Neta Stahl
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199760008
- eISBN:
- 9780199979561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199760008.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
Uri Zvi Greenberg (1896–1981) was one of the most prominent figures in twentieth century Jewish poetry. In Greenberg's poetry perhaps more than in the work of any other modern Jewish writer, the ...
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Uri Zvi Greenberg (1896–1981) was one of the most prominent figures in twentieth century Jewish poetry. In Greenberg's poetry perhaps more than in the work of any other modern Jewish writer, the figure of Jesus reflects his own personal, literary and ideological biography, and his sense of selfhood. Greenberg's characterization of Jesus is profoundly ambivalent. His poetry merges elements of rejection and aversion, rooted in traditional Judaism, with a depiction of Jesus as a character of great charm and mystery who rebels against the social and religious conventions of his time. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on the different literary devices Greenberg uses to express the tension between Jesus' human aspect, linked to his Jewish character, and his godly aspect, connected to his idolatrous representation within the Christian Church. The second section demonstrates how this tension becomes an actual division between two personas: the Christian Jesus is referenced by the Slavic name “Yezus,” while the “authentic” Jewish Jesus is called “Yeshu.” The third section discusses the tensions between Greenberg's divergent representations of Jesus as Exilic Jew, Zionist pioneer, and even national Messiah.Less
Uri Zvi Greenberg (1896–1981) was one of the most prominent figures in twentieth century Jewish poetry. In Greenberg's poetry perhaps more than in the work of any other modern Jewish writer, the figure of Jesus reflects his own personal, literary and ideological biography, and his sense of selfhood. Greenberg's characterization of Jesus is profoundly ambivalent. His poetry merges elements of rejection and aversion, rooted in traditional Judaism, with a depiction of Jesus as a character of great charm and mystery who rebels against the social and religious conventions of his time. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on the different literary devices Greenberg uses to express the tension between Jesus' human aspect, linked to his Jewish character, and his godly aspect, connected to his idolatrous representation within the Christian Church. The second section demonstrates how this tension becomes an actual division between two personas: the Christian Jesus is referenced by the Slavic name “Yezus,” while the “authentic” Jewish Jesus is called “Yeshu.” The third section discusses the tensions between Greenberg's divergent representations of Jesus as Exilic Jew, Zionist pioneer, and even national Messiah.
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804774574
- eISBN:
- 9780804782838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804774574.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter discusses how these far-right writers both belonged to the same intellectual and political tradition—that of Maurrassian nationalism and Catholic politics—yet also departed from that ...
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This chapter discusses how these far-right writers both belonged to the same intellectual and political tradition—that of Maurrassian nationalism and Catholic politics—yet also departed from that tradition in significant ways. Recognizing the networks, affiliations, and affinities of 1930s intellectuals with their elders helps us to grasp the circulation of common themes—dissolution, disgust, abjection—from 1931 to 1936, but also allows us to trace the ideological differences that emerged after 1938, which coalesced around the questions of gender, sex, race, and French civilization. These differences emerged most strikingly around the place and role of anti-Semitism in a larger French ultra-nationalism and in the decision to refute or embrace the title of “French fascists”.Less
This chapter discusses how these far-right writers both belonged to the same intellectual and political tradition—that of Maurrassian nationalism and Catholic politics—yet also departed from that tradition in significant ways. Recognizing the networks, affiliations, and affinities of 1930s intellectuals with their elders helps us to grasp the circulation of common themes—dissolution, disgust, abjection—from 1931 to 1936, but also allows us to trace the ideological differences that emerged after 1938, which coalesced around the questions of gender, sex, race, and French civilization. These differences emerged most strikingly around the place and role of anti-Semitism in a larger French ultra-nationalism and in the decision to refute or embrace the title of “French fascists”.
