Israeli Literature Criticism
Israeli literature, emerging with the creation of the modern Israeli state in 1948, offers a unique voice that combines the influences of Middle Eastern and European Jewish traditions. The establishment of Israel not only marked the culmination of the Zionist movement but also reaffirmed Hebrew as a vibrant language and culture. Israeli literature has been instrumental in shaping and reflecting the nation's identity, divided by critics into three main periods. The first period, known as "Palmach" literature, developed in the late 1940s and 1950s, featuring drama, poetry, and fiction with a social realist aesthetic. This era focused on collective themes such as political issues, the war of independence, the Israeli army, and the kibbutz, as noted in Shosh Avigal.
The "New Wave" of the 1960s and 1970s introduced a shift towards individual and universal themes, emphasizing personal narratives and historical context, as explored by Gabriel Levin. This period also saw increased representation of women's voices and greater development in Israeli poetry and drama. The latter decades of the 20th century reflect innovative and experimental attitudes, grappling with Arab-Jewish relations, a theme further explored by authors such as Amos Oz and others, who reflect on these tensions, as discussed by Menakhem Perry and Gilead Morahg. By the century's end, Israeli literature increasingly embraced expressions of diversity and dissent, mirroring the nation's ongoing efforts to define its democratic identity amidst the complex tapestry of its cultural and historical backdrop.
Contents
- Representative Works
- Overviews
- Israeli Fiction
-
Israeli Poetry
-
The Holocaust and the Bible in Israeli Poetry
(summary)
In the following essay, Jacobson examines biblical allusions in Israeli Holocaust poetry.
-
The Violence of Collision: Hebrew Poetry Today
(summary)
In the following essay, Levin explores theme, subject matter, and style in modern Hebrew poetry.
-
Modern Hebrew Verse
(summary)
In the following essay, Ramras-Rauch comments on the varied character of modern Hebrew poetry and principally considers the verse of Yehuda Amichai, Natan Zach, and Avot Yeshuruh.
-
Motor Car, Bomb, God: Israeli Poetry in Translation
(summary)
In the following essay, Whitman discusses Israeli poetry in English translation.
-
Anti-War Poetry in Israel
(summary)
In the following essay, Young analyzes the place of the Holocaust in modern Israeli anti-war poetry.
-
The Holocaust and the Bible in Israeli Poetry
(summary)
-
Israeli Drama
-
Shosh Avigal
(summary)
In the following essay, Avigal surveys the evolution of Israeli theater from 1948 to the mid-1990s, highlighting its shift from collective ideological narratives to more personal themes, and its role in reflecting and shaping sociopolitical developments, including the impact of the Lebanon War and the Intifada on dramatic content.
-
The Evolution of the Israeli Attitude Toward the Holocaust as Reflected in Modern Hebrew Drama
(summary)
In the following essay, Avisar studies the treatment of the Holocaust in Israeli drama of the 1950s and 1960s.
-
Israel's Theatre of Confrontation
(summary)
In the following essay, Rubin describes the sociopolitical role of contemporary Israeli theater.
-
Shosh Avigal
(summary)
- Women And Israeli Literature
-
Arab Characters In Israeli Literature
-
The Image of the Arab in Modern Hebrew Literature
(summary)
In the following essay, Coffin discusses representations of Arabs and Arab-Jewish relations in Israeli literature.
-
New Images of Arabs in Israeli Fiction
(summary)
In the following essay, Morahg investigates the trend toward the depiction of Arabs in contemporary Israeli fiction as individuals rather than as abstractions.
-
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict as a Metaphor in Recent Israeli Fiction
(summary)
In the following essay, Perry notes the tension between Arabs and Israelis reflected in the fiction of Amos Oz, Avraham B. Yehoshua, and David Grossman.
-
The Image of the Arab in Modern Hebrew Literature
(summary)
- Further Reading