Cohen 1

Dylan Cohen
Mrs. Hope
World Literature and Writers Workshop
9 November 2015
Authors Craft: Psalm 34
Over the years, Christianity has spread its ideologies and principles most recognizably
through their holy texts; most understand these texts to be collected in the Bible. The Bible
encompasses the religion from the popular stories of Jesus Christ to the copious literature of the
Psalms. The book of Psalms comprises 150 lyric poems, which serves the purpose of conveying
the individual emotions of the poet; thus, the Psalms are inspirited responses generated from
various disciples to Gods revelations. However, many have been traced back to King David,
with nearly eighty of the Psalms to his credit. Furthermore, the different Psalms are triggered to
touch the reader in a spiritual way; either emphasizing a lesson or providing a new one through
the use of varied literary tools, like Psalm 34. Moreover, through the use of repetition in Psalm
34, the author reveals the underlying theme of the fear of God.
Psalm 34 incorporates repetition throughout the entirety of the piece in means to
exaggerate and amplify Gods effect on ones life; He listens to the righteous and punishes the
evil. God is referred to as the Lord in almost every verse, which becomes persisting and
supports the authors efforts in depicting His dominance. As conveyed throughout the King
James Version of the poem, I will bless the Lord...My soul shall make her boast the Lord...O

Cohen 2

magnify the Lord...I sought the Lord (34:1-4) By emphasizing the Lords name through this
repetition, the message of the fear of God is embodied in a bolder way toward the end of the
religious text. After insisting the Lord and his superiority, the author goes to teach one of the
absent facets of Christianity, one that hinders its followers from encountering the blessings of
Gods catering and protection - the fear of the Lord. The author invites this idea as stated,
Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord (34:11). One can
deduce that the instituted message of the fear of the Lord is not to be taken lightly; all as a
result to the authors choice to use the literary device of repetition to emphasize Gods paramount
influence on the lives of mankind. With this established importance, the author is then able to
continue building on the theme, as the fear of the Lord involves acting persistently with Gods
temperament and standards. For further context on this notion, based on the King James Version
of Psalm 34, Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile/Depart from evil, and
do good; seek peace, and pursue it./The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are
open unto their cry (34:13-15). Verse 13 and 14 support the understanding that God has a
standard in which He expects the righteous to follow, and in return He grants them His ears. On
the other hand, verse 15 depicts the relationship between man and God, which is based on the
behaviors suggested in verses 13 and 14. For the majority of the poem, the author is intertwining
different ideas early on so they can manifest and connect with those made toward the end;
however, the most blatant of the examples is the authors use of repetition in the beginning to
enhance the theme explained toward the end.
Psalm 34, a religious poem of the Christian faith, uses the literary device of repetition in
means to emphasize the overall theme of the text - the fear of the Lord. The methods used by the
author are as effective as they are because of the supremacy created under God. This dominance

Cohen 3

directly amplifies the theme, as it relates to the Lords impact on mankind; and by exaggerating
His superiority, one will take the fear of the Lord in a more serious manner. Disregarding the
miniscule details, the Psalms were originally written in order to create ingenuity, incitement,
comfort, and direction. Overall, Psalm 34 creates a direction for mankind to follow in its
teachings of the fear of the Lord, which had been enhanced and intensified by the literary tools,
or repetition, used by the author.