Chapter 7: The Bible

Foster's Ideas

"Still, there was something happening there-a kind of resonance, a sense that there's something meaningful beyond the simple meaning of the words. Peter Frampton says that E major is the great rock chord; all you have to do to set off pandemonium in a concert is to stand onstage alone and strike a big, fat, full E major. Everybody in the arena knows what that chord promises. That sensation happens in reading, too. When I feel that resonance, that "fat chord" that feels heavy yet sparkles with promise or portent, it almost always means the phrase, or whatever, is borrowed from somewhere else and promises special significance. More often than not,...that somewhere is the Bible." (pg 55)

This quote is Foster's way of helping readers spot biblical allusions by referring to them as a musical chord. By doing so he creates a mood that says anything taken from the Bible is distinguishable because it sparkles with promise. This statement is more recognizable in the older days when religion was a key priority but now as he states further on in the chapter the Bible is used for many different reasons, not just quotes. Writers use the Bible for names, character personalities, stories, and titles. People no longer make as strong of a connection with the Bible as before, instead, much like Shakespeare it is another piece of literature for an author to refer to for crediblity when writing.

This quote proves that when Foster reads something that is unworldly he immediately thinks of the Bible. He wants to prove that when people quote from the Bible it is because it is too powerful to reclaim from any other literature, the writer wants the reader to specifically link an event or character to what they worship. The Scarlet Letter is an example of literature that alludes to the Bible. The whole story is about an unfaithful woman who has to wear her adultery on her sleeve. By referring to God throughout the story the reader gets a sense of "promise" that this is about more than the letter A.

This chapter proves the significance of the Bible in literature. Whether it's simply for a title or a theme for a whole book biblical allusions play a crucial role in how literature is interpreted. People react to the Bible differently than they react to other literature. In a way it is a higher authoritative power than what is written in present or past because they have no reason to deny it.