Asian Literature

Egyptian Literature - traces its beginnings to ancient Egypt and is some of the earliest known
literature. Indeed, the Egyptians were the first culture to develop literature as we know it today, that is,
the book.

The ancient Egyptians wrote works on papyrus as well as walls, tombs, pyramids, obelisks and more.
Perhaps the best known example of ancient Jehiel literature is the Story of Sinuhe; other well-known
works include the Westcar Papyrus and the Ebers papyrus, as well as the famous Book of the Dead.
While most literature in ancient Egypt was so-called "Wisdom literature" (that is, literature meant for
instruction rather than entertainment), there also existed myths, stories and biographies solely for
entertainment purposes. The autobiography has been called the oldest form of Egyptian literature.

The Nile had a strong influence on the writings of the ancient Egyptians, as did Greco-Roman poets
who came to Alexandria to be supported by the many patrons of the arts who lived there, and to make
use of the resources of the Library of Alexandria. Many great thinkers from around the ancient world
came to the city, including Callimachus of Libya and Theocritus of Syracuse. Not all of the great
writers of the period came from outside of Egypt, however; one notable Egyptian poet was Apollonius
of Rhodes.

Writing first appeared in association with kingship on labels and tags for items found in royal tombs It
was primarily an occupation of the scribes, who worked out of the Per Ankh institution or the House of
Life. The latter comprised offices, libraries (called House of Books), laboratories and observatories.
Some of the best-known pieces of ancient Egyptian literature, such as the Pyramid and Coffin Texts,
were spoken from the New Kingdom onward and is represented in Ramesside administrative
documents, love poetry and tales, as well as in Demotic and Coptic texts. During this period, the
tradition of writing had evolved into the tomb autobiography, such as those of Harkhufand Weni. The
genre known as Sebayt (Instructions) was developed to communicate teachings and guidance from
famous nobles; thelpuwer papyrus, a poem of lamentations describing natural disasters and social
upheaval, is a famous example.

The Story of Sinuhe, written in Middle Egyptian, might be the classic of Egyptian literature. Also
written at this time was the Westcar Papyrus, a set of stories told to Khufu by his sons relating the
marvels performed by priests. The Instruction of Amenemope is considered a masterpiece of near-
eastern literature. Towards the end of the New Kingdom, the vernacular language was more often
employed to write popular pieces like the Story of Wenamun and the Instruction of Any. The former
tells the story of a noble who is robbed on his way to buy cedar from Lebanon and of his struggle to
return to Egypt. From about 700 BC, narrative stories and instructions, such as the popular
Instructions of Onchsheshonqy, as well as personal and business documents were written in the
demotic script and phase of Egyptian. Many stories written in demotic during the Graeco-Roman
period were set in previous historical eras, when Egypt was an independent nation ruled by great
pharaohs such as Ramesses II.

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 The Tale of Two Brothers
By: Anonymous
Bata served his elder brother Anubis like a son. Bata had prodigious strength and the power to
understand animals. One day as they were plowing, Anubis sent Bata back to the house for more
seed.
The wife was smitten with mighty Bata and tried to seduce him, only to be rejected:
"You are like a mother to me and your husband like a father...".
Virtuous to a fault, he promised not to tell her shame.
But she faked a beating (swallowing rancid fat to induce vomiting) and when Anubis returned she told
him that Bata had raped her.
So Anubis waits in ambush in the stable. But the lead cow warns Bata and he flees.
Re-Harakhti intervenes and draws a river full of crocodiles between Bata and his pursuer.
From the far side of the river Bata protests his innocence. And to prove his claim he calls Re to
witness and castrates himself (penis and all) casting the genitals into the river.
Anubis is thus convinced of his innocence.
Thereupon Bata weakens and seems to depart this life, journeying to the Valley of the Pine,
telling his brother that he must come to resurrect him when a sign appears. When Anubis finds that
beer ferments in his cup, he will know that Bata has perished and he must go to save him.
For Bata will take out his heart and lodge it in the pine flower at the top of the tree.
When the sign comes to him, Anubis must go and find the heart and restore it to life in a basin of
water.
Anubis returns home, kills his wife and gives her carcase to the dogs.
Bata in the Valley of the Pine is blessed by the Ennead. On order of Re, Khnum fashions for Bata a
wife of supreme beauty, "the ichor of every god is in her."
But it is not a happy match, for "she sat in the house while he spent the days hunting desert game."
He warned her not to go outside, "lest the sea snatch you. I cannot rescue you ... because I am a
woman like you...?"
Nonetheless she ventures out, the tide surges around her and captures a tress of her hair (that
snagged on the pine); and the sea then carries the tress back to Egypt. There the fragrance of the
tress so permeates the waters that the clothing of pharoah becomes scented from washing in it.
Pharoah learns from his scribes that this tress belongs to "a daughter of Re-Harakhti in whom is the
ichor of every god." So he sends out envoys to search for her; she is found in the valley of the pine
and brought back to Egypt. There she delights the king and demands that he sends soldier to cut
down the great pine (wherein is the heart of Bata).
The next day when Anubis takes his barley beer, it ferments in his cup; he takes wine and it sours.
So, recognizing the sign, he sets out for the Valley of the Pine. There he finds Bata's body and
searches 3 years for the heart. When he has nearly given up he finds it, puts in a basin of water.
And as the heart soaks the water, the body of Bata takes life and twitches. Anubis gives him the basin
to drink, and his heart is restored. The two brothers are reunited.
Then by Bata's plan, they journey to Egypt, Bata himself disguised as a great Bull, Anubis riding on
his back. Pharoah is impressed and honors Anubis.
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But Bata the Bull reveals himself to the Wife (now wife of Pharoah) and she contrives to have him
slaughtered by tricking pharoah into a promise; she demands, "let me eat the liver of this bull."

At his slaughter two drops of the blood soak into the earth at the doorposts of the palace, and there
two great Persea trees spring up, one on either side.
Again Bata, now in the Persea tree, reveals himself to the treacherous Wife. And again she tricks
pharaoh into promising, now to cut down the trees and make furniture for her. But when the trees are
felled, a splinter of the wood flies off and lodges in her mouth, and she becomes pregnant from it.
Pharoah dotes upon the child as his son; he (Bata incarnate) rises to be Crown Prince.
When Pharoah dies, the new Pharoah--Bata triumphant-- condemns the treacherous wife--and
mother!
He elevates Anubis to Crown Prince. And after his reign of 30 years, at Bata's death, Anubis
succeeds him.

