Quotation Analysis. Literature & Language Assignment.

Texts you may reference on the take home final: anything on the syllabus (see list below). Note: you will NOT receive credit for citing texts that are not on the ACA-101 syllabus and listed below

Texts:
· Hebrew Bible:
o Genesis 1-22
o Psalm 137
o the Song of Songs,
· Ancient Chinese texts:
o Huananzi (sections 1.1, 1.2, 6.7, and 6.9)
o encyclopedia entry on Pangu;
o “Da Dong” from The Book of Odes
o Chinese Exemplar tradition
· Ancient Egyptian texts:
o “Hymn to the Sun”
o “Leiden hymns”
o Love songs (posted to NYU Classes Day 7)
· Ancient Sumerian/Babylonian texts:
o The Epic of Gilgamesh
o The Love Song of Shu-Sin
· Ancient Indian texts:
o Rig Veda 10.121
o Selections from The Tamil Anthologies
o The Ramayana (use Naranyan’s translation; you may also refer to the story of Rama & Sita as told in Sita Sings the Blues)
· Ancient Greek texts:
o Hesiod’s Theogony
o Hesiod’s Works and Days
o Homer’s The Iliad
o Homer’s The Odyssey
o Sappho’s poems
o Aeschylus’ Agamemnon
o Aeschylus’ The Eumenides
o Sophocles’ Oedipus the King
o Sophocles’ Antigone
· Ancient Roman texts:
o Virgil’s Aeneid
o Ovid’s Metamorphoses
· Various myths that we talked about in class may also be referenced: The Judgment of Paris; the Romulus and Remus myth; the Rape of the Sabine; what Naranyan calls the “sequel” to The Ramayana (mentioned in Sita Sings the Blues); if you can think of another you don’t see here, please let me know.
Part I: Quotation analysis
(estimate: 1 hour total)

QUOTATION ANALYSIS (approximately one hour)

For ten of the following thirteen quotations, write a full paragraph analysis (a paragraph is defined here as at least three full and substantive sentences). Please begin by identifying (a) the text, (b) the author of the text (if known), (c) who is speaking (note: it may be the narrator of the text—if so, you can just refer to this speaker as “the narrator”). Your analysis should then address the significance of this passage in the text. Aim to illuminate at least two points of significance in the passage. This significant point might concern an important theme in the text. The significance might be what it tells us about the speaker, his/her topic, or another character. The significance might be thematic; it might be stylistic, in the images, specific words, or the form of speech. Notice how the passage contributes to or deepens our understanding of the larger work, or of ancient works more generally. Each answer will be worth seven points. Note: I have left out words that would make the answers too obvious.


1. My soul would sing of _________.
But since, o gods, you were the source of these
bodies becoming other bodies, breathe
your breath into my book of changes: may
the song I sing be seamless as its way
weaves from the world’s beginning to our day.

2. He who saw the Deep, the country’s foundation,
[who] knew…, was wise in all matters!
[_______, who] saw the Deep, the country’s foundation,
[who] knew…, was wise in all matters!
[He]…everywhere…
and [learnt] of everything the sum of wisdom.
He saw what was secret, discovered what was hidden,
he brought back a tale of before the Deluge.
He came a far road, was weary, found peace,
and set all his labours on a tablet of stone.
He built the rampart of Uruk-the-Sheepfold,
of holy Eanna, the sacred storehouse.

3. “If you say so, you will make me hate you,
and the hatred of the dead, by all rights,
will haunt you night and day.
But leave me to my own absurdity, leave me
to suffer this—dreadful thing. I will suffer
nothing as great as death without glory.”

4. She jumped into the fire. From the heart of the flame rose the god of fire, bearing __X__, and presented her to __Y___ with words of blessing. __Y___, now satisfied that he had established his wife’s integrity in the presence of the world, welcomed __X___ back to his arms. [Note: X refers to one person; Y refers to another person. You should name X and Y in your answer.]
5. The two August Lords of high antiquity
grasped the handles of the Way
and so were established in the center.
Their spirits mysteriously roamed together
and thereby pacified the four directions.
Hence, they could revolve like the heavens
cycle round and round without stopping,
flowing unceasingly like water,
they ended and began together with all things.
As winds arose and clouds formed,
there was no event to which they did not respond
As thunder rumbled and rain descended,
to all they responded without end.
Ghosts departed and spirits entered.
Dragons arose and phoenixes alighted.
Like the potter’s wheel turning, like the wheel hub spinning,
they circled round and round.
Both carved and polished,
they returned to the Unhewn.
They acted non-actively and were united with the Way.

6. And of all children ever born to __X__ and __Y___
these were the most terrible, and they hated their father
from the beginning, and every time each one was beginning
to come out, he would push them back again, deep inside ___X__,
and would not let them into the light, and ___Y___ exulted
in his wicked work; but great __X___ groaned within for pressure
of pain; and then she thought of an evil,
treacherous attack. [Note: X refers to one character; Y refers to another character. You should name X and Y in your answer.]

7. “Dear guest, I will be frank with you. My mother
says that I am his son, but I cannot
be sure, since no one knows his own begetting.
I wish I were the son of someone lucky,
who could grow old at home with all his wealth.
Instead, the most unlucky man alive
is said to be my father—since you ask.”

