The aesthetic quality of these psalms inspire people’s faith to deepen. The psalms themselves do not cause faith to appear within a person, but I believe they can help religious people to feel more connected to the LORD. The psalms still have an impact on religions still in practice. Psalm 23 is one of the most well-known psalms ever written and it is used throughout a large part of Christianity.
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want”
The Book of Psalms is so beautiful in its representation of the beliefs of the early Israelites. The language used by the authors of the psalms as well as the meanings behind the words were a reminder of how deep the faith of these people was. They saw the psalms as an expression of the gratitude they felt for the god that would save them from their suffering. Reading the psalms is a lovely way to remember the joy felt by the people who wrote and lived through these times of persecution.
It is important that I define which version of the psalms I believe are beautiful because we read two different translations and each translation was given such a different meaning in the two versions. I think Alter’s version provides the more meaningful translation because it is closest to the version of the original psalms.
The pure aesthetic quality of these psalms would inspire people to strengthen their belief in God, if they were inclined to believe in Him in the first place. They are used as prayers and songs. The fact that they are still quoted throughout religions shows that they are truly magnificent.
Indeed, Robert Alter translated these Psalms beautifully, full of English logic and fluency. Compared to the 1640 version, i found Alter's translation more readable and with more aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteI think it is Alter's neutral and rational language makes his translation accessible to modern readers and make us feel those Psalms really like beautiful poems.
However, i think if we can understand Hebrew, we might be able to understand those Psalms from a more accurate angle.
I agree with you that the aesthetic quality of Alter's interpretation of the Psalms is admirable. I personally feel no real connection to the Psalms, but I agree that most of the language is powerful by itself.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am curious about is your reaction to many of the more violent images, such as the Lord smashing in the teeth of enemies in Psalm 58 or destroying enemies with an iron rod. It seems to me that the Old Testament irate God is still depicted with awfully raw and graphic imagery throughout the Psalms themselves.
How does the fact that the psalms are used by other religions now prove that they are truly magnificent? I agree that the line you chose from psalm 23 is beautiful, but why? It is not particularly far out or surprising in it's imagery.. So what is special about this aesthetic experience?
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