Japanese Literature - Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact
with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an
influence through the Diffusion of Buddhism in Japan. Eventually, Japanese literature developed into
a separate style in its own right as Japanese writers began writing their own works about Japan,
although the influence of Chinese literature and Classical Chinese remained until the end of the Edo
period. Since Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western
and Eastern literature have strongly affected each other and continue to do so.

Before the introduction of kanji from China, Japanese had no writing system. At first, Chinese
characters were used in Japanese syntactical formats, and the result was sentences that look like
Chinese but were read phonetically as Japanese. Chinese characters were further adapted, creating
what is known as man'yōgana, the earliest form of kana, or syllabic writing. The earliest works were
created in the Nara period. These include the Kojiki (712), a historical record that also chronicles
ancient Japanese mythology and folk songs; the Nihon Shoki (720), a chronicle written in Chinese
that is significantly more detailed than the Kojiki; and the Man'yōshū (759), a poetry anthology. One of
the stories they describe is the tale of Urashima Tarō, which has been identified as the earliest
example of a story involving time travel.

The Tale of Genji

By: Murasaki Shikibu
There was once a time when one of the Ladies of the Imperial Court became the special favorite of
the Emperor and bore him a healthy baby boy. This was much to the upset of the other ladies who,
through their continuous jealousy and hostility, made the favored lady quite ill. Eventually all the
tormenting drove her to an early grave.

The beautiful boy grew up and seemed destined to become the Crown Prince. However, because he
lacked the backing of powerful guardians at the Court, the Emperor knew he would not be happy as
Crown Prince. So, instead, he appointed him as one of his retainers and gave him the name, Genji.
From then on he was known as 'Hikaru Genji' (The 'Shining' Genji).

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When Genji was still very young, the Emperor took a new wife, named Fujitsubo, a lady who bore an
uncanny resemblance to the tragic lady who had been Genji's mother. Genji's longing for the mother
he had never really known led to an infatuation for Fujitsubo which, some years later, resulted in her
conceiving a child by Genji (the future Emperor Reizei). (This illicit affair was one that haunted Genji
for the rest of his life)

While Genji was married to a lady called Aoi no Ue, later in the story he happened to meet a young
girl called Murasaki no Ue who, it turned out, was Fujitsubo's niece. She was living in pitiful
circumstances so Genji took her away to raise her so that one day she might make a perfect lady.

As well as the ladies already mentioned, Genji romantically pursued many women including the
widow of the former Crown Prince, a married woman, a lady who was his best friend's lover, a very
naive Princess, and an old maid of nearly 60. Perhaps most surprisingly, Genji also romanced the
daughter of his main politically enemy. His love for the ladies in his life was always pure and sincere
but connected to his unfulfilled longing for the beautiful mother he had lost so young.

Around the time when his brother the Emperor Suzaku succeeded his father as Emperor, Genji was
forced to leave Kyoto and into exile in a remote area near to present-day Kobe. The fall from grace
was the result of his scandalous affair with the daughter of one of his political enemies. He spent his
exile quietly but, nevertheless, pursued a new romance, having an affair with Akashi no Kimi, the
daughter of another Kyoto aristocrat. This relationship also resulted in a child, this time a girl. When
his brother abdicated as Emperor, Genji's son became the new Emperor (Emperor Reizei). As a
result, Genji quickly recovered his political power, becoming a Minister and walking the path of a
highly influential politician.

Genji built a palatial mansion, known as 'The Rokujo Estate' invited all his ladies to live with him and
seemingly achieved an almost ideal lifestyle. However, after he decided to take a new lady, known as
'Onna San no Miya' as his wife, life at the Rokujo Estate began to lose its luster. She was the
daughter of Genji's dying brother, the Emperor Suzaku and the complicated personal relations
between all his ladies became a nuisance. He was no longer a young man. Even more unfortunate
was that a young man named Kashiwagi, the son of Genji's best friend, seduced the somewhat naive
Onna San no Miya. The result of this liaison was a child, a boy named Kaoru.

Genji felt he only had himself to blame and that fate was punishing him. He too, in his younger days,
had illicitly fathered a child, the baby born to Fujitsubo and the boy that became the Emperor Reizei.
The irony left such a deep wound in his heart that he decided to go into self-exile.

It is at this point in the 'Tale' that the story of Genji himself ends and the narrative jumps to the final
section, a time after Genji's death, set in the city of Uji, and follows two protagonists. One of them was
Kaoru, Genji's youngest child, reportedly the exact likeness of his father and the other was Niou no
Miya, Genji's grandson.

Indian Literature - refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the
Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages.
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All dates about the ancient Indian literature are not only uncertain, but are contested. European
scholars from the 18th century onwards estimated dates of various texts based on methods that
Indian scholars consider arbitrary. The earliest works of Indian literature were orally transmitted.
Sanskrit literature begins with the oral literature of the Rig Veda a collection of sacred hymns dating to
the period 1500–1200 BCE. The Sanskrit epics Ramayana and Mahabharata appeared towards the
end of the first millennium BCE. Classical Sanskrit literature developed rapidly during the first few
centuries of the first millennium BCE, as did the Tamil Sangam literature, and the Pāli Canon. In the
medieval period, literature in Kannada and Telugu appeared in the 9th and 11th centuries
respectively. Later, literature in Marathi, Odia, Bengali, various dialects of Hindi, Persian and Urdu
began to appear as well. Early in the 20th century, Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore became India's
first Nobel laureate. In contemporary Indian literature, there are two major literary awards; these are
the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship and the Jnanpith Award. Eight Jnanpith Awards each have been
awarded in Hindi and Kannada, followed by five in Bengali and Malayalam, four in Odia, three in
Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu and Urdu, two each in Assamese and Tamil, and one in Sanskrit.

Arabian Nights: One Thousand and One Nights

By:

The Arabian Nights is a collection of tales from the Islamic Golden Age, compiled by various authors
over many hundreds of years.

Though each collection features different stories, they are all centered around the frame story of the
sultan Shahrayar and his wife, Scheherazade. After finding out that his first wife is unfaithful,
Shahrayar kills her and swears to marry a different woman each night before killing her the following
morning to prevent further betrayal. Scheherazade, his vizier's daughter, concocts a plan to end this
pattern. She marries Shahrayar, and then begins to tell him a story that night. However, she stops the
story in the middle, so that he will be excited to hear the rest the following night. The next evening,
she finishes that story and then begins another, following the same pattern for 1,001 nights, until
Shahrayar has a change of heart. The stories she tells comprise the collection.

"Aladdin's Lamp" tells of a peasant boy who is tricked by an evil magician into retrieving a magic
genie lamp from a cave. However, Aladdin outsmarts him, keeping the lamp for himself. Through the
genie's power, Aladdin grows rich and marries the sultan's daughter. When the magician steals the
lamp back, Aladdin and his wife thwart and kill the villain. The magician's brother then attempts to
avenge the dead man, but is equally defeated, so that Aladdin lives happily ever after.

