Ancient Egyptian Literature: An Anthology
January 25th, 2011 | 
Author: Ancient Egyptian Literature: An Anthology
- ISBN13: 9780292725270
- Condition: New
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“Do not be arrogant because of your knowledge; approach the unlettered as well as the wise. The summit of artistry cannot be reached, nor does craftsman ever attain pure mastery. More hidden than gems is chiseled expression yet found among slave girls grinding the grain.” –from the Maxims of Ptahhotep Poetry, stories, hymns, prayers, and wisdom texts found exquisite written expression in ancient Egypt while their literary counterparts were still being recited around hearth fires in ancient Greece and Israel. Yet, because of its very antiquity and the centuries during which the language was forgotten, ancient Egyptian literature is a newly discovered country for modern readers. This anthology offers an extensive sampling of all the major genres of ancient Egyptian literature. It includes all the texts from John Foster’s previous book Echoes of Egyptian Voices, along with selections from his Love Songs of the New Kingdom and Hymns, Prayers, and Songs: An Anthology of Ancient Egyptian Lyric Poetry, as well as previously unpublished translations of four longer and two short poems. Foster’s translations capture the poetical beauty of the Egyptian language and the spirit that impelled each piece’s composition, making these ancient masterworks sing for modern readers. An introduction to ancient Egyptian literature and its translation, as well as brief information about the authorship and date of each selection, completes the volume.
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Fabulous literature from a not-so-distant time,
This is a wonderful collection of stories and poems from ancient Egypt, translated of course. Someone once said “Poetry is that which is lost in translation,” but that does not hold true for this book. Most of its stories are in poetic form, and they are all as fascinating and engaging as any non-translated work might be.
Some of the best works in the book are its love poems, which range from tender and sweet to erotic-and often both. They are delightful to read, not to mention startlingly modern; love has not changed much over 3000 years, it appears.
For a glimpse at what life 3000 years ago might have been like; or a taste of the incredible culture that existed then; or an eye-opening example of how close we are to people from all places and times; or simply a fabulous collection of literature, I would definitely recommend this book.
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|Informative & entertaining,
I have enjoyed reading this anthology of ancient Egyptian literature translated by John Foster. The study of ancient Egyptian literature has come a long way since its early days, with de Rouge’s publication for the tale “Two Brothers” in 1852, based an ancient Egyptian papyri, which was acquired by Elizabeth d’Orbiney. In his well-written introduction, the author outlines his personal introduction as a graduate student at the University of Michigan to ancient Egyptian literature; and he further indicates that he finished his work in American literature and modern poetry, and that by profession he taught English. He outlines the historical background for the study of ancient Egyptian literature. A major feature of this anthology is that it tends to be more of a “literary” vis a vis a more “literal” translation, while keeping the original ancient Egyptian writers’ “presumed” intent in mind. I tend to think that the author seems to have been reasonably successful in producing a literary translation to a great extent. The book also includes the sources of the texts and a bibliography, which I tend to think, would be useful for the readers.
I noted with interest the translation as compared with other recent publications of ancient Egyptian literature such as the three volumes on “Ancient Egyptian Literature” by M. Lichtheim, which tends to be more of a literal vis a vis literary translation. I have two observations to point out. The first is about maxim 1 of Ptahhotep, which advises against arrogance for those who attain knowledge. Ptahhotep admonishes the reader in the author’s literary translation “more hidden than gems is the chiseled expression, yet found among slave girls grinding the grain”. This may be compared with Lichtheim more literal translation “good speech is more hidden than greenstone, yet may be found among maids at the grindstone”. Though the literary translation flows a lot more smoothly than the literal one, it leaves the reader with the impression that the Old Kingdom ancient Egyptians used salves, as compared with maids, a notion rejected by most of the scholars of that period of ancient Egyptian history. The second observation is about the story of Sinuhe. Whereas the author’s literary translation shows the story as a poem, Lichtheim translation more literal translation shows it as a narration interspersed with three poems and an exchange of correspondence.
Again the major feature of this anthology is that it targets a more literary as compared with a more literal translation. This of course is a tall order, which offers both advantageous and disadvantageous prospects. Perhaps the specialists will always need to look at more literally oriented and ever refined translations, however the more literary translation offers more enjoyable reading for cotemporary readers. In general terms this is an informative and entertaining reading for a good representative selection of ancient Egyptian literature.
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|Breathing Life into a Lively Ancient World,
John L. Foster’s translation of ancient Egyptian poetry and prose is fresh, revealing, and true to the original spirit and humor of the ancient writers. It provides a solid, grounded angle on Egyptian literature, remaining loyal enough to provide a fully legitimate translation, while also playing with the barrier between languages–so as to express the intent of the original work, the way the author likely intended. His background in Modernist poetry (in fact of all poetry) helps this tender, joyful rendition.
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