form criticism

noun

a method of textual analysis, applied especially to the Bible, in which the origin and history of certain passages are traced by isolating their literary forms, as miracle story, saying, or apothegm, on the assumption that they were fixed by oral tradition prior to compilation in written form.

Words nearby form criticism

forlorn hope, forlì, form, form an opinion, form class, form criticism, form drag, form factor, form genus, form letter, form stop

Origin of form criticism

First recorded in 1925–30

OTHER WORDS FROM form criticism

form-crit·i·cal

[fawrm-krit-i-kuh l] /ˈfɔrmˌkrɪt ɪ kəl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for form criticism

form criticism

noun

literary criticism concerned esp with analysing the Bible in terms of the literary forms used, such as proverbs, songs, or stories, and relating them to their historical forms and background

Derived forms of form criticism

form critic, nounform critical, adjective

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