Staging the Sacred
Performance in Late Ancient Liturgical Poetry
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:18th Aug '23
£94.00
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Staging the Sacred examines the importance of Christian, Jewish, and Samaritan liturgical poetry from Late Antiquity through the lenses of performance, entertainment, and spectacle. Laura Lieber proposes an account of hymnody as a performative and theatrical genre, combining religious and theatrical studies to examine how performers creatively engaged their audiences, utilized different modes of performance, and created complex characters through their speeches. To truly consider performance and engage with these poems fully, Lieber urges readers to imagine the world beyond the page. While poetry and hymnody from Late Antiquity are usually presented in textual form, Lieber moves away from studying the text on its own, engaging instead with how these poems would have been performed and acted. The specific literary techniques associated with oratory and acting in Late Antiquity, such as apostrophe and vivid imagery, help craft a more accurate idea of liturgical presentations. Lieber suggests ways that these ancient poets could have used their physical spaces of performance by borrowing from the gestures and body language of oratory, mime, and pantomime. A highly interdisciplinary study that will appeal to scholars across religion, theatre, literature, and beyond, Staging the Sacred proposes a novel interpretation of Late Antique hymnody and poetry as a performative genre, akin to oratory, theatre, and other modes of public performance, placing these works in their wider societal context.
L.'s interdisciplinary approach is a relevant contribution to contemporary scholarship that considers literary and material 'fragments' as invitations to reevaluate philological and historiographical methods in the analysis of Jewish, Christian and Samaritan textual traditions. * Christine Rosa De Freitas, JSOT 48, no. 5 *
This excellent book contributes to an ever-widening conversation scholars of the ancient world are having about form, and how the customs of genre can both shape thought and link traditions that have long seemed distinct. Lieber focuses on late ancient liturgical poetry, joining others such as Georgia Frank, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, and Ophir Münz-Manor to consider the making of culture at the level of performance. * Ellen Muehlberger, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Ultimately, Lieber's work offers a rich and lively reimagination of long-silenced voices, reinvigorating the discussion of whether theatricality and performance are viable options for understanding ancient texts. Even if one is unpersuaded by her placement of particular pieces upon the mosaic of ancient performance (as I am at times), it is clear that the majority of these pieces not only belong but are in the correct place. Modern readers are left to wrestle with and reimagine the remaining gaps in the mosaic. * Zechariah Eberhart, Reading Religion *
Staging the Sacred is a momentous achievement, distinctive in its knowledge, scope and range. Lieber's prose is elegant and engaging, rich yet unfailingly clear.The approach to sources both ancient and modern is exemplary. * Emma Greensmith, Project Muse *
ISBN: 9780190065461
Dimensions: 237mm x 162mm x 33mm
Weight: 717g
424 pages