In "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," hardworking Ali Baba stumbles upon a thieves' hideout full of
treasure, protected by a magic entry. When Ali Baba accidentally reveals the secret to his richer
brother Cassim, Cassim gets trapped in the hideout, and killed by the thieves. The villains then try to
track down and kill Ali Baba, but their plans are consistently thwarted by the quick-witted slave
Morgiana.

In "The Three Apples," a fisherman finds a chest in the ocean containing a woman's body. Both her
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father and her husband try to take the blame, but the caliph discerns that the husband had killed her,
believing her unfaithful. He had brought her three rare apples when she was sick, then got mad when
he saw a slave with one of the apples, claiming he had received the fruit from his girlfriend. Believing
the slave, he killed the woman. He then learned that his son had actually given the apple to the slave,
who then lied to stir up trouble. The ruler's vizier Ja'far ascertains that his own slave is the culprit, and
the caliph pardons everyone.

"The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor" are told by a famous sailor to an impoverished porter, to
explain the trials and tribulations that the sailor suffered at sea. Over the course of his seven
voyages, Sinbad faced: various shipwrecks; strange beasts such as giant eagles, rocs, and giants;
malicious figures such as the Old Man of the Sea; and many other obstacles. Even though he dealt
with danger on every voyage, Sinbad continued to sail, lured by the thrill and excitement of the sea.
Finally, after seven voyages, he decided to settle down with his wealth.

"The Fisherman and the Jinni" tells the story of a fisherman whose nets retrieve a yellow jar from the
sea. He opens it to release a dangerous genie, who has been trapped for hundreds of years and had
decided to kill the man who rescues him. The fisherman tricks the genie into returning to the jar, and
then tells him the story of "The Vizier and the Sage Duban," detailed below. After the story, the genie
promises to reward the fisherman, and indeed shows him a magic lake full of strange fish. The
fisherman sells the fish to the sultan, who explores the area of the lake to meet a sad prince who had
been turned half to stone. He helps the prince, and then rewards everyone involved.

In "The Vizier and the Sage Duban," a wise healer named Duban heals King Yunan's leprosy, but
Yunan's vizier convinces the king that Duban is out to kill him. Yunan has Duban executed on that
suspicion, and Duban gifts him a magic book before he dies. After the wise man is beheaded, the
king flips through the book, and then dies himself from a poison that Duban has left on its pages.

Finally, "The Three Princes and the Princes Nouronnihar" details the journeys of three brother princes
who each wants to marry their cousin Nouronnihar. Their father, the Grand Sultan, promises that
whichever brother finds the most valuable item will win the woman's hand. They each find amazing
items - a magic carpet that transports its owner, a tube that shows whatever the viewer wishes, and
an apple that heals anyone. When the brothers learn that Nouronnihar is ill, they pool the items and
manage to save her life.

Chinese Literature - extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to
the mature vernacular fiction novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of
literate Chinese. The introduction of widespread woodblock printing during the Tang Dynasty (618–
907) and the invention of movable type printing by Bi Sheng (990–1051) during the Song Dynasty
(960–1279) rapidly spread written knowledge throughout China. In more modern times, the author Lu
Xun (1881–1936) is considered the founder of baihua literature in China.

Formation of the earliest layer of Chinese literature was influenced by oral traditions of different social
and professional provenance: cult and lay musical practices (Shijing), divination (Yi jing), astronomy,
exorcism. An attempt at tracing the genealogy of Chinese literature to religious spells and
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incantations (the six zhu 六祝, as presented in the "Da zhu" chapter of the Rites of Zhou) was made
by Liu Shipei.

The Analects of Confucius

By: Confucius

On Learning Miscellaneous Sayings:

"To learn," said the Master, "and then to practice opportunely what one has learnt does not this bring
with it a sense of satisfaction?

"To have associates in study coming to one from distant parts does not this also mean pleasure in
store?

"And are not those who, while not comprehending all that is said, still remain not unpleased to hear,
men of the superior order?"

A saying of the Scholar Yu:

"It is rarely the case that those who act the part of true men in regard to their duty to parents and
elder brothers are at the same time willing to turn currishly upon their superiors: it has never yet been
the case that such as desire not to commit that offence have been men willing to promote anarchy or
disorder.

"Men of superior mind busy themselves first in getting at the root of things; and when they have
succeeded in this the right course is open to them. Well, are not filial piety and friendly subordination
among brothers a root of that right feeling which is owing generally from man to man?"

The Master observed, "Rarely do we meet with the right feeling due from one man to another where
there is fine speech and studied mien."

The Scholar Tsang once said of himself: "On three points I examine myself daily, viz., whether, in
looking after other people's interests, I have not been acting whole-heartedly; whether, in my
intercourse with friends, I have not been true; and whether, after teaching, I have not myself been
practicing what I have taught."

The Master once observed that to rule well one of the larger States meant strict attention to its affairs
and conscientiousness on the part of the ruler; careful husbanding of its resources, with at the same
time a tender care for the interests of all classes; and the employing of the masses in the public
service at suitable seasons.

"Let young people," said he, "show filial piety at home, respectfulness towards their elders when away
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from home; let them be circumspect, be truthful; their love going out freely towards all, cultivating
good-will to men. And if, in such a walk, there be time or energy left for other things, let them employ
it in the acquisition of literary or artistic accomplishments."

The disciple Tsz-hi said, "The appreciation of worth in men of worth, thus diverting the mind from
lascivious desires ministering to parents while one is the most capable of so doing serving one's ruler
when one is able to devote himself entirely to that object being sincere in one's language in
intercourse with friends: this I certainly must call evidence of learning, though others may say there
has been 'no learning.'"

Sayings of the Master:

"If the great man be not grave, he will not be revered, neither can his learning be solid.

"Give prominent place to loyalty and sincerity.

"Have no associates in study who are not advanced somewhat like yourself.

"When you have erred, be not afraid to correct yourself."

A saying of the Scholar Tsang:

"The virtue of the people is renewed and enriched when attention is seen to be paid to the departed,
and the remembrance of distant ancestors kept and cherished."

Tsz-k'in put this query to his fellow disciple Tsz-kung: said he, "When our Master comes to this or that
State, he learns without fail how it is being governed. Does he investigate matters? or are the facts
given him?"

Tsz-kung answered, "Our Master is a man of pleasant manners, and of probity, courteous, moderate,
and unassuming: it is by his being such that he arrives at the facts. Is not his way of arriving at things
different from that of others?"

