241 - I, the Prophet: Dramatic Monologs for Today from 12 Old Testament Prophets

I, the Prophet:
Dramatic Monologs for Today
from 12 Old Testament Prophets
By Richard E. Bauerle
St. Louis, Concordia, 1981. 91 pp. $5.95 (paper).

These first - person narrations on the lives of the prophets were delivered by the author at the Zion Lutheran Church in Sandusky, Ohio. As a text for Bible study or introduction to the prophets, the book could perhaps fulfill the author's purpose of familiarizing people with prophetic literature and the impact of its message for today. (An RSV and a good commentary could do the job as well, or better.)

Yet as "dramatic monologues" designed to make the prophets more personal and "rea"l (they were preached in costume), they leave much to be desired. The idiom is predominantly literary, rather than spoken: they read more like exegetical papers intended for readers than trueto - life dialogue in an oral style. The language, essay - style and often pedantic (also, often repetitive, vacuous, puerile, and ungrammatical!) hasn't a tinge of character color necessary for a genuinely dramatic monologue. Simply preaching" in the first person, costume and al", does not create believable characters and "dramatic" monologues. Good idea, but you're better off writing your own.

G. Robert Jacks
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton, N.J.