Epic Literature Research Articles

The Ideal Reader: A Critical Fiction

Critical writings may be seen as fictions about literature and reading and writing. One hero of these fictions is the ideal reader. The sort of ideal reader a critic creates indicates the literary form of his criticism. Dr. Johnson's ideal reader is an everyman, and Johnson's criticism imitates allegorical epic literature in its concern with mankind in general. Dryden's division of readers into classes, headed by “the most judicious,” is an aspect of the dramatic form of his critical literature. Coleridge's lyrical mode of criticism centers on a reader so close to his author that he becomes his tautegorical representative. Northrop Frye's criticism is a kind of comic romance leading to an apocalypse in which his heroic ideal reader redeems cultural history and experiences it as part of his present life. The criticism of these four writers embodies and imitates, as it asserts, a vision of literature.

Ayadgar i Zareran (2)

Japanese rendering of Ayadgar i Zareran, §§51-114. Expressional exaggeration and reiteration, characteristics of epic literature, can be seen not seldom or rather often, see §66, 69; 55/57/59/61, 56/58/60, 67/113, 71/77/97, 72/98, 73/99, 74/100, 79/109, 81/87/108.Prof. G. Ito kindly showed me his recent interpretations, of which here may be cited two instances (§§84 and 93). He interpreted §84thus: ala+darug i gyan-abzand-it 'ke amwast/ala wiraz padranand ‹i›'to 'ke amwast/ala+sen+i murwag barag-it 'ke amwastAlas! Who did take away your medicine which agitates (your) life (cf. candfdan ‘move’)?Alas! Who did take away your combatting mace (cf. NP. guraz a large iron mace')?Alas! Who did take away the Sen which is your bird-like horse? For further details, see pp. 124-5, n. 8. He interpreted w'm'wlt y bwp'y (§93) as nam-xward +e bawai ‘Mayst thou become of brilliant fame!’ In regard to the verbal base Old Ir. *hvar-, Av. xvar-, Old Ind. svar- ‘shine’, see G. Ito: “Gathica XIII, Av. axvar∂ta- xvar∂nah-”, Orient Vol. XI (1975), p. 38ff.

Vitiligo in Ancient Indian Medicine

To the Editor.— A study of ancient epic literature reveals that the disease now known as vitiligo existed in the world in the past. There are many references to descriptions of this disease and also to various formulations of its cure in classical medical literature of India. The Indian civilization and culture is the oldest in the world, and the oldest records of the human race are inscribed in the Veda books. Vitiligo is referred to in many places in these books. It is obvious that vitiligo existed centuries ago also. TheAtharvaveda(1500 to 1000 BC) deals with the disease vitiligo. There are two words that are found in the original text viz. kilas and palita. Whitney, in his English translation, has mentioned that kilas means white patch or spot on the skin, and when these spots have a yellowish tinge, this is known as palita. Referring to the

Iron Age Forts and Epic Literature

The excavation of the Clickhimin site in the Shetland Islands by the Ministry of Public Building and Works revealed the arrangement of living quarters inside a small stonebuilt fort occupied between the 4th and 1st centuries BC [I]. With the exception of a large communal stonebuilt hut in the centre of the enclosure, the inhabitants dwelt in a series of half-timbered storeyed ranges attached to the inner face of the fort wall (FIG. I). The pent-roofs of these ranges were supported by a dwarf, or casement, wall built on the wall walk, and access between the rooms at first-floor level and the walk was obtained through a series of doorways. Two stonebuilt duns in the Western Isles, Dun Ringill and Dun Grugaig, still retain the jambs of such doorways and at Clickhimin a similar door was preserved in the blockhouse guarding the fort entrance though here it led to a passage which gave access to a stair to the parapet walk at second-floor level [2].

The Śukraniti— a Nineteenth-Century Text

Ever since the publication of the text, scholars have disagreed on the date of the composition of the Śukraniti. Oppertx placed it very early, in the period of the Smrtis and the early epic literature. V. S. Agrawala and Syamlal Pandya regard it as a work of the Gupta period. But generally the text is utilized as a source for the early medieval period, especially the eleventh or the twelfth century. Rajendra Lai Mitra held that the work could not be older than the sixteenth century. Sanskritists, following the lead of Keith and Kane, dismiss the text as of quite a late date and hence not applicable to the Hindu period.

(G. R.) Levy The Sword from the Rock. An Investigation into the Origins of Epic Literature and the Development of the Hero. London: Faber & Faber, 1953. Pp. 236, with 4 plates and 1 map. 30s.

(G. R.) Levy The Sword from the Rock. An Investigation into the Origins of Epic Literature and the Development of the Hero. London: Faber &amp; Faber, 1953. Pp. 236, with 4 plates and 1 map. 30<i>s</i>.

The Sword from the Rock: An Investigation into the Origins of Epic Literature and the Development of the Hero. Gertrude Rachel Levy

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewsThe Sword from the Rock: An Investigation into the Origins of Epic Literature and the Development of the Hero. Gertrude Rachel Levy Frances NorwoodFrances Norwood Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Classical Philology Volume 50, Number 1Jan., 1955 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/363863 Copyright 1955 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The Sword from the Rock. An Investigation into the Origins of Epic Literature and the Development of the Hero. By G. R. Levy. 8½ × 5½. Pp. 236. London: Faber &amp; Faber, 1953. 30s.

