Retelling implies the existence of a story. (Most of them did not even aim at doing so, they rather sought to create parallels in a specific context like Bibles for the illiterate or Bibles for children, or to provide another easier access to it.) Thus, instead of a chain of various versions dependent on one another, each retelling takes as its model again the Bible itself. The case of retelling the Bible is special in this respect: the ‘original’ remains all the time in the background, its retellings have (so far) not threatened its unique status. Retelling is frequently an attempt to substitute the original. Every version is context-bound: it relates to particular temporal, spatial and social conditions, it is a result of the specific purpose, needs and situation of its author and audience. Retelling a text includes adding, omitting, enlarging, condensing, but also interpreting, adding new meanings, stressing specific aspects and suppressing other ones. Interdisciplinary workshop at Center for Theoretical Study, Prague, Czech Republic
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