A saying of the Master:

"He who, after three years' observation of the will of his father when alive, or of his past conduct if
dead, does not deviate from that father's ways, is entitled to be called 'a dutiful son.'"

Sayings of the Scholar Yu:

"For the practice of the Rules of Propriety, [1] one excellent way is to be natural. This naturalness
became a great grace in the practice of kings of former times; let everyone, small or great, follow their
example.

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"It is not, however, always practicable; and it is not so in the case of a person who does things
naturally, knowing that he should act so, and yet who neglects to regulate his acts according to the
Rules.

"When truth and right are hand in hand, a statement will bear repetition. When respectfulness and
propriety go hand in hand, disgrace and shame are kept afar-off. Remove all occasion for alienating
those to whom you are bound by close ties, and you have them still to resort to."

A saying of the Master:

"The man of greater mind who, when he is eating, craves not to eat to the full; who has a home, but
craves not for comforts in it; who is active and earnest in his work and careful in his words; who
makes towards men of high principle, and so maintains his own rectitude that man may be styled a
devoted student."

Tsz-kung asked, "What say you, sir, of the poor who do not cringe and fawn; and what of the rich who
are without pride and haughtiness?" "They are passable," the Master replied; "yet they are scarcely in
the same category as the poor who are happy, and the rich who love propriety."

"In the 'Book of the Odes,'" Tsz-kung went on to say, "we read of one

Polished, as by the knife and file,

The graving-tool, the smoothing-stone.
Does that coincide with your remark?"

"Ah! such as you," replied the Master, "may well commence a discussion on the Odes. If one tells you
how a thing goes, you know what ought to come."

"It does not greatly concern me," said the Master, "that men do not know me; my great concern is, my
not knowing them."

Persian Literature - the 19th century, Persian literature experienced dramatic change and entered a
new era. The beginning of this change was exemplified by an incident in the mid-19th century at the
court of Nasereddin Shah, when the reform-minded prime minister, Amir Kabir, chastised the poet
Habibollah Qa'ani for "lying" in a panegyric qasida written in Kabir's honor. Kabir saw poetry in
general and the type of poetry that had developed during the Qajar period as detrimental to
"progress" and "modernization" in Iranian society, which he believed was in dire need of change.
Such concerns were also expressed by others such as Fath-'Ali Akhundzadeh, Mirza Aqa Khan
Kermani, and Mirza Malkom Khan. Khan also addressed a need for a change in Persian poetry in
literary terms as well, always linking it to social concerns.

The new Persian literary movement cannot be understood without an understanding of the intellectual
movements among Iranian philosophical circles. Given the social and political climate of Persia (Iran)
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which led to the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906–
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1911, the idea that change in poetry was necessary became widespread. Many argued that Persian
poetry should reflect the realities of a country in transition. This idea was propagated by notable
literary figures such as Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda and Abolqasem Aref, who challenged the traditional
system of Persian poetry in terms of introducing new content and experimentation with rhetoric,
lexico-semantics, and structure. Dehkhoda, for instance, used a lesser-known traditional form, the
mosammat, to elegize the execution of a revolutionary journalist. 'Aref employed the ghazal, "the
most central genre within the lyrical tradition" (p. 88), to write his "Payam-e Azadi" (Message of
Freedom).

Some researchers argue that the notion of "sociopolitical ramifications of esthetic changes" led to the
idea of poets "as social leaders trying the limits and possibilities of social change."

An important movement in modern Persian literature centered on the question of modernization and
Westernization and whether these terms are synonymous when describing the evolution of Iranian
society. It can be argued that almost all advocates of modernism in Persian literature, from
Akhundzadeh, Kermani, and Malkom Khan to Dehkhoda, Aref, Bahar, and Taqi Rafat, were inspired
by developments and changes that had occurred in Western, particularly European, literatures. Such
inspirations did not mean blindly copying Western models but, rather, adapting aspects of Western
literature and changing them to fit the needs of Iranian culture.

The Food of Paradise

By: Ibn Amjed

The devout Mullah Ibrahim taught Islam to his Moslem students in the seminary founded by the
Caliph. The work was thankless and ill-paid. Once, while sitting in the meditation, his hands folded in
his lap, he thought of his sorry state.
“Why is it,” he asked himself, “that a holy man like me must toil so hard teaching a pack of
blockheads, when others who have earned nothing through pious work eat sumptuous everyday?
And without having to work!”

He went on, “O Compassionate One, isn’t this unjust? Why should Thy servant be burdened like an
ass in the marketplace, which carries two panniers both filled to the top and stumbles at every blow of
the driver’s stick? Isn’t it promised in the Koran, Allah will not anyone starve?”

So saying, Ibrahim the Wise, as men called him, left the seminary and walked out of the City of
Baghdad where he had lived for many years. He selected a dry and shady spot beneath a spreading
cypress tree by the riverbank. There, waiting for the bounty of Allah, he fell asleep.

When he woke early the next morning, holy silence lay upon everything. Ibrahim wondered how he
would be fed. Would the birds of the air bring him food? Would the fishes from the river leap ashore
and offer themselves to appease his hunger? How did those who deserve Allah’s help receive it if not
through some miracle? True, the rich were bequeathed wealth by their parents. But there must be
some beginning. A pasha might sail down the river in his barge and supply his wants out of golden
dishes and cups.
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But morning blossomed into day and day into night and still no miracle came. More than one pasha
sailed past him in a gilded barge but they made only the usual greetings and made no other sign. On
the road above, pilgrims and travelers passed, but they ignored him. Hunger gnawed at his vitals, and
he recalled with envy the millet and the goat’s milk the mullahs would now be enjoying at the
seminary. Still he did not lose hope but prayed with usual fervor.

He slept again without eating, and woke up too faint from hunger to stand. Stifling from the noontime
heat, Ibrahim saw something floating on the river. It seemed a pack of leaves with food inside. He
waded into the water and reached for it. Back to bank with his prize, he opened it. Inside was the
most delicious halwa, that famous marzipan, the making of which only Baghdad knows the secret, a
sweet-meat composed of sugar mixed with paste of almonds and attar of roses and other delicate
essences.

After satisfying himself with the delightful food, Ibrahim the Wise, drank deeply from the river, and
lolled on the sward, sure that his prayers had been answered, and that he would not have to toil
anymore. The ambrosial food was enough for three meals a day, and on each day after the hour of
midday prayer a similar package of halwa came floating down the river as though placed there by
hands of angels.

After some months, Ibrahim started to wonder where his daily ration of food came from. If he could
trace the spot on the river where it was deposited, he might see a miracle. Curious to this, Ibrahim
started out on a journey upstream one morning.

