LITERARY TECHNIQUES and the GOSPEL of MARK

The gospel of Mark is often considered the least literary of the four gospels of the New Testament. It is shortest in length and simplest in style with its terse, summary-like form. But regardless of its apparent simplicity, it is evident upon close examination that the writer utilizes several literary devices in order to present theme, emphasize important features, create a sense of urgency, and heighten reader interest.

Exploring the major themes presented in the gospel of Mark requires the reader's active participation. The bible is a persuasive text, not just a compilation of historical documents. Much of it, including the gospel of Mark, was written with the purpose to intrigue, compel, influence, and convert its readers. One of the most widely-used methods of persuasion in the history of literature is the intentional use of theme, or underlying, recurrent message within the writing. The writer of this gospel uses various literary devices to suggest underlying messages; forcing the reader to become active in the role of interpretation and with the help of these literary techniques, the message the author is trying to portray becomes much more meaningful.

STORY ARRANGEMENT

Unlike the gospels of Matthew and Luke, which are very similar in content to this one, the gospel of Mark is not entirely linear. The decision to abandon traditional chronological storytelling suggests to the reader that there are important features worth paying special attention to. One way Mark uses story arrangement to ensure that a certain message comes across to the reader is thematic grouping. For example, the group of stories in 1:21-45 depicts Jesus as an authoritative teacher and miraculous healer, putting emphasis on his power and leadership abilities.

The author also uses a "sandwiching" technique (Just); inserting a story into another story in order to draw attention to a certain aspect or even to manipulate the interpretation of the original story. An example of this is the death of John the Baptist by King Herod, which is inserted into the story of Jesus sending his apostles on a mission against unclean spirits (6:7-31). Although the two stories seem completely unrelated, the gruesome events of King Herod unjustly ordering the death of the beloved John the Baptist overshadows the story of the apostle's mission and reminds the reader of the risk of danger the missionaries could face. With the help of this sandwiching technique, the simple missionary story can be interpreted as a heroic tale by evoking sympathetic emotions for the brave missionaries who are likely to face dangerous opposition during their travels.

REPETITION AND PATTERNS

Repetition and patterns are often used in the gospel of Mark to highlight features that are considered significant by the author. Throughout the gospel we see repetition of key words and phrases such as, "Gospel/good news", "authority," and "believe/faith." Repetition is also used to drive home important messages. In 10:23-25, Jesus uses the same phrase three times, varying only slightly in word choice: "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" This is no doubt a very important message that Jesus intends for everyone to hear.

Like repetition, patterns are used in the gospel to highlight special themes and features. Perhaps the most common type, in this gospel, is the three-fold pattern. In Mark there is, "a fondness for a threefold pattern with progressive heightening, e.g., three calls of commissionings of the disciples (1:16-20; 3:13-19; 6:7-13); three Passion predictions (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34); Jesus comes three times to his disciples in Gethsemane (14:32-42); and the three denials by Peter (14:66-72)" ( Donahue 19).

STYLE

In correlation with the summary-like method of storytelling used in Mark, one of the most distinguishing features of the gospel is its paratactic style. The gospel consists mainly of short, simple sentences and coordinating conjunctions which create a sense of action and immediacy. According to Dr. Just, "An amazing 410 of the 678 verses in the original Greek version of Mark's Gospel begin with the word " And " (Gk. kai)". Words and phrases such as, "immediately," "now," and "as soon as," are used to emphasize action. In fact, the Greek word euthys (meaning "immediately") is used 42 times in the original version of Mark's gospel (Just). There could be a number of benefits to this writing style such as to create a sense of urgency, which can in turn relay a sense of importance, and to maintain reader interest.

ADVANCING THE PLOT

Another method of heightening reader interest is found in the way the stories of the gospel of Mark unfold. Both in the smaller stories within the text and in the major conflicts of the gospel, the stories tend to start out small and get bigger as the storytelling progresses.

Mark 8:1-8 tells a story which starts out with the simple acknowledgement that Jesus's audience is hungry. Jesus then presents his concern for the well-being of the crowd, which cues the disciples take the story to a new level by asking, "How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?" (8:4). This sets up the climax of the story, in which Jesus takes charge and responds with action, ordering the crowd to sit while he distributes the small amount of food they have. The story then ends with the great revelation of the miracle, that everyone is full.

The major conflicts within Mark are also portrayed in this intensifying manner. The conflict between Jesus and his disciples and the Jewish leaders start out in 2:6-8, "Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 'ËœWhy does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy!' In 2:24, the Pharisees are so disturbed by the behavior of Jesus' disciples that they go to Jesus and voice their concerns saying, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" This conflict continues to progress throughout the book until the execution of Jesus.

