Love Lyrics of Ancient Egypt [Paperback]

Barbara Hughes (trans.) Fowler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1994

Ancient Egypt is often thought of as a gloomy society obsessed with death. But a collection of papyri, dating to the latter half of the New Kingdom (ca. 1305-1080 B.C.), presents us with delicate love lyrics that dispel any such illusion. These vibrant love poems, purported to be by boys and girls perhaps as young as thirteen or fourteen years of age, are remarkable for their innocent sensuousness.

Combining her notable skills as a translator and a poet, Barbara Fowler provides the first accurate translation of these love lyrics into modern English-language poetry. Her renderings are both elegant and correct. They preserve the charm of a long-lost civilization, while making it possible for readers to appreciate one aspect of that culture in our time and through our language.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

There is a charming, sweet sensuousness about these poems translated from papyri of the New Kingdom (1305-1080 B.C.). Translator Fowler has, in general, made these ancient works accessible without burdening them with notes. Oh, a few damaged texts that Fowler chose to include in lacuna-riddled form are so enigmatic as to escape the lay reader, but most are approachable and vividly immediate. The poems' young lovers predominantly rely on natural imagery to praise each other: a man is "a steed / belonging to the king, / the choicest of a thousand, / the stables' very prince," while a woman is praised as having a "neck . . . like a swan's, / her breast is whiter than sand. / Her hair is lapis lazuli, / her arms more precious than gold." The innocent sexuality of these poems is a sheer delight. Pat Monaghan --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

The innocent sexuality of these poems is a sheer delight.

Booklist

The translations are typical of Barbara Fowler's work: vivid diction, melodic phrasing, and an elegant simplicity of tone.

Randall Colaizzi, Wellesley College

Love Lyrics of Ancient Egypt will make a very important collection of Egyptian poetry accessible to the public.

Richard Jasnow, The Oriental Institute

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Product Details

• Paperback: 101 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (September 30, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807844683
• ISBN-13: 978-0807844687
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #662,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good choice among few options, May 8, 2000

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Lyrics of Ancient Egypt (Hardcover)

My introduction to the love poetry of Egypt came in a course on the Song of Songs (aka Song of Solomon) which used as a text Michael Fox's The Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyptian Love Songs. Ms. Fowler has translated these poems with philogical assistance from Fox. The result is a very readable translation - enjoyable on it's own. However, I found myself going back to Fox for the background to truly understand some of the poems - the cultural chasm and the passage of time eroded the meaning of the poems to me.

However, the translations are lightly footnoted with required information e.g. that Menqet is the goddess of beer or that a word is added for meter. While I prefer translations that stand on their own, this is a good choice for an introduction to a little known poetry that had significant impact on our culture indirectly via the Song of Songs

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Little Ancient Love, January 12, 2008

By 

Friend of Egypt "Instructor" (Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love Lyrics of Ancient Egypt (Paperback)

Literature on the subject of love is minute compared to the vast amount of writings we have from this lost civilization. It's interesting to note that these poems were by young lovers. In Egypt this translates to the VERY youthful (early teens). The poems, though, are obviously written by a mature and artistic hand; a literate hand, since writing was a high-status occupation known only to an elite class. This makes their content even more intriguing from a human perspective.

The allusions to anatomy, "When you bring IT to your sister's house & storm her cave, her gate will be raised...(to) slaughter it," may seem a little naughty but shows some of the limitations of the hieroglyphic script and how scribes made the best of it. Today's reader will find it amusing and, perhaps, enlightening. After millenia we still want to keep our youthful thoughts alive, just as the ancients did.

The Harris 500, Turin and Chester Beatty I, New Kingdom hieratic papyri texts are an eye-opener. This little book is a fast read for the young at heart. A few black & white images spot the pages nicely. A great little glimpse into the minds of ancient Egyptians and their ideas about living life.