He walked upstream for some days, keeping close to the riverbank and fixing his eyes on its surface
lest he miss the package of halwa. But every day at an even earlier hour, it floated regularly, just
within his reach. At night he slept beneath a convenient tree. Nobody molested him, recognizing him
to be a holy man.

On the fourth day of his journey, Ibrahim came upon a fair castle on an island in the midst of the river.
There was a meadow and rich gardens around, interlaced by narrow streams. Beyond were the
jagged peaks of great blue mountains. The castle itself was of white marbles, sculptured as ice. Its
green and shady lawns sloped down to a silent and forlorn shore of golden sand.

A hermit saw Ibrahim and they got acquainted. The hermit narrated to him the history of the castle.
“That is the Silver Castle, built by a pasha now dead. He fell in love with a certain princess but her
father forbade their marriage. But so strong was the pasha’s love that he built his castle and cast
numerous dark and terrible magic spells upon it. None could enter or leave without his permission.
Then, he abducted the princess, married her and kept her in that tower. The King, her father, pursued
then with an army to recover her, but so strong was the pasha’s magic that the king was compelled to
give up.
“And does the princess still live there?” asked Ibrahim.
“No,” replied the hermit. “Both she and her husband died; but they left behind a daughter who
governs the castle. A lady of surpassing beauty and wealth, her one great sorrow was that none could
11
dissolve the spells woven by her father the pasha. She lives there to this day in great loneliness.”

The hermit, who was on his way to a pilgrimage to Baghdad, left the Mullah, who thanked him for his
story.

The next day, while at the riverbank, Ibrahim the Mullah saw a lady of exceeding beauty on the castle
veranda overlooking the river. She threw something into the river and disappeared like a moon behind
the clouds. His eyes followed the object she had thrown. It was the very package of leaves containing
the halwa which he had been receiving daily.
“So now, I know at last from whose hands Allah, the Merciful, the Just has deemed I shall be fed
daily,” said Ibrahim as he devoured the savory sweetmeat. “Now, shall I not repay her kindness by
freeing her from the spells which keep her prisoner in her castle?”

With these grateful thoughts, Ibrahim cast himself into a trance, for as a holy man he had acquired
some knowledge of the magical art. His spirit walked in the land of the Jinns. There he met Adhem,
one of the Jinns, who promised to aid him in breaking the magic spells of the castle.

First, Adhem, with the help of the other Jinns, tore down the invincible web which hangs around the
castle itself. Inside the castle, Adhem and a host of Jinns dueled with giant guards armed with spears
and scimitars. After a terrible strife, the giants fled, leaving the castle free at last.

Ibrahim now tried to see the Princess. An old guard with a bared scimitar ushered him into a
magnificent hall. There, upon a dais, sat the incomparable Princess whom he has seen from the
castle veranda as she threw the package of halwa into the river. Before her, the Mullah knelt and told
his tale.
“And what, most wise Ibrahim, do you ask in return for your services in my behalf?” asked the
Princess. “Speak and it shall be granted to you, even to the half of my inheritance.”
“Nay, noble Lady,” exclaimed Ibrahim, “the delicious food with which you have fed me daily is reason
enough for me to be grateful to you. That halwa which you cast every morning from your verandah
and which floated down the stream I have eaten. Surely an angel from paradise must have put it into
your hand to throw away.”

The Princess blushed so deeply that her face turned crimson, visible beneath her vill. “Alas, good
Mullah!” she cried wringing her hands. “What is this you tell me! Curses on the day on which I first
threw that halwa, as you call it into the river. Know, that each morning, it is my custom to take a bath
of milk, after which I anoint and rub my limbs with essence of almonds, sugar and sweet scented
cosmetics. These, then, I remove from my nakedness and wrapping them in leaves, throw them into
the river.”
“Ah, now, Princess, I see who has been blind,” cried Ibrahim with a wry face. “Allah, surely gives food
to everyone; but its quality and kind are dictated by what man deserves.”

A wise man doth the elixir of life,

Circumspectly and slowly, and heedful.
Thus enjoy thou the riches thou’st won by the strife:
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Never at one time more than needful.”

Making up his mind in this way, he took the end of the bow in his mouth, and began to gnaw the
sinew. But as soon as his teeth cut through the string, the bow tore through his palete, and came out
of his head like a top-knot, and he gave up the ghost. Therefore, continued the Brahman, therefore I
say:

Excessive greed should ne’er be cherished.

Have greed – but keep it moderate.
The all too greedy jackal perished,
A wooden top-knot on his pate.

Philippine Literature - associated with the Philippines and includes the legends of prehistory, and the
colonial legacy of the Philippines. Pre-Hispanic Philippine literature were actually epics passed on
from generation to generation originally through oral tradition. However, wealthy families, especially in
Mindanao were able to keep transcribed copies of these epics as family heirloom. One such epic was
the Darangen, epic of the Maranaos of Lake Lanao. Most of the epics were known during the Spanish
era.

Most of the notable literature of the Philippines was written during the Spanish period and the first half
of the 20th century in the Spanish language. Philippine literature is written in Spanish, English, or any
indigenous Philippine languages.

Dead star
By: Paz Marquez Benitez

Alfredo Salazar was betrothed to Esperanza, his girlfriend for four years. The start of their relationship
was relatively “warm”, with Alfredo wooing Esperanza like a man in dire lovesickness. But as the
years went by, the warm love’s fire slowly flickered. And it was because of Julia Salas.

She was charming and gleeful. He shared moments of light but sometimes deep conversations with
her when the lawyer Alfredo visited Julia’s brother-in-law, who was a judge. He always went there
with his father and since it was his father who needed to talk to the judge, he was always left to Julia’s
company. He never told her he was engaged. At first he didn’t notice that a change in his heart was
taking form. But then he started keeping details of his activities to his fiancée and then the guilty
feeling crept in. when he found out that Julia was about to head back to her distant hometown, he felt
blue and frightened.

He met her in church after the Holy Thursday procession, although he knew that Esperanza was
already waiting for him. He approached her and she conversed with him with an expression that told
him she finally knew. She congratulated him and said she will be at his wedding. Then they parted.

When he visited Esperanza in her house, he overheard her talking to another woman about infidelity
and immorality, to which he reasoned in favor of the condemned. The statement caused an intense
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fury to Esperanza and she told him that she knew. She dared Alfredo to abandon her, along with
morality and reason and her dignity as a woman as well as her image before the society all for the
sake of his “being fair to himself”.