8. “But ancient Violence longs to breed,
new Violence comes
when its fatal hour comes, the demon comes
to take her toll—no war, nor force, no prayer
can hinder the midnight Fury stamped
with parent Fury moving through the house.
But Justice shines in sooty hovels,
loves the decent life.
From proud halls crusted with gilt by filthy hands
she turns her eyes to find the pure in spirit—
spurning the wealth stamped counterfeit with praise,
she steers all things toward their destined end.”

9. This made him want to cry. He held his love,
his faithful wife, and wept. As welcome as
the land to swimmers, when ______ wrecks
their ship at sea and breaks it with great waves
and driving winds; a few escape the sea
and reach the shore, their skin all caked with brine.
Grateful to be alive, they crawl to land.
So glad she was to see her own dear husband,
and her white arms would not let go his neck.

10. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in ____; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil…And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of ____ to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [Note: the blank here refers to a place; you should name it.]

11. “Mother tells me,
the immortal goddess ______ with her glistening feet,
that two fates bear me on to the day of death.
If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy,
my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies.
If I voyage back to the fatherland I love,
my pride, my glory dies…
true, but the life that’s left me will be long,
the stroke of death will not come on me quickly.”
12. “No pact must be between our peoples; No,
But rise up from my bones, avenging spirit!
Harry with fire and sword the Dardan countrymen
Now, or hereafter, at whatever time
The strength will be afforded. Coast with coast
in conflict, I implore, and sea with sea,
and arms with arms; may they contend in war,
Themselves and all the children of their children!”

13. Oh my children, the new blood of ancient Thebes,
why are you here? Huddling at my altar,
praying before me, your branches wound in wool.
Our city reeks with the smoke of burning incense,
rings with cries for the Healer and wailing for the dead.
I thought it wrong my children, to hear the truth
from others, messengers. Here I am myself--
you all know me, the world knows my fame:
I am _______.”



Part II: SHORT ESSAY (30 points) (approximately thirty minutes)

Write an essay on ONE of the following prompts that considers TWO ancient texts from DIFFERENT ancient traditions. For the purposes of this essay, “tradition” can be defined as either a geographical region or genre (epic, lyric, drama). This means your essay can answer the prompt by referring to two texts from different parts of the world (for example, a text from Ancient Sumer/Babylon and a from Ancient India); or your essay can consider the prompt as treated in different genres in the same geographical region (for example, you may compare a Greek dramatic work and a Greek epic; or an Indian epic and Indian lyric poetry). In the essay, you should reflect on how the culture of each texts’ production affects the form the theme takes in the text. Remember to refer to specific instances from the texts and explain how they support your points (via quotes or paraphrasing specific moments from the texts). Although it should be less formal than one of the course’s assigned essays, your answer should be written in the form of an essay with an introduction (including a thesis statement) and body paragraphs that reflect on the prompt you’ve chosen across the two texts you’ve chosen. Note: for this essay, please only refer to texts on the syllabus; you may NOT refer to modern media (as in, any modern media you may have referenced in Assignment 3), although you may refer to content covered in Sita Sings the Blues.

Prompts: select one of the prompts below. These prompts are meant to guide your reflections. You need not answer every question of the prompt. Just write an effective essay on the topic of the prompt.

· Romantic and/or erotic love. Many of the texts we read this semester presented romantic love in various forms: husbands and wives testing each other and reuniting; lovers yearning for a distant beloved; sexuality as an educational endeavor; and even characters who themselves (sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully) spurn romantic love in favor of something else. What does a cross-cultural or cross-generic view of romantic and/or erotic love in ancient texts reveal about the nature of intimate connections in the ancient world?

· Intergenerational relationships. Many of the texts we read this semester deal with the relationship between children and their parents. What does one generation owe the other? You might take this issue generally, or you might tailor your essay more specifically to focus on father-son themes, mother-daughter themes; father-daughter themes, or mother-son themes. What does a cross-cultural or cross-generic view of ancient texts reveal about the nature of intergenerational relationships in the ancient world?

· The problem of knowledge. Many of the texts we read this semester deal with problems of knowing something definitely. Often, knowledge seems to be a detriment to the seeker when sought too fervently. In other instances, attempting to know was crucial for a character’s development. What does a cross-cultural or cross-generic view of ancient texts reveal about problems of knowledge in the ancient world?

· Literature and politics. Many of the texts we read this semester seek to explore or even articulate the proper structure of the political/social system. We read about kings learning to be better rulers, democracies questioning and then reaffirming their values, and citizens questioning the justice of the existing political order. What does a cross-cultural or cross-generic view of ancient texts reveal the relationship between literature and politics in the ancient world?

· The relationship between humans and the divine. Many of the texts we read this semester seek to explore or even articulate the proper relationships humans ought to have with the divine. We read about just gods, capricious gods, incarnate gods, all powerful gods, and gods who are subject to fate themselves. And we also read texts having to do with humans worshipping, doubting, and even being/becoming gods themselves. What does a cross-cultural or cross-generic view of ancient texts reveal the relationship between humans and the divine in the ancient world?