Literary Devices in Gospel of Mark
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Whew. Talk about a region rife with political conflict. Yeah, we're talking about today, but things were no less volatile in Mark's time, when this whole area was governed by Rome or Roman appointe...
Genre
If you were to ask a group of professional scholars studying Mark what the genre of this text is, they would probably react like starved lions thrown a piece of raw meat. Nice image, right?Seriousl...
What's Up With the Title?
First things first: remember that, with Mark, we're dealing with the old fashioned way of publishing books. We're talking scribes copying each letter by hand and then passing on their copies, which...
What's Up With the Ending?
Mark's ending is really worth chewing on—for a long, long time. Get ready to mull. And mull some more.The first problem: where does Mark end? It's not often that we don't know where a story ends....
Trivia
Ever heard of the Secret Gospel of Mark? At a monastery near Jerusalem in 1973, a scholar named Morton Smith discovered fragments of a letter by a Christian writer named Clement of Alexandria. Appa...
Sex Drugs And Violence Rating
Let's take a look:• Severed head? Check (6:28).• Beatings? Check and check (14:65; 15:17-19).• Lengthy execution scene? Check (15:22-39). • Threats of fiery punishment and death by drowning...
Allusions
Shakespeare's King Lear Apocalyptic themes are all over the place in Shakespeare's King Lear. Take the final scene, when Kent asks, "Is this the promised end?" and Edgar responds, "Or image o...