The Sword from the Rock. An Investigation into the Origins of Epic Literature and the Development of the Hero. By G. R. Levy. 8½ × 5½. Pp. 236. London: Faber &amp; Faber, 1953. 30<i>s</i>.

Treasure Seeking -- A Pattern of Hispanic Culture?

ions, points of view from which the tesoro-complex has become manifest. Take the notorious traditionalism in Spanish literature of the Renaissance and the Siglo de Oro. Quite modern, and, at the same time, quite mediaeval! This is the conclusion of Ram6n Menindez Pidal with regard to Don Quixote, the Romancero, and the Spanish stage of the Golden Age (4). The Spanish way of tackling a new literary problem seems to be to hit upon the rediscovery of the golden treasure of earlier centuries and to use the old covenant for a new dispensation. It is quite significant to note here that the mediaeval Spanish epic poetry itself is, while undeniably romantic, much more real historically than the epic literature of most other nations (5). Ram6n Men~ndez Pidal's generalizations on Spanish literature have been surprisingly corroborated by Gerald Brenan's analysis of The Spanish Labyrinth in the fields of socio-economics and politics, especially as neither Men6ndez Pidal nor Brenan has used the other's material (6). If ever an effort was made to disregard constituted, traditional authority and to break with the past, that effort, one could pardonably think, sprang from Spanish Anarchism. The anarcho-syndicalist F. N. A. S. (Federaci6n Nacional de Agricultores Espafioles), founded at C6rdoba in April, 1913, was organized in local syndicates which met regularly to discuss local affairs (7). This sounds very much like a radical break with the forms of community life to be expected in a notoriously backward country. But, we may ask, what was the original inspiration for this break? What one was witnessing (in the anarchosyndicalist setup) was really the rebirth of the municipality of the early Middle Ages, before the intrusion of the nobles, the rich burghers and the King had robbed it of its democratic quality. This is not the only occasion on which we shall have to note that Spanish Anarchism ... seeks to recreate the past (8). The Catalonian fishermen's community of Port de la Selva is a co-operative in every sense of the word, so much so that it has been taken for a creation of the Anarchists. That, however, is not so. The constitution of Port de la Selva was set up in 1929, just before the Republic came in, by the co-operative movement founded in the 1860's by the Fourierist, Fernando Garrido. Amazingly, these co-operatives This content downloaded from 207.46.13.111 on Sat, 21 May 2016 06:14:28 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Gilgamesh and Agga

ROBABLY the most significant piece of creative writing in the ancient Near East is the long known Semitic epic poem commonly called The Epic of Gilgamesh. Divided over twelve tablets, its text originally consisted of more than three thousand lines written in the cuneiform script and in the Semitic language now usually designated as Accadian. It is particularly remarkable for its plot-structure; a number of episodes in the restless, adventurous life of the hero are integrated with no little skill into a relatively long and intricate epic tale, probably the first of such size apd complexity in the history of epic literature. Moreover, this Babylonian product was current all over the ancient Near East; fragments of the epic written in the Accadian, Hittite, and Hurrian languages have been excavated in Boghaz Keui, in central Anatolia. In modern days, quite a number of cuneiformists have devoted much of their time and effort to the copying, translating, and interpreting of the poem; among the better known of these are George Smith and Paul Haupt, Peter Jensen and Campbell Thompson. Now while on the whole the Epic of may be accurately described as a Semitic literary creation, not a little of its contents goes back to sources. Available at present, wholly or in part, are the texts of five epic tales concerned with the deeds and adventures of the hero Gilgamesh; an analysis of their contents reveals that, while there was no original for the Babylonian Epic of as a whole, several of the individual episodes and motifs can be traced back to prototypes.1 However, by no means all of the tales concerned with were utilized by the Semitic authors and redactors of the Epic of Gilgamesh; it is one of these tales, an epic poem of which there is not a trace in the Semitic work, that forms the basis of the present study. This poem, which for reasons that will soon become obvious may be entitled Gilgamesh and Agga, is one of the shortest of all epic tales; it consists of no more than 115 lines of text. In spite of its brevity, however, it is of unusual significance from several points of view. In the first place, its plot deals with humans only; unlike the rest of the epic tales, it introduces no mythological motifs involving any of the deities. Secondly, it is of considerable historical importance since it provides a number of hitherto unknown facts concerning the early struggle between the cities of Kish and Erech. More important still is the implication of these new bits of data for modern historical methodology, for, interestingly enough and quite unintentionally of course, they help the present-day Orientalist to evaluate more intelligently his ancient source material and recognize some of its hidden pitfalls. Thus, one of the most important documents for the reconstruction of the earlier history of Sumer is the so-called Sumerian King List.'2 According to this document, the first dynasty in Lower Mesopotamia immediately following

The Furniture of El in Canaanite Mythology

Its similarity with the Christmas message is striking. It is hardly accidental. Luke (or his source) drew on an old formula, which, as far as I know, has not yet been found in Jewish literature, but which no doubt developed from the formula encountered in the epic literature of the Ugaritians. The beginning has been turned into an acclamation (possibly in utilization of another formula of liturgical origin) in accordance with the circumstances under which the angels, these messengers of god, announced their message to the shepherds of Bethlehem.