Eventually the wedding took place. And after several years, Alfredo was sent to a distant village due
to a legal assignment. It bothered him so much because it was near Julia’s hometown. But he still
found himself making his way to her house despite of himself. And he found her there, just as how
and where he expected her to be. She never married. And he wondered how life would be if he ended
up with her. But all was too late and he could never bring things back. He also noticed that Julia lost
something, albeit the fact that he didn’t know what that is – youth, love, luster? And when he looked at
her he doubted if she ever cared for him, if he has mistaken the past light in her eyes as
manifestations of a possible romance. But now they’re all gone. And so it was indeed all done.

European Literature

A. French literature - generally speaking, literature written in the French language, particularly by

citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak
traditional languages of France other than French. Literature written in French language, by
citizens of other nations such as Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Senegal, Algeria, Morocco,
etc. is referred to as Francophone literature. As of 2006, French writers have been awarded
more Nobel Prizes in Literature than novelists, poets and essayists of any other country.
France itself ranks first in the list of Nobel Prizes in literature by country.

French literature has been for French people an object of national pride for centuries, and it has been
one of the most influential components of the literature.

The French language is a romance dialect derived from Latin and heavily influenced principally

by Celtic and Frankish. Beginning in the 11th century, literature written in medieval French was one of
the oldest vernacular (non-Latin) literatures in western Europe and it became a key source of literary
themes in the Middle Ages across the continent.

Although the European prominence of French literature was eclipsed in part by vernacular literature in
Italy in the 14th century, literature in France in the 16th century underwent a major creative evolution,
and through the political and artistic programs of the Ancien Régime, French literature came to
dominate European letters in the 17th century.

In the 18th century, French became the literary lingua franca and diplomatic language of western
Europe (and, to a certain degree, in America), and French letters have had a profound impact on all
European and American literary traditions while at the same time being heavily influenced by these
other national traditions Africa, and the far East have brought the French language to non-European
cultures that are transforming and adding to the French literary experience today.

Under the aristocratic ideals of the ancien régime (the "honnête homme"), the nationalist spirit of
post-revolutionary France, and the mass educational ideals of the Third Republic and modern France,
the French have come to have a profound cultural attachment to their literary heritage. Today, French
schools emphasize the study of novels, theater and poetry (often learnt by heart). The literary arts are
heavily sponsored by the state and literary prizes are major news. The Académie française and
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the Institut de France are important linguistic and artistic institutions in France, and French television
features shows on writers and poets (one of the most watched shows on French television
was Apostrophes, a weekly talk show on literature and the arts). Literature matters deeply to the
people of France and plays an important role in their sense of identity.

As of 2006, French literary people have been awarded more Nobel Prizes in Literature than novelists,
poets and essayists of any other country. Writers in English (USA, UK, Ireland, South Africa,
Australia, Canada, Nigeria & Saint Lucia) have won twice as many Nobels as the French. In
1964 Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he declined it, stating that "It is
not the same thing if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre or if I sign Jean-Paul Sartre, Nobel Prize winner. A writer
must refuse to allow himself to be transformed into an institution, even if it takes place in the most
honorable form."

The Necklace

By: Guy de Maupassant

Mathilde Loisel is an attractive woman who is married to a clerk in the Ministry of Education. She is
dissatisfied with her humble life and longs for a life of luxery. When her husband returns one day with
an invitation to a ball hosted by his work, he believes that she will be very happy at the prospect of
attending such an event. However, Mathilde is extremely upset and explains through her tears that
she has no beautiful gown to wear to such an occasion and says that it is cruel for him to offer her
such an invitation.

Her husband hates to see her so upset and gives her money for a new gown. As the party
approaches, Mathilde reveals that she is upset because they cannot afford to buy new jewels. Her
husband suggests that she borrow something from her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier. Mathilde
borrows a beautiful diamond necklace from her friend and is the belle of the ball. At the end of the
night she discovers that she has lost the necklace.

The Loisels search for a replacement for the necklace and find one that is worth 40,000 francs.
Monsieur Loisel buys the necklace and Mathilde gives it to Madame Forestier in place of the original
necklace. The Loisels spend 10 years working extremely hard to pay back their financial debt (as a
result of purchasing the necklace). Monsieur Loisel takes three jobs and Mathilde spends all her days
doing arduous housework. They live in crippling poverty until all their debt is cleared.

One day when she is out on a walk, Mathilde sees Madame Forestier. Madame Forestier does not
recognize her as the beautiful woman she was once was. Mathilde responds bitterly that the change
in appearance was due to all the hardships she endured to replace her necklace. Madame Forestier
exclaims that the diamond necklace was a fake and not worth anything.

B. Italian Literature - written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to
literature written by Italians or in Italy in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that
are closely related to modern Italian. An early example of Italian literature is the tradition of
vernacular lyric poetry performed in Occitan, which reached Italy by the end of the 12th
century. In 1230, the Sicilian School is notable for being the first style in standard Italian.
15
 Dante, one of the greatest of Italian poets, is notable for his Divina Commedia. Petrarch did
classical research and wrote lyric poetry. Renaissance humanism developed during the 14th
and the beginning of the 15th centuries. Humanists sought to create a citizenry able to speak
and write with eloquence and clarity. Early humanists, such as Petrarch, were great collectors
of antique manuscripts. Lorenzo de Medici shows the influence of Florence on the
Renaissance. Leonardo da Vinci wrote a treatise on painting. The development of the drama in
the 15th century was very great. The fundamental characteristic of the era following
Renaissance is that it perfected the Italian character of its language. Machiavelli and
Guicciardini were the chief originators of the science of history. Pietro Bembo was an
influential figure in the development of the Italian language and an influence on the 16th-
century revival of interest in the works of Petrarch.

In 1690 the Academy of Arcadia was instituted with the goal of "restoring" literature by imitating the
simplicity of the ancient shepherds with sonnets, madrigals, canzonette and blank verse. In the 17th
century, some strong and independent thinkers, such as Bernardino Telesio, Lucilio Vanini, Bruno
and Campanella turned philosophical inquiry into fresh channels, and opened the way for the
scientific conquests of Galileo Galilei, who is notable both for his scientific discoveries and his writing.
In the 18th century, the political condition of Italy began to improve, and philosophers throughout
Europe in the period known as The Enlightenment. Apostolo Zeno and Metastasio are two of the
notable figures of the age. Carlo Goldoni, a Venetian, created the comedy of character. The leading
figure of the literary revival of the 18th century was Giuseppe Parini.

