as Narrative and Drama
- Ideological Readings of the Fourth Gospel
- Gender and the Fourth Gospel
- Social-Scientific Readings of the Gospel and Letters of John
- Symbolism and ‘Signs’ in the Fourth Gospel
- Dualism and the World in the Gospel and Letters of John
- Eschatology and Time in the Gospel of John
- The Person of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John
- The Purpose of the Ministry and Death of Jesus in the Gospel of John
- Faith, Eternal Life, and the Spirit in the Gospel of John
- Ethics in Community in the Gospel and Letters of John
- Temple, Festivals, and Scripture in the Gospel Of John
- The Johannine Literature and the Canon
- Johannine Commentaries in the Early Church
- Index Locorum
- General Index
