Ancient Egyptian (Egyptian Love Poem)
Identify: Genre (if possible) or How it is told/organized [Example: Non-fiction, Journal, Diary, Poetry, Biography, Fable, Poetry, etc.]
The Genre of the text is Poetry.
Brief Overview of the Author’s Life [150 words or less]
After reading and analyzing the poem, it seems that an author is a man who comes from a wealthy family. The author uses this poem to seduce the woman he desires. Looking at the quote that describes a Nubian maid’s duties, one can get the impression that the author comes from a wealthy family. The author seems to know very little about what the Nubian maid is supposed to do/ her duties. Additionally, the author seems to allude to the lady who already has the Nubian maid because he seems to see what the Nubian girl is doing. He desires to take up the role of this Nubian maid. Therefore, having the Nubian maid means or indicate the sign of wealth, which is, therefore, an indication that the author was well off.
Brief Summary [250 words or less]
The poem “I wish I were her Nubian maid” is generally a clever fantasy that indicates some role-shifting; in this case, the male lover in the poem is the first-person speaking desire to serve the woman or be her Nubian maid, the reason for this desire seems to be the fact that the Nubian maid has a privilege of personal attendance on the woman this man desires.
Generally, the poem talks about the passionate obsession that a young boy has with a girl. From the expression he provides, it is a clear indication that the man is quite in love with this girl, and he is also mesmerized by her and able to do whatever it takes for her. He wishes to be the Nubian maid; the maid has a chance of talking to her, washing her clothes, eating with her, and being with her all the time. Generally, being her Nubian maid means doing everything for her. Therefore, the author (man) desires to be this way to have adequate time with her. Therefore, this poem is all about the desire for love. The man is yearning for love and desires to be with this lady; he is also obsessed with love. The boy wishes to be her everything; he wishes to be her signet ring, laundryman, Nubian maid, et cetera. This indicates a passion for love in which the man is willing and wishing to be everything that this woman needs.
Interesting Ideas/Features
Themes and Examples [Provide a brief explanation for each]
Love- This is indicated as the poem starts, the man wishes to be everything for the woman because he loves her.
Desire- Because of love, the man has so much desire to win the woman’s love. Willing and wishing to do everything the woman wants.
Specific Quotes [Many times, you can find important or selected quotes highlighted in resources on the text…see what you can find.]
Various quotes have greater meaning in the poem. For instance, “I wish I were her little signet ring, the keeper of her finger! (Egyptian 31 Lines 1-2)
from the initial, this line seems creepy. However, this quote indicates some affection in a healthy way, and at some point, it indicates lust and a desire for wanting to be with her.
Interact and Respond
Personal Reaction/Interaction/Commentary
From my perspective, I think that this poem, “I wish I were her Nubian Maid,” is full of sexual desires and wishes of man. However, the desires seem not to be explicitly stated in this poem. However, various aspects are likely to lead to confusion for the reader. First, I also felt confused with various aspects; for instance, I was confused about who the narrator was. This is because, upon reading the poem, especially the first line, it seems clear that the narrator seems to be a girl. After all, they wish to be “her Nubian girl.” This is confusing since, at that time, gay wasn’t accepted. However, upon continued reading, there is an indication that the narrator seems to be a man again who wishes to be a woman so he can be her servant to get closer to her.
Moreover, the entire idea that the narrator wishes to get closer to the woman seems arguable (Fox, 2016). Moreover, in this case, the man seems not to be social because he wishes to be her Nubian maid to get close to her, but he does not have a tangible reason for closing to her. Generally, at first sight, the poem seemed creepy to me. However, coming to an end the poem seemed interesting.
Identify: Lessons/Interesting Ideas/Universal Truths [Interpretations]
Relate to Other Texts/Time Periods [if applicable]
Generally, the Egyptians love poems are nearly 3500 years old. However, some of the basic things between women and men rarely change up to the present time. Generally, love seems to be the most prevalent and most ancient topic (Ezz Eldin, 2017).
Relate to Today [Does this text remind you of situations, circumstances, conditions today? Explain.]
Even though the poem is quite old, it reminds me of the love story I once had. It was all about admiration, lust, and wishes. I was also interested in a particular woman, and I was caught in a love triangle because it was complicated. However, things did not turn out the way I wished. / expected (Ezz Eldin, 2017).
State: Why should people study this text today/why care?
People need to study this text today so that they can improve some aspects of their life. Such aspects might include love, relationships, social relationship, among other aspects (Ezz Eldin, 2017).
References
Ezz Eldin, H. (2017). Origin of some new social habits in the Ancient Egyptian, 1(1), 96-110. doi:10.21608/mfth.2017.26069
Fox, M. V. (2016). Rereading the Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian love songs thirty years later. Die Welt des Orients, 46(1), 8-21. doi:10.13109/wdor.2016.46.1.8