I have never pondered on the literary value of the Book of Mormon before, but in reading the introduction of Hardy's edition of the book I realized there are a lot of beautiful literally elements there. One of my favorite examples of this is "The Psalm of Nephi" in chapter 4 of second Nephi. I love it because it captures feelings that we all struggle with in such a beautiful and poetic way. Had that chapter not been written in that way (and written well), I don't think it would have held as much significance for me.
I think Hardy's version of the text was really beneficial in the way it grouped concepts together. I really loved how the verses about Lehi's vision in chapter 1 are all put into one paragraph. It helps the reader focus on it as its own entity. I also really liked the headers as well. In chapter 2 when it has one called "Laman and Lemuel's Murmurings" and "Nephi's Faithfulness and Blessing" those really help demonstrate the contrast in that chapter that I feel like the writer is trying to convey. One thing I didn't like though is Hardy's formatting the Lord's response to Nephi in a poem at the end of chapter 2. It just doesn't seem to read like a poem to me. Maybe I am just missing something. If anyone has any thoughts on that that might help me to see why he did that, I would appreciate it!
That is an interesting thought about the Lord's response to Nephi at the end of Chapter 2. I see some poetic repetition in the sense that the Lord is starting most of the stanzas with "And inasmuch as [someone does or doesn't keep the commandments] . . . ," this blessing or curse will result. And I feel that casting it as poetry elevates what the Lord is saying to Nephi. It kind of reminds me of how Shakespeare will have his lower status characters speak prose while the nobles speak in verse.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of what God is saying is being elevated, also by formatting it as poetry it causes us to slow down and really look at it. However, I also think if the Book of Mormon was formatted like originally, it might change our perception of God. We may assume that he communicates with us more poetically than straightforwardly. -SIera Lara
DeleteI agree with how beneficial it was for hardy to group concepts together. I think a difficulty I have with scripture in versus is distinguishing which concepts belong where. They all seem to blend together for me. As for the poem at the end of chapter two, I had the same thoughts. However, I started to look at them as personal revelations, and scriptural/spiritual recounts from the Trinity. At times its hard to see why it is put into poetic forms, but it makes these revelations easy to identify nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteI also like the like-concepts being grouped together, under a heading that helps the reader understand what the following section will be about. It prepares the reader for what is coming, so there will be less room for confusion.
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