Ancient Egyptian Literature: An Anthology by John L. Foster

Ancient Egyptian Literature: An Anthology Reviews

• 
  Slow Reader

  ‘‘I think I’ll go home and lie very still’’
  
  I think I’ll go home and lie very still,
  feigning terminal illness.
  Then the neighbors will all troop over to stare,
  my love, perhaps, among them.
  How she’ll smile while the specialists
  snarl in their teeth!—
  she perfectly well knows what ails me.
  
  
  xiii
  ‘‘The farmer, he complains incessantly,
  his cry more raucous than the raven’s;
  His fingers go about their duties
  through all the raging of the storm;
  Wearied beyond reward down in the marshes,
  he becomes a living wreck.
  His storehouse is depleted by the lions,
  worse ills from hippopotami are his;
  His creatures there lack dwellings
  so he must leave them unprotected.
  He reaches home exhausted
  and the taxman cuts him down."
  
  "wearied beyond reward down in the marshes, he becomes a living wreck" is nuts, to me
• 
  EJ

  u know what i love: Mesopotamian literature
• 
  Chris

  I finished this book after my class ended, but not because I enjoyed it. This book has tons of information in it that is great for the study of Ancient Egpytian history. But nonetheless it is still just a textbook and I would ingore it on the level of a fun read, because that it is not. Please leave on the shelf unless absolutely necessary for research or class.
• 
  Ellise

  Interesting read, made somewhat difficult by the fact that most of the form was lost in translation. But a great start to Egyptian poetry.