The ideas behind the French Revolution of 1789 gave a special direction to Italian literature in the
second half of the 18th century. Love of liberty and desire for equality created a literature aimed at
national object. Patriotism and classicism were the two principles that inspired the literature that
began with Vittorio Alfieri. Other patriots included Vincenzo Monti and Ugo Foscolo. The romantic
school had as its organ the Conciliatore established in 1818 at Milan. The main instigator of the
reform was Manzoni. The great poet of the age was Giacomo Leopardi. History returned to its spirit of
learned research. The literary movement that preceded and was contemporary with the political
revolution of 1848 may be said to be represented by four writers - Giuseppe Giusti, Francesco
Domenico Guerrazzi, Vincenzo Gioberti and Cesare Balbo. After the Risorgimento,political literature
becomes less important. The first part of this period is characterized by two divergent trends of
literature that both opposed Romanticism, the Scapigliatura and Verismo. Important early 20th
century writers include Italo Svevo and Luigi Pirandello (winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize in
Literature).Neorealism was developed by Alberto Moravia. Umberto Eco became internationally
successful with the Medieval detective story Il nome della rosa (The Name of the Rose, 1980).

As the Western Roman Empire declined, the Latin tradition was kept alive by writers such
as Cassiodorus, Boethius, and Symmachus. The liberal arts flourished at Ravenna under Theodoric,
and the Gothic kings surrounded themselves with masters of rhetoric and of grammar. Some lay
schools remained in Italy, and noted scholars included Magnus Felix Ennodius, Arator, Venantius
Fortunatus, Felix the Grammarian, Peter of Pisa, Paulinus of Aquileia, and many others.

Italians who were interested in theology gravitated towards Paris. Those who remained were typically
attracted by the study of Roman law. This furthered the later establishment of the medieval
universities of Bologna, Padua, Vicenza, Naples, Salerno, Modena and Parma. These helped to

16
spread culture, and prepared the ground in which the new vernacular literature developed. Classical
traditions did not disappear, and affection for the memory of Rome, a preoccupation with politics, and
a preference for practice over theory combined to influence the development of Italian literature.

Divine Comedy

By: Dante Alighieri

At the age of thirty-five, on the night of Good Friday in the year 1300, Dante finds himself lost in a
dark wood and full of fear. He sees a sun-drenched mountain in the distance, and he tries to climb it,
but three beasts, a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf, stand in his way. Dante is forced to return to the
forest where he meets the spirit of Virgil, who promises to lead him on a journey through Hell so that
he may be able to enter Paradise. Dante agrees to the journey and follows Virgil through the gates of
Hell.

The two poets enter the vestibule of Hell where the souls of the uncommitted are tormented by biting
insects and damned to chase a blank banner around for eternity. The poets reach the banks of the
river Acheron where souls await passage into Hell proper. The ferryman, Charon, reluctantly agrees
to take the poets across the river to Limbo, the first circle of Hell, where Virgil permanently resides. In
Limbo, the poets stop to speak with other great poets, Homer, Ovid, Horace, and Lucan, and then
enter a great citadel where philosophers reside.

Dante and Virgil enter Hell proper, the second circle, where monster, Minos, sits in judgment of all of
the damned, and sends them to the proper circle according to their sin. Here, Dante meets Paolo and
Francesca, the two unfaithful lovers buffeted about in a windy storm.

The poets move on to the third circle, the Gluttons, who are guarded by the monster Cerberus. These
sinners spend eternity wallowing in mud and mire, and here Dante recognizes a Florentine, Ciacco,
who gives Dante the first of many negative prophesies about him and Florence.

Upon entering the fourth circle, Dante and Virgil encounter the Hoarders and the Wasters, who spend
eternity rolling giant boulders at one another.

They move to the fifth circle, the marsh comprising the river Styx, where Dante is accosted by a
Florentine, Filippo Argenti; he is amongst the Wrathful that fight and battle one another in the mire of
the Styx.

The city of Dis begins Circle VI, the realm of the violent. The poets enter and find themselves in Circle
VI, realm of the Heretics, who reside among the thousands in burning tombs. Dante stops to speak
with two sinners, Farinata degli Uberti, Dante's Ghibelline enemy, and Cavalcante dei Cavalcanti,
father of Dante's poet friend, Guido.

The poets then begin descending through a deep valley. Here, they meet the Minotaur and see a
river of boiling blood, the Phlegethon, where those violent against their neighbors, tyrants, and war-
makers reside, each in a depth according to their sin.

Virgil arranges for the Centaur, Nessus, to take them across the river into the second round of circle
seven, the Suicides. Here Dante speaks with the soul of Pier delle Vigne and learns his sad tale.

17
In the third round of Circle VII, a desert wasteland awash in a rain of burning snowflakes, Dante
recognizes and speaks with Capaneus, a famous blasphemer. He also speaks to his beloved advisor
and scholar, Brunetto Latini. This is the round held for the Blasphemers, Sodomites, and the Usurers.

The poets then enter Circle VIII, which contains ten chasms, or ditches. The first chasm houses the
Panderers and the Seducers who spend eternity lashed by whips. The second chasm houses the
Flatterers, who reside in a channel of excrement. The third chasm houses the Simonists, who are
plunged upside-down in baptismal fonts with the soles of their feet on fire. Dante speaks with Pope
Nicholas, who mistakes him for Pope Boniface. In the fourth chasm, Dante sees the Fortune Tellers
and Diviners, who spend eternity with their heads on backwards and their eyes clouded by tears.

At the fifth chasm, the poets see the sinners of Graft plunged deeply into a river of boiling pitch and
slashed at by demons.

At the sixth chasm, the poets encounter the Hypocrites, mainly religious men damned to walk
endlessly in a circle wearing glittering leaden robes. The chief sinner here, Caiaphas, is crucified on
the ground, and all of the other sinners must step on him to pass.

Two Jovial friars tell the poets the way to the seventh ditch, where the Thieves have their hands cut
off and spend eternity among vipers that transform them into serpents by biting them. They, in turn,
must bite another sinner to take back a human form.

At the eighth chasm Dante sees many flames that conceal the souls of the Evil Counselors. Dante
speaks to Ulysses, who gives him an account of his death.

At the ninth chasm, the poets see a mass of horribly mutilated bodies. They were the sowers of
discord, such as Mahomet. They are walking in a circle. By the time they come around the circle, their
wounds knit, only to be opened again and again. They arrive at the tenth chasm the Falsifiers. Here
they see the sinners afflicted with terrible plagues, some unable to move, some picking scabs off of
one another.

They arrive at the ninth circle. It is comprised of a giant frozen lake, Cocytus, in which the sinners are
stuck. Dante believes that he sees towers in the distance, which turn out to be the Giants. One of the
Giants, Antaeus, takes the poets on his palm and gently places them at the bottom of the well.

Circle IX is composed of four rounds, each housing sinners, according to the severity of their sin. In
the first round, Caina, the sinners are frozen up to their necks in ice.

