A type scene is a literary convention employed by a narrator across a set of scenes, or related to scenes (place, action) already familiar to the audience. The similarities with, and differences from, the established type are used to illuminate developments in plot and character. Robert Louis Fowler wrote, "The technique of the type-scene offers the poet a basic scaffolding, but it also allows the poet to adapt each scene for specific purposes."
Much of the foundational work for such analysis was by Walter Arend in his 1933 book, ''Die typischen Szenen bei Homer'', on the ''
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...
'' of
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
.
Later work by
Robert Alter
Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor emeritus of Hebrew language, Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has published two dozen books, including an aw ...
employed similar examination to parts of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Genesis. Another type scene that Alter identifies is the annunciation of the birth of the hero to a barren woman, such as the birth of
Samson
SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...
to
Manoah's wife
Manoah's wife (also referred to as Samson's mother) is an unnamed figure in the Book of Judges, the wife of Manoah. She is introduced in Judges 13:2 as a barren woman. The angel of the Lord appears to her and tells her she will have a son. She la ...
, or the birth of
Samuel
Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
to Hannah. Other scholars have suggested other type scenes in the Hebrew Bible, such as the heavenly council,
theophany
Theophany () is an encounter with a deity that manifests in an observable and tangible form.. It is often confused with other types of encounters with a deity, but these interactions are not considered theophanies unless the deity reveals itse ...
, prophetic concealment and the dying monarch.
Type scenes have also been identified in Old English and Old Norse literature.