Mesopotamian Epic Literature, Oral or Aural?

Abstract

This text is a collection of studies on a defined problem in Mesopotamian literature. The broad topic of a possible oral or aural character of Akkadian and Sumerian epic poetry and its implications is treated in a number of ways, including a confrontation with traditional Oral-Formulaic Theory, an overview of Sumerian literary types which contrasts putative oral literature with historical literacy, a detailed analysis of the phonic features, and concentrations on specific structural features of Sumerian compositions in order to detect possible markers of either oral origins or aural performance and transmissions. Treating one of the very earliest literary systems mankind ever evolved, it should be of use to literary scholars and specialists in early literatures, as well as assyriologists. The essays originated in a workshop held at the University of Groningen in 1990.