Book outline: What is narrative criticism? by Mark Allan Powell

Differences between literary and historical criticism:

1. Literary criticism focuses on the finished form of the text.
2. Literary criticism emphasises the unity of the text as a whole.
3. Literary criticism views the text as an end in itself.
4. Literary criticism is based on communication models of speech-act theory.

"Literary criticism is concerned with the question: Who is the reader? Rhetorical criticism is interested in the original readers to whom the work was first addressed (intended readers). Structuralism wants to define the responses of a competent reader who understands a work's codes. Narrative critics generally speak of an implied reader who is presupposed by the narrative itself.

Story and discourse: point of view, narration, symbolism and irony, narrative patterns (repetition, contrast, comparison, causation, climax, pivot, particularization/generalization, statements of purpose, preparation, summarization, interrogation, inclusio, interchange, chiasm, intercalation)

Events: order (story time vs discourse time is called anachronies), duration (summary, scene, stretch, ellipsis, pause), frequency (singular narration, repetitive narration, multiple-singular narration, iterative narration), causation (possibility, probability, contingency), conflict.

Characters: point-of-view, character traits, empathy/sympathy/antipathy.

Settings: spatial, temporal, social.

Benefits of narrative criticism:

1. Focuses on the text of Scripture itself.
2. Provides some insight into biblical texts for which historical backgrounds are uncertain.
3. Provides for checks and balances on traditional methods.
4. Tends to bring the scholars and non-professional Bible readers closer together.
5. Stands in a close relationship to the believing community.
6. Offers potential for bringing believing communities together.
7. Offers fresh interpretation of biblical material.
8. Unleashes the power of biblical stories for personal and social transformation.

Objections to narrative criticism:

1. Treats the Gospels as coherent narratives when they are actually collections of disparate material.
2. Imposes on ancient literature concepts drawn from the study of modern literature.
3. Seeks to interpret the Gospels through methods that were devised from the study of fiction.
4. Lacks objective criteria for the analysis of texts.
5. Rejects or ignores the historical witness of the Gospels.