Speech, Writing, Poetry (Volume A)

Writing Forms In the Mediterranean and Near East, the earliest people to develop systems of writing were the ancient Sumerians and the Egyptians. Sumerian cuneiform—wedge-shapd markings inscribed on clay tablets—and Egyptian hieroglyphs both emerged in the latter half of the fourth millennium B.C.E. Sumer and Egypt were “scribal cultures,” meaning that writing was an occupation for paid professionals, not something everyone was expected to do. Literacy was not universal, and silent reading was almost unknown in the ancient world. The left image represents a black granite sculpture depicting an Egyptian scribe (14th century B.C.E.). The right image caption reads “Account of silver for the governor written in Sumerian cuneiform on a clay tablet. From Shuruppak or Abu Salabikh, Iraq, 2500 B.C.E.), in the Museum of London.

Mesopotamia: Enmerkar Sumer, Uruk Inana (Ishtar) clay tablets/ invention of writing “The lord of Arrata inspected the tablet. The spoken words were mere wedges—his brow darkened” (p. 1123). In this account, Enmerkar invents writing because his herald cannot remember the terms of agreement set between Enmerkar and the people of Aratta, who have proposed a fighting competition in response to Enmerkar’s demand for tribute. Of the herald, the record states “Because the messenger’s mouth was too heavy, and he could not repeat it, the lord of Kulab patted some clay and put the words on it as on a tablet” (p. 1122). The image caption reads: A statuette of a bearded man, maybe the king-priest. Mesopotamia, 3300 B.C.E.

Egypt Tale of the Eloquent Peasant use of rhetorical devices scribal writings Thoth The tale recounts a robbery of a poor merchant near the Nile Delta, who has pleaded to the king’s steward for justice. Nine declamations (rhetorical recitations) are given by the peasant on Justice, and the steward has him beaten in order to further inspire his eloquence. The peasant’s eloquence is based not only on his word choice but also in the use of imagery, metaphors, and anecdotes (among other rhetorical devices). Students might discuss the metaphor of the ship sailing down the river Maat as a journey toward justice, of man as Thoth’s set of scales, and of the harvest as a metaphor that Truth is overgrown by the weeds of Falsehood (p. 1127). Anecdotes include “Doing Truth is the breath of life” and images of the king as a “hawk to the folk, butcher, shepherd” that critique the king’s lack of righteousness. The scribal writings represent issues with the scribe profession: the scribe is criticized for endeavoring in the menial profession of agriculture in the “Reminder of the Scribe’s Superior Status,” as it is inconstant and does not pay well once thievery, drought, and taxes are taken into account. In “Advice to a Youthful Scribe,” the scribe is reminded to be active, to associate only with people of good upbringing, and to persevere in conversation. The scribe prays to Thot in the third work, asking for skill and praising the art of writing endowed by the god. The image depicts Thoth, god of writing, oratory, law, astronomy, and medicine, among other disciplines.

Greeks Xenophanes, anthropomorphosis Theognis, hedonism Aristophanes, a contest of playwrights in dramatic form Plato, Socratic dialogue on writing/ rhetoric Aristotle, theories of tragedy Callimachus, on a poem’s length Horace, on poetry composition Xenophanes criticizes the poets for anthropomorphosis and rejects the idea that the gods are like human beings. Theognis writes on pleasures of the aristocratic, leisurely young men and valorizes the relationship between an aristocrat and his young lover. Aristophanes uses the dramatic form to create a contest between two tragic playwrights. Plato is known for creating philosophical dialogues in which Socrates (his teacher) and a speaker engage in a question and response conversation that is presented as a directly quoted dialogue. Aristotle was Plato’s student, and in his work on tragedy presents the rules regarding the structure and content of tragic theater. Callimachus and Horace, both poets, outline their poetic theories in the provided excerpts, the former calling for short and precise composition, the latter for unity and brevity of subtle word choice.

Aristophanes: Frogs Aeschylus or Euripides? Dionysus contest of the writers Euripides: “The most boring primitives is what he likes to create.” Aeschylus: “You connoisseur of dirty Cretan songs fouling our art with incestuous intercourse.” In his comedy Frogs, Aristophanes presents a competition in which two tragic playwrights, Aeschylus and Euripides, have “decided to go to war in a duel of words.” Students may find it amusing that Aeschylus, considered to be the more upright and traditional of the writers, uses expletives and unleashes an irrational torrent upon the audience, whereas Euripides, the younger and more “colloquial” writer, appears more reserved in his diatribe. Euripides defends himself by critiquing Aeschylus’ style: the Prologues are muffled, the Chorus too garrulous and the plays long-winded; conversely, Euripides’s Prologues directly announce the play’s purpose, each character is immediately active, and his writing more based on everyday reality to which the audience can relate. Aeschylus defends his style, arguing that his plays inspire Greek patriotism and the conquest of enemies, and criticizes Euripides for dressing royalty in rags, which “tempts the rich to shirk their responsibility,” and for teaching people to gossip. Dionysus pronounces Aeschylus the winner. Dionysus is a Greek god, in this case associated with theater that is tragic, grotesque, and chaotic (as opposed to Apollo, also a god of theater, who represents structure and mimesis).