İPTİDAİ CEMİYETLERDE EDEBÎ ŞEKİLLERİN İŞLEVİ

Tales and songs comprise the essence of primitive communities (primordial communities). Franz Boos has shown that available literary forms are not similar with regard to their contents, and that they are not spread into the world in the same fashion. Some literary forms are only seen in certain regions and they are not seen in other regions. For instance, proverbs, riddles, epic literature can be included in this group. This study discusses the social function of literary forms in three different communities.

The Oath in Hindu Epic Literature

The Oath in Hindu Epic Literature

The Story of the Dasaratha Jataka and of the Ramayana

The existence of parallelisms between a number of the stories contained in the Jataka portion of the Buddhist literature and those embodied in the epic literature is an admittedly interesting fact, and is by now a commonplace of Post-Vedic studies. The canker of chronological uncertainty, however, that generally runs through the history of Indian literature and antiquities here also unfortunately prevails, and detracts much from the value of what would otherwise have been a highly decisive means for judging of the priority of the one to the other. Indeed, because of this particular disqualification, viz. chronological dubiousness, the issue often tends to appropriate wrong proportions, and generally a satisfactory solution of the diverse aspects of the problem thus presented in a double form becomes increasingly difficult.

XVIII.—Notes on the form of The Dynasts

Whether or not The Dynasts is the greatest work in English literature of the last generation it is undoubtedly the most engrossing for the student of literary forms. English literature does not on the whole raise questions of form; we have been content to leave that to the Germans. But with The Dynasts we have for once out of our own native workshop a poem which drives the mind back to all the old problems that have dogged epic and dramatic literature through the centuries. And besides the old problems it raises a score of new ones which will stimulate enterprise and innovation in many a writer of to-day and to-morrow. If at the present moment the necessity of analyzing The Dynasts, complicated as the task may be, is not apparent to the reader of English literature at large, it will be apparent at no distant date.

Ami et Amile.

It is not so very many years ago that students of Folk-Lore who felt that the indebtedness of Europe to the East in the matter of stories had been exaggerated were greatly interested and pleased by Bédier's work on the French Fabliau. The same scholar is now publishing the results of his investigations in the field of the French epic, results extremely suggestive, not to say exciting. What more startling than to be told that if, because of illness or accident, William of Toulouse had died before he was able to enter the monastery of Aniane and found the monastery of Gellone, not one of the chansons de geste, not one of the legends of the cycle of Orange would exist; and not one of these chansons nor one of these legends would exist, if by chance, three or more centuries after the death of this man in the Abbey of Gellone, the monks of the abbey had not been anxious to attract to his relics the pilgrims of Saint Gilles de Provence and Santiago of Compostela? Whether such a radical theory meets with general acceptance or not, it was well that some one, instead of trying to reconstruct the French epic postulated as existing before the documents which we possess, should examine the latter anew and pay especial attention to what is an interesting phenomenon in nearly every mass of epic literature, the relations of the religious bodies to these great narrative works. No one could have done this more brilliantly than Bédier. No one henceforth will forget how intimate these relations were in France. Nevertheless, it is hard to give up without a struggle what we have fancied were intermediate steps in the evolution of the French epic, when we remember what has gone on in other countries participating in epic activity, and one may well hesitate to attribute to the church so great a rôle as does this latest theorist. Doubts become especially insistent when one reads his remarks upon the Ami and Amile legend, in its three forms, the eleventh century Latin poem on friendship by Raoul le Tourtier, the chanson de geste, and the Vita sanctorum Amici et Amelii of the twelfth century. To do Bédier entire justice, his own words will be quoted as far as possible, even his summary of the legend, with which it is well to start.

VII. The Oldest Record of the Ramayana in a Chinese Buddhist Writing

In the Mahāvibhāṣā, the well-known commentary on the Jñānaprasthāna of Kātyāyanīputra, there is a short passage which is of importance in the history of Sanskrit epic literature. The great commentary mentions, as an example of the contrast between Buddhist and non-Buddhist books, the size and contents of the Rāmāyaṇa.

The Character Types in the Old French Chansons de Geste

“Le moyen age forme un anneau indispensable dans la chaîne de la transmission littéraire à travers les siècles.”—Gaston Paris, Cosmopolis, Sept., 1898.Three-quarters of a century has elapsed since the mediæval epic literature of France first attracted the attention of scholars. This interval has been marked by an uninterrupted succession of texts discovered and edited. The value of these texts to the student of language is great; their value to the historian of politics and society is considerable; but their literary bearing has not been sufficiently emphasized. To this day the general public has but a vague idea of the character and significance of that national epic of which the Chanson de Roland is the highest expression and which Léon Gautier strove so bravely to render popular. The mediæval literature of France has not yet completely recovered from the reputation of vulgarity given to it by the Renaissance.