This article examines and discusses Stephen D. Moore's suggestion that that the use of imperial themes and motifs in Revelation create a self-perpetuating cycle that lead to one imperial power being replaced by another. This article presents an alternative reading of the book of Revelation: first, acknowledging as significant the text's status as apocalyptic literature, written as a device of inspiration and subversion against reigning powers. Such literature is shown to deliberately employ imperial themes and motifs in order to subvert imperial rule; it serves as fantasy, exposing the 'hidden structures of false power' and suggesting an alternative. This leads to a reading of the text using Scott's theories of hidden transcripts. As a hidden transcript, the text serves as an antiauthoritarian device that reflects popular feelings toward an oppressor through symbolism and codes. It represents a community's secret longing for a day of victory over their oppressors; ultimately, the inversions and mimicry of the text serve to equalize and level class structures rather than reverse them. In order to facilitate a reading that truly represents this and allows the text to speak for itself, the article suggests an understanding of the book of Revelation as a dramatic work grounded in the performance art of the Roman Empire. It engages as an example Revelation 5 in the manner of a recitatio of the early empire, highlighting the discontinuity between what is seen and heard, before further exploring the ramifications of such a reading. Though in its early stages, such a reading of Revelation returns an ambiguity and depth to the text that certain postcolonial methods are lacking, whilst acknowledging its impact as a complex literary work that seeks not to provide answers, but rather a vision of hope that stands as an alternative to the forces of empire surrounding it.
Although both Pentecostalism and postcolonial thought seem to stand poles apart, they have a remarkable amount in common. Early Pentecostal revivals largely sprang from ‘subaltern groups’, people groups marginalized by colonial power and dominant groups. Bringing together Pentecostalism and postcolonial thought is a complex task, but one that promises to yield positive results. Exploring the text through the twin lenses of postcolonial thought and the distinctive Pentecostal emphasis on pneumatology results in a fresh hermeneutical perspective: that the Holy Spirit might be understood as a postcolonial agent of change that empowers those who have experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit to resist dominant structures of oppression. The New Testament text can therefore be understood as a ‘hidden transcript’, a disguised work of resistance composed by subaltern groups against dominance and oppression. This article therefore seeks to explore the theoretical underpinnings of a ‘Pentecostal, postcolonial reading’ of the New Testament.
In 1498, artist Albrecht Dürer published a series of woodcuts depicting scenes from the Book of Revelation, entitled Apocalypse. The impact and reach of Dürer’s work has been widely acknowledged by scholars, and its importance is difficult to overstate. Sixteen images were produced, each depicting scenes from the text of Revelation. This was a remarkable achievement, given the complexity and difficulty of the source material, and has influenced all subsequent depictions of the Apocalypse in the Western tradition. Apocalypse is therefore defined as a paratext, an artifact that affects the reading or interpretation of the original text, in this case the Book of Revelation. This essay will briefly discuss both the origins of Apocalypse and its paratextual influence, particularly with regards to Lucas Cranach’s illustrations for the Luther Bible. This essay will also briefly visually exegete selected Apocalypse illustrations and their engagement with the text of the Book of Revelation.
Visualising a character in a narrative is a highly individual act; cognitive narratology suggests that individuals may construct character models depending on the information (frames) available to them. However, many of these frames are formed from knowledge defined by positivist historical criticism, meaning that construction tends to follow broadly similar patterns. Performing and therefore embodying a character shifts the role of interpretation from audience to performer; an audience engages with the nuances of each performer’s embodiment of a character in a shared experience of a temporal performance event. This shift of interpretive responsibility to the performer allows them to challenge audiences in ways that an author may not be able to. Embodiment of a character through performance will inevitably challenge readers’ cognitive constructions of the same character to different degrees—for example, gender, ethnicity, bearing, tone, or even action may differ—potentially creating dissonance for audiences. This dissonance may help interpreters to discover their own assumptions about the performed texts, in doing so creating new avenues for interpretation. Such is the promise of performance: by viewing embodied narratives, audiences are challenged to view alternative interpretations and subsequently reconcile differences between their constructions and those of the performers.
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