Plato: Phaedrus Lysias, plain style Theuth (Thoth, Egyptian god of writing) writing / painting persuasion versus truth in speeches discourse versus writing dialectic rules for discourse 1. know the truth of and define a thing in itself 2. appropriate speech for audience As the footnote reads, the dialogue begins when Socrates questions the value of the orator Lysias’s work, stating that it is based more on superficial rhetoric than on deep truth and that (contrary to Phaedrus’s contention), good speechmaking cannot be based solely on persuasion. Lysias, as one of the ten Attic orators, was unique for adapting his style for the audience’s age, status, and intellectual background, and for emphasizing “plain style” to appeal to a broader audience. Socrates indicates that writing, like painting, is a dead form and lives only through the interpretation and discussion of the work, whereas discourse is “living and breathing.” Not through the formulaic structuring of a work (introduction, recapitulation, etc.) can truth be delineated but rather through dialectic—a method in which truth is arrived at through the mutual sharing and discussion of opposing, rational arguments. Students might compare the introduction on the Egyptian god Theuth (Thoth) to the “Prayer to Thot for Skill in Writing” (p. 1131) in this same cluster.

Aristotle: Poetics tragedy and imitation style: embellished, different parts catharsis 6 elements: plot, character, language, thought, spectacle, and melody plot: recognition, catharsis, reversal unhappy endings probability and inevitability deus ex machina Chorus In the opening paragraph, Aristotle outlines the content for good tragedy: it imitates real, serious, and completed action; uses stylized language; induces catharsis (the outpouring of pity and fear) in the audience; and mixes metrical speech and song. The six elements of tragedy are divided into the form (media), the manner of presentation, and the objects of imitation; Aristotle considers plot—the organization of events—to be the most critical element of tragedy. Plots should be nonepisodic and follow the structure of recognition (a character realizes his predicament), catharsis (the character and audience are inspired to fear and pity), and reversal (the change in plot line to achieve stasis at the play’s end). Tragic plays should have unhappy endings, characters should behave and experience what is probable and inevitable, and the gods should not be relied on to resolve events that are central to the play’s action (only preceding or subsequent actions) as divine intervention is unreasonable. Chorus is not an arbitrary character in the tragedy, but (in emulation of earlier times, when the Chorus played a role in the religious rites from which tragedy evolved) should play an integral role in the performance.

Callimachus Library of Alexandria “Make your sacrifice as fat as you can, but keep your Muse on slender rations.” “avoid the ruts carved in the boulevard” Callimachus makes reference to several poets and cultures and uses epithets to illustrate his points: first, that poetry should be invested with the poet’s deepest effort and conviction but should also be precise and concise; second, that excess embellishment and ornament should be avoided, even at the cost of imagination. The image depicts an inscription concerning Tiberius Claudius Babillus of Rome, making reference to the Library of Alexandria at which Callimachus was a scholar during the third century B.C.E.; legend holds that the library held a copy of every text written internationally, though no extant record of the library’s holdings was made prior to its being burned down sometime between the first and fifth century C.E.

Horace: Odes odes lyrical form “I was able to be the first to bring Aeolian song to Italian measures.” laurel of Delphi The image shows Horace’s home in Venusia, a small town located along an important trade route and rich in dialects. Horace grew up in this town but later relocated to Athens, where he trained at the Academy with the Epicureans and Stoics. The ode is a lyrical poetic form comprised of strophe, antistrophe, and epode; “Ode 30” is written in First Asclepiadean meter, which affected the poem’s musical-lyrical delivery. In this ode, Horace extols himself as a poet to be immortalized through his verse, primarily for having adapted Greek choral meters into Latin. Traditionally, a poet was crowned with a wreath made of laurel, the tree sacred to Apollo (god of poetry).

Horace: Ars Poetica realism versus fantasy unified whole brevity and smoothness versus ornament and embellished language mimesis versus authenticity choosing subject matter word choice appropriate structure Horace is a proponent of imagination in poetry but not to the extent that images are improbable and full of pretense. Poetry must have a structure and unified purpose, brevity and smoothness. Mimesis of other writers must be avoided and subjects must be picked reasonable to one’s ability. Word play, reintroducing common words in a new light, and inventing new terms for obscure material are encouraged. The poet should adapt language to the current culture (“the right to produce terms which are marked with the current stamp,” but also respect the meter and structure for verse forms (i.e., tragic meter is not appropriate for comedy). What is the essential poetic act, and how does this relate to those other than the poet?

This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for The Norton Anthology of World Literature