James and Jude: a Rhetorical Dramatistic and Metaphoric Analysis

Date of Graduation

Summer 1991

Degree

Master of Arts in Communication

Department

Communication

Committee Chair

Holt Spicer

Abstract

This study applies modern rhetorical methodologies in the textual analysis of two New Testament epistles, James and Jude. Following an artifactual background and literature review, the metaphoric and pentadic methodologies are summarized. James was examined using metaphoric methodology, which revealed the letter's thematic elements more clearly than does biblical scholarship's conventional topical treatment. Key portions of the artifact supported the theory of metaphoric t hought. Jude received a Burkean internal pentadic analysis, which suggested that the author relied on an act-agency ratio to describe doctrinal error. Among the textual conclusions apparent from these analyses are that James is more unified textually than previously regarded, and that the motive in Jude reveals the extent of doctrinal deception in early Christianity. Suggestions for future research include the continuance of these methodological applications, the merits of exploring the Metaphoric Pentad and a challenge that rhetorical and biblical scholars cooperate further in future interdisciplinary criticism.

Subject Categories

Communication

Copyright

© Jimmy R Coleman

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Dissertation/Thesis

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