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Article: An introduction to modern Israeli literature. (Arts And Letters).(Hayyim Nahman Bialik and Shmuel Yosef Agnon)(Biography)
- Article from:
- Midstream
- Article date:
- May 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Theodor Herzl Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Hayyim Nahman Bialik and Shmuel Yosef Agnon are the two masters of Modern Hebrew Literature--Bialik in verse and Agnon in prose. The distinctive and unrivaled artistry of each, notwithstanding, an examination of some shared aspects of their literary activity places their accomplishments in sharp focus.
The works of Bialik and Agnon give strong testimony to their remarkable command of the rich Jewish textual tradition. The thematic richness, no less than the linguistic richness, of their oeuvres owes much to their mastery of the literature. Both men were obsessed with the old world of Jewish piety and drew extensively from it. The poet and prose master alike also ...