The conflict between Jesus and his disciples progresses in the same way. Jesus' relationship with his disciples is simple in the beginning. Jesus travels around collecting his disciples, who drop everything and follow without any question. However, as the tension with the Jewish leaders grows and disturbing prophesies about Jesus death come to light, the disciples have an increasingly difficult time being faithful and obedient to Jesus. They begin to question Jesus and the prophesies and as their faith crumbles, so does their ability to obey their leader. In 14:30-42, Jesus orders his disciples to stay awake while he goes off to pray, but he repeatedly comes back to find them sleeping. By the end of the gospel, the disciples do the unthinkable; they betray Jesus.

FORESHADOWING

Foreshadowing is another method used in Mark to heighten reader interest. By foretelling some of the events that will occur later in the text, readers are able to actively speculate about the story and when they get to that foretold event, the event itself becomes more meaningful to the reader.

Near the beginning of the gospel, John announces that someone more powerful than he will be coming. This sets up the arrival of Jesus in the next scene and forshadows the great power that we see from him in later chapters. Other foreshadowing includes, 1:14: "after John was arrested," which is more fully described later, the devil's return (Luke 4:13), and several instances of Jesus foretelling the events of his own crucifixion, betrayal, and resurrection.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Figurative language is used all throughout this gospel. The most significant type of figurative language in Mark is the telling of parables. The parables in Mark are inspirational and insightful and since they use every day experiences to relay deeper, more profound spiritual messages, the reader is more likely to understand the message. The parables Jesus tells also add validity to the claim that Jesus is God by portraying a sense of all-knowing, mysterious power. One of the most famous of the parables in the gospel of Mark is the parable of the mustards seed. Jesus says:

"With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade" (4:30-32).

By comparing the growth of the kingdom of God with the growth of the mustard seed, even an uneducated farmer would able to grasp this vast idea.

INTERPRETATION

In 4:11, Jesus tells his disciples, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables in order that they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand."

This is a very confusing quote which begs the question: Why would Jesus bother to pass on information in the form of a parable if it is not meant to be understood? According to Arland J. Hultgren, this is merely a problem with translation. The Greek word that is translated to, "in order that," "causes problems for interpretation, since it implies that the purpose of telling parables would be to prevent insight, understanding, repentance, and forgiveness" (Hultgren 458). Hultgren goes on to explain that it is more likely that the quote was meant to suggest that the outsiders are unable to understand the secret of the kingdom of God because this is not the purpose of Jesus' ministry at this time. That is not to say that they will not be able to come to understand the parables later.

This is a prime example of how interpretation can skew the intended meaning of the author. Because of the issues of translation, it is inconclusive whether Hultgren's conclusion of the secret of the kingdom of God is correct or not. All forms of communication, including literature, require the participation of two parties; the sender and the receiver. Readers come with barriers such as language and time as well as opinions and experiences that will shape his or her interpretation of the text. No matter how convincing the writer is or how well-executed his literary technique, he cannot expect his message to come across in exactly the same way to every reader. In literature as politically and spiritually charged as the bible, interpretation has been a cause for debate since the bible was created. This is why a comprehensive study which includes literary analysis and historical context is so important in trying to understand the meaning of this text as it was intended by the author.

WORKS CITED

Hultgren, Arland J. The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary . Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2000. Print.

This book examines the use of parables in the New Testament and includes an analysis of the "secret of the kingdom of God."

Just, Felix, S.J., Ph.D. " The Gospel according to Mark: Literary Features & Thematic Emphases." Catholic Resources for Bible, Liturgy, Art, and Theology. N.p. 24 July 2009. Web. April 7 2011. This article outlines various literary techniques used in the Gospel of Mark such as thematic grouping, literary echoes, and narrative realism.

Donahue, John R. and Daniel J. Harrington. The Gospel of Mark: Volume II . Minnesota: The Liturgical Press. 2002. Print.

An extensive and comprehensive study of the gospel of Mark. This book discusses the various literary devices used in Mark such as foreshadowing and narrative patterns.

The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Michael D. Coogan Ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print. This college edition study bible features annotations and prefaces that support the comprehensive study of the biblical text by providing historical context, cross- referencing text, and discussing general interpretations and themes. In this version of the bible, the gospel of Mark is prefaced with an overview that serves to guide the reader to examine the literary techniques used within the gospel, such as style and story structure.