Bloom Gives Norton Lecture, Targets Biblical Copy-Cats

In the first of six lectures on "Poetry and Belief," leading literary deconstructionist Harold Bloom said the prophets of the Hebrew Bible were influenced by one another.

Expanding on the thesis of one of his major works, Bloom, who is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale, showed how the prophets borrowed from one another in writing about God and man.

In 1973 Bloom wrote the seminal work, "The Anxiety of Influence," which said that all poetry is simply a rewriting of previous poetry. To Bloom, the Bible is poetry and the prophets rewrite that which came before them.

Bloom, who has been appointed Norton Professor of Poetry for this school year, lectured before an audience of more than 800 people in a packedSanders Theater. His speech was quick and oftendifficult to understand.

Described in an introduction by Professor ofEnglish Marjorie Garber as one of the greatestthinkers in literary history, Bloom spoke for anhour.

The lecture, entitled "The Hebrew Bible," dealtwith four of the authors of the Old Testament: J,Jeremiah, Job, and Jonah.

Beginning with the author J, "the storytellerwho is the dominant force behind Genesis, Exodusand Numbers," Bloom outlined each writer's conceptof God and the way that each was affected by theothers.

In the following lectures, Bloom will carry theidea of the anxiety of influence through furtherliterary periods. Next week he will discuss "Homerto Dante," and the following week he will lectureon Shakespeare