“The anatomy of all of the soul” was John calvin’s description of the Psalms—the 150 poems that give us the words to express sorrow and joy, to praise God, and to give thanks when despair is relieved. The Psalms achieve their passionate effects using seemingly conventional language, woven in subtle semantic patterns. BR’s spotlight on the psalms presents “The Power of the Psalms In Our Time” and Robert Alter’s “Psalms—Beauty Heightened Through Poetic Structure,” a detailed examination of four psalms. Alter’s penetrating analysis of the ways in which the structure of poetry influences its emotional impact is an adaptation […]