INTRODUCTION TO EGYPTIAN LITERATURE LITERARY HISTORY ON EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

(ENG. LIT. 5- SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE)

OLD KINGDOM
BRIEF BACKGROUND ON EGYPT
-Very few literary texts survived from the Old Kingdom.
OFFICIAL NAME- Arab Republic of Egypt -Among the most important works of the period were: Pyramid
CAPITAL- Cairo Texts which include nonliterary and highly poetic spells;
POPULATION- 54.6 million Cannibal Texts, a vivid bits of poetry representing the dead
CURRENCY- Egyptian Pound kings attaining power in the afterlife by devouring the gods; and
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE- Arabic the Proverbs of Ptahotep, a book of sound but worldly advice

 Occupying the northeast corner of Africa, Egypt is bisected by MIDDLE KINGDOM

the highly fertile Nile valley which separates its arid western
-This is the classic age of Egyptian literature which saw the
desert from the smaller semi-arid eastern desert.
flourishing of works which became popular for hundreds of
years. Among these are: Tale of Sinuhe, which relates the flight
 Egypt’s 1979 peace treaty with Israel brought security, the
of a refugee courtier, Sinuhe, from Egypt to Syria for political
return of the Sinai, and large injections of US aid.
reasons, his life in exile and his homecoming; the Shipwrecked
Sailor, a simple folk tale of a sailor who meets an old fatherly
 Its essentially pro-Western military-backed regime is now being
serpent on an island; and King Cheops and the Magicians,
challenged by an increasingly influential Islamic fundamentalist
several folk tales given in a frame work story.
movement.
 Ancient Egyptian literature is characterized by a wide diversity
of types and subject matter. It dates from the old Kingdom (c. NEW KINGDOM
2755-2255 B. C.) into Greco-Roman period (after 332 B. C.).
 The religious literature of an ancient Egypt includes hymns to -During this period, the style of writing changed and the
the gods, mythological and magical texts, and an extensive language of the day was used, which brought forth a more
collection of mortuary texts. natural manner of writing, replacing the artificialities of the
 The range of secular literature includes stories; instructive Middle Kingdom.
literature, known as “wisdom text”; poems, biographical and -Among the famous writings of this period were: The Story of
historical texts; and scientific treatises, including mathematical King Apohis and Sekenenre, which concerns war expelling the
and medical texts. Hykos; Voyage of Wenamon, a tale of an official sent to
 Notable also are the many legal, administrative, and economic Lebanon for cedar wood; The Tale of the Two Brothers; The
texts and private documents such as letters, although not Enchanted Prince; Hymn to the Sun, Contending of Horus and
actually literature. Seth, etc.
TYPES OF EGYPTIAN LITERATURE Another important religious work is the Hymns to the Sun-God,
prepared by Amenhotep IV who later called himself Akhenaton
because he believed he was the manifestation of the great Egyptian
Most of the Egyptian writings fall into one of the five types: wisdom
ruler who tried to make his people believe in one god, the Sun-god Ra,
literature, religious literature, tales, love lyrics and pessimistic
the powerful, and the king creator.
literature.
Another type of religious literature is the good wishes of the relatives,
which when recited in the correct chant and with the correct gestures,
RELIGIOUS LITERATURE were believed to secure the happiness of the dead man.
It predominates Egypt, and it is also the case when the priests are the A typical example of this is the one from the tomb of the scribe
only persons who can write and make records and it is rare that any Amonehat, who lived in the reign of Thutmose III
secular literature survives from an early period.
In Egypt, the earliest body of texts that can be called literature is
EGYPTIAN TALES
entirely religious and comprises a series of hymns and spells sculptured
on the walls of the burial chambers in the pyramids of the five kings of
the sixth dynasty – known as the Pyramid Texts.  During the Middle Kingdom, the Egyptian short stories were in
bloom. Among them the Tale of Sinuhe is the most famous.
Other short stories are The Story of the Doomed Prince,
PYRAMID TEXTS- It consist of hymns and spells for the benefit of the
Misadventures of Wen-Amon and others.
dead, and as they are the earliest literary liturgy and exposition of
religion in the world, they throw a great light on the primitive beliefs
 One of the stories is The Story of a King Khufu and the
and official creeds.
Magicians which tells a lively story of a miraculous happening
The knowledge of them was handed down undoubtedly by word of
at the court of the monarch as a prelude to the no less
mouth till the time of the 12th dynasty when many of the texts appear
miraculous birth of triplets to the priestess, destined by the
on the printed and sculptured coffins of that period.
prophecy to become future kings.

BOOK OF THE DEAD- It is a series of chapters (literary divisions)

EGYPTIAN TALES
written on papyrus and often illustrated with miniature paintings, found
in graves. The chapters are not necessarily connected with another or THE TALE OF TWO BROTHERS- It is another story which is similar
they are not consecutive and there is no reason why they should be to the Biblical story of Joseph and his brothers.
regarded as part of a book. It is retained and also the numbering of the
THE SHIPWRECKED SAILOR- It is a fine example of a story which
so-called chapters.
relates how a sailor was thrown on an island where he conversed with a
gigantic serpent.
It was intended for the exercise of magic for private individuals in the THE STORY OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT- It tells the bad and
life hereafter. tedious complaints of a peasant who had been robbed of his
merchandise.
WISDOM LITERATURE
This refers to the popular form of expression throughout ancient Egypt Egyptian literature has survived largely in the form of
wherein the so-called Maxims and Instructions are good examples. priestly texts on papyrus, or school copies written on tablets and
Advice is put into the mouth of an old man, admonishing a younger astraca. Some 70 works have been identified but many of them
man of the rules of good behavior, or a king who gives advice on wise are fragmentary and represent only a fraction of literary
rule. achievement of Ancient Egyptians, most of which is lost. The
These are widely quoted in conversation, and contain many parallels of text may be classified as historical and mythology-based
Hebrew Literature. popular romances, secular and religious forms, model letters,
and collection of moral precepts or instructions.
PESSIMISTIC LITERATURE
There were three forms of Egyptian writings: the
hieroglyphics – the oldest form which used line drawings,
o It is one of the many forms of literature that blossomed during representing characters that depict objects and ideas; the
the Middle Kingdom. hieratic symbol – simpler and more conventionalized in form
An interesting specimen of this type is the dialogue of a than hieroglyphics , used by priests and the demotic symbols –
disappointed man with his soul, Dialogue of a Pessimist with used in commercial documents at about the seventeenth century
His Soul. B. C. Greek was used in Egyptian literature since the conquest
of Alexander the Great.
o The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage describes a topsy-turvy
world in which everything is awry, the poor usurping the land,
no respect and no virtue anywhere, yet a redeemer is at hand.

EGYPTIAN LOVE SONGS

o The love poems of ancient Egypt are in many ways like those of
any other country, and therefore run easily into the English
verse.

o Bridal songs were sung as they still are in the village of Egypt,
the theme always being the surpassing beauty of the bride.

o One of the most charming are the bridal songs are the bridal
songs of the Princess Mutardis. It has a refrain which may have
been the theme of many poets in all countries but the Egyptian
poem is perhaps the earliest of its kind.