321 Word & World Volume 43, Number 4 Fall 2023 Although it might seem that the psalms are attempts to construct a narrative story, this article argues that this is not the case. By a careful examination of the category of narrative, it is suggested that the psalms are actually not nar- ratives, but an attempt by means of lyric poetry to create a present reality into which the reader is drawn. Too Tall a Tale, Or: Do the Psalms Really Tell “Stories”? BRENT A. STRAWN e present of discourse or articulation cannot be reduced to the nar- rating of past events; on the contrary, the narrated events seem to be subsumed by, trumped by, the present of lyric enunciation (narrating is no longer the right word). Jonathan Culler 1 The Power of Story Stories—good ones, at any rate—are powerful. at, at least, is what people claim about stories, and since most of us have heard a good story or two, we would likely agree. is claim about and the very real experience of “story power” have led to a proliferation of stories everywhere in almost every type of entertainment media. If one isn’t careful, the apparent power and palpable ubiquity of story give the impression that “narrative” 2 is somehow fundamental and universal, even 1 Jonathan Culler, eory of the Lyric (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2015), 36. 2 Let “story” and “narrative” stand as synonyms for the time being. In point of fact, they may be help- fully differentiated, with story the “content” or “what” of narrative, which is also comprised of discourse, the