The Instruction of Ptahhotep : an ancient Egyptian literary text in context
The thesis represents an attempt to reconstruct the social context or <i>Sitzim Leben </i>of one of the central works of the ancient Egyptian literary tradition, <i>The Instruction of Ptahhotep. </i>It belongs to a clearly defined genre, the <i>sbĐyt, </i>and the point of departure is an investigation of the primary sources of the composition itself and those of other texts from the same genre. Provenance, archaeological context, contents, appearance and the material culture are examined in detail. A number of close readings of the text itself against the background of criticism of didactic poetry as a historical phenomenon form the middle part of the work. More indirect evidence for social context, in the form of intertextual relationships (allusion and quotation), is then used to look at the textâs audience, reception and position in the ancient Egyptian âuniverse of textsâ. The final part of the thesis focuses on the transmission of <i>Ptahhotep </i>in terms of the textual variants found in the narrative introduction in the various manuscripts, and the ways in which these variants relate to the historical period in which they are produced, primarily through a comparison of the titulary of the protagonist
Hagen, F.
The Instruction of Ptahhotep : an ancient Egyptian literary text in context. The thesis represents an attempt to reconstruct the social context or <i>Sitzim Leben </i>of one of the central works of the ancient Egyptian literary tradition, <i>The Instruction of Ptahhotep. </i>It belongs to a clearly defined genre, the <i>sbĐyt, </i>and the point of departure is an investigation of the primary sources of the composition itself and those of other texts from the same genre. Provenance, archaeological context, contents, appearance and the material culture are examined in detail. A number of close readings of the text itself against the background of criticism of didactic poetry as a historical phenomenon form the middle part of the work. More indirect evidence for social context, in the form of intertextual relationships (allusion and quotation), is then used to look at the textâs audience, reception and position in the ancient Egyptian âuniverse of textsâ. The final part of the thesis focuses on the transmission of <i>Ptahhotep </i>in terms of the textual variants found in the narrative introduction in the various manuscripts, and the ways in which these variants relate to the historical period in which they are produced, primarily through a comparison of the titulary of the protagonist
instruction ancient_egyptian literary_text context represent_attempt reconstruct social_context leben central work ancient_egyptian literary_tradition instruction belong clearly_define genre point_departure investigation primary_source composition text genre provenance archaeological_context content appearance material_culture examine_detail number close_reading text background criticism didactic poetry historical phenomenon form middle part work indirect evidence social_context form intertextual relationship allusion quotation use look text audience_reception position ancient_egyptian universe text final_part focus transmission term textual variant find narrative introduction various manuscript way variant relate historical_period produce primarily comparison protagonist