“The Beginning of the Song that Diverts the Heart”
Period
Over 3500 years ago
Region
Ancient Egypt
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]
The poem “The Beginning of the Song that Diverts the Heart” generally has an ancient origin; the poem was translated by Michael Fox, who had a lot of practical literature experience. Moreover, he further worked in Egyptian writings, which is the same as the origin of this poem “The Beginning of the Song that Diverts the Heart.” This author received a Ph.D. in Egyptology, Semitics, as well as a Ph.D. in the Bible from the Hebrew University. Currently, this author is a Professor of Hebrew at the University of Wisconsin. Therefore, he translated the poem and, therefore, not the original author of the poem.
Brief Summary [250 words or less]
The poem “The Beginning of the Song that Diverts the Heart” generally has an ancient origin; the poem was translated by Michael Fox, who had a lot of practical literature experience. Moreover, he further worked in Egyptian writings, which is the same as the origin of this poem “The Beginning of the Song that Diverts the Heart.” This author received a Ph.D. in Egyptology, Semitics, as well as a Ph.D. in the Bible from the Hebrew University. Currently, this author is a Professor of Hebrew at the University of Wisconsin. This poem contains the basis of painting depicted on the walls that were achieved by the early artisans of the ancient Egyptians. Generally, it is possible to set up the nude woman from the works of art on the walls. The poem is basically about a love triangle. In this case, there are three dynamic speakers where there is the voice of a girl lover who is aware that her boyfriend is having an affair with another girlfriend. In this case, the speakers seem to be the side chick who is also interested in being the main (Fox, 2016). Therefore, she uses the bird catching metaphors to illustrate to her boyfriend.
Themes and Examples [Provide a brief explanation for each]
The love-The theme of love is illustrated from the beginning of the poem and, as already discussed, a girl lover who is aware that her boyfriend is having an affair with another girlfriend. In this case, the speakers seem to be the side chick who is also interested in being the main. Therefore, she uses the bird catching metaphors to illustrate to her boyfriend.
Desire- This theme is indicated by this side chick’s desire to be the main girlfriend of this man. She is interested in being the main girlfriend of the man, and this is her main wish. Therefore, this pushes her to use the bird catching metaphors to illustrate to the boyfriend, expecting that she win him over. Various quotes also indicate this theme in the poem: “My heart desires you. Let us release it together.” (Egyptian 29 Lines 20-21)
Character List [If applicable]
Specific Quotes [Many times, you can find important or selected quotes highlighted in resources on the text…see what you can find.]
“My heart desires you. Let us release it together.” (Egyptian 29 Lines 20-21)
This quote is significant in the poem; it makes the reader admire the intensity of love that the Egyptians showed all over the poem. However, there could be other indications of hopeless romantic. In this regard, the richness of the narrators’ desire is typically admirable while similarly indicating a quite relatable, which means that it is likely to have an impact on the reader who might be interested in asking the question if the poet was young; this is because the poems seem to talk about the yearning of the young woman for a man and this desire seems to be relatively raw as well as quite fresh.
Interact and Respond
Personal Reaction/Interaction/Commentary
From my point of view, I think that this poem is interesting. Reading from the beginning, the reader’s interest is caught with the lady’s deep desires and love toward the man. Therefore, this makes the reader follow closely to the end to be able to find out or understand what the poem is talking about. Therefore, coming to an end the poem becomes more 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).
Adaptations/Inspirations/Translations [Highlight at least one/Interesting YouTube on it? Movie? Graphic Novel? Other Art or Science? Wikipedia often has a section at the bottom of entry for this.]
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 love poems., 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