In the second round, Antenora, the sinners are frozen closer to their heads. Here, Dante accidentally
kicks a traitor in the head, and when the traitor will not tell him his name, Dante treats him savagely.
Dante hears the terrible story of Count Ugolino, who is gnawing the head and neck of Archbishop
Ruggieri, due to Ruggieri's treacherous treatment of him in the upper world.

In the third round, Ptolomea, where the Traitors to Guests reside, Dante speaks with a soul who begs
him to take the ice visors, formed from tears, out of his eyes. Dante promises to do so, but after
hearing his story refuses.

The fourth round of Circle IX, and the very final pit of Hell, Judecca, houses the Traitors to Their
Masters, who are completely covered and fixed in the ice, and Satan, who is fixed waist deep in the
ice and has three heads, each of which is chewing a traitor: Judas, Brutus, and Cassius.

18
The poets climb Satan's side, passing the center of gravity, and find themselves at the edge of the
river Lethe, ready to make the long journey to the upper world. They enter the upper world just before
dawn on Easter Sunday, and they see the stars overhead.

C. Greek Literature - refers to writings composed in areas of Greek influence, throughout the

whole period in which the Greek-speaking people have existed. Ancient Greek literature refers
to literature written in Ancient Greek from the oldest surviving written works in the Greek
language until approximately the fifth century AD and the rise of the Byzantine Empire. At the
beginning of Greek literature are works of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. In
the classical period many of the genres of western literature became more prominent. The two
major lyrical poets were Sappho and Pindar. The Classical era also saw the dawn of drama.
Two of the most influential historians were Herodotus and Thucydides. In the 4th century BC,
three philosophers are notable: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Later Greek poetry flourished
primarily in the 3rd century BC. During the Roman era, the physician Galen, in the history of
ancient science, is the most significant person in medicine after Hippocrates.

Byzantine literature refers to literature of the Byzantine Empire written in Atticizing, Medieval and

early Modern Greek. Chronicles, distinct from historic, arose in this period. Encyclopedias also
flourished in this period. Modern Greek literature refers to literature written in commonModern Greek,
emerging from late Byzantine times in the 11th century AD. The Cretan
Renaissance poem Erotokritos is the masterpiece of this early period of modern Greek literature.
Much later, Diafotismos was an ideological, philological, linguistic and philosophical movement
among 18th century Greeks that translate the ideas and values of European Enlightenment into the
Greek world. Adamantios Korais and Rigas Feraios are two of the most notable figures. The years
before the Greek Independence, the Ionian islands became the center of the Heptanese School
(literature). Notable representatives were Andreas Laskaratos, Andreas Kalvos, Aristotelis
Valaoritis and Dionysios Solomos.

Later the intellectual center was transferred in Athens. A major figure of this new era was Kostis
Palamas (1859 – 1943), considered "national poet" of Greece. Modern Greek literature is usually (but
not exclusively) written in polytonic orthography. Modern Greek literature is represented by many
writers, poets and novelists. George Seferis and Odysseas Elytis have been awarded the Nobel Prize
in Literature.

Cupid and Psyche

By: Edith Hamilton

A stunningly beautiful girl, Psyche, is born after two older sisters. People throughout the land worship
her beauty so deeply that they forget about the goddess Venus. Venus becomes angry that her
temples are falling to ruin, so she plots to ruin Psyche. She instructs her son, Cupid, to pierce the girl
with an arrow and make her fall in love with the most vile, hideous man alive. But when Cupid sees
Psyche in her radiant glory, he shoots himself with the arrow instead.

Meanwhile, Psyche and her family become worried that she will never find a husband, for although
men admire her beauty, they always seem content to marry someone else. Psyche's father prays to
Apollo for help, and Apollo instructs her to go to the top of a hill, where she will marry not a man but a
serpent. Psyche bravely follows the instructions and falls asleep on the hill. When she wakes up, she

19
discovers a stunning mansion. Going inside, she relaxes and enjoys fine food and luxurious
treatment. At night, in the dark, she meets and falls in love with her husband.

She lives happily with him, never seeing him, until one day he tells her that her sisters have been
crying for her. She begs to see them, but her husband replies that it would not be wise to do so.
Psyche insists that they visit, and when they do, they become extremely jealous of Psyche's beautiful
mansion and lush quarters. They deduce that Psyche has never seen her husband, and they
convince her that she must sneak a look. Confused and conflicted, Psyche turns on a lamp one night
as her husband lies next to her.

When she sees the beautiful Cupid asleep on her bed, she weeps for her lack of faith. Cupid
awakens and deserts her because Love cannot live where there is no trust. Cupid returns to his
mother, Venus, who again decides to enact revenge on the beautiful girl.

Psyche, meanwhile, journeys all over the land to find Cupid. She decides to go to Venus herself in a
plea for love and forgiveness, and when she finally sees Venus, the great goddess laughs aloud.
Venus shows her a heap of seeds and tells her that she must sort them all in one night's time if she
wants to see Cupid again. This task is impossible for one person alone, but ants pity Psyche and sort
the seeds for her. Shocked, Venus then orders Psyche to sleep on the cold ground and eat only a
piece of bread for dinner. But Psyche survives the night easily. Finally, Venus commands her to
retrieve a golden fleece from the river. She almost drowns herself in the river because of her sorrow,
but a reed speaks to her and suggests that she collect the golden pieces of fleece from the thorny
briar that catches it. Psyche follows these instructions and returns a sizable quantity to Venus. The
amazed goddess, still at it, now orders Psyche to fill a flask from the mouth of the River Styx. When
Psyche reaches the head of the river, she realizes that this task seems impossible because the rocks
are so dangerous. This time, an eagle helps her and fills the flask. Venus still does not give in. She
challenges Psyche to go into the underworld and have Persephone put some of her beauty in a box.
Miraculously, Psyche succeeds.

On her way toward giving the box to Venus, she becomes curious, opens the box, and instantly falls
asleep. Meanwhile, Cupid looks for Psyche and finds her sleeping. He awakens her, puts the
sleeping spell back in the box, and takes her to Zeus to request her immortality. Zeus grants the
request and makes Psyche an immortal goddess. She and Cupid are married. Venus now supports
the marriage because her son has married a goddess—and because Psyche will no longer distract
the men on earth from Venus.

D. Spanish Literature – written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently
constitutes the state of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of
other literary traditions from regions within the same territory, particularly Catalan literature,
Galician literature, and more recently a formal Basque literature. In its earliest form, Spanish
literature intersects as well with Latin, Jewish, and Arabic literary traditions of the Iberian
Peninsula.

Poetry is a strong force within Spain with many examples proving the statement. What better example
than the Generation of 27, featuring the exquisite work of Federico García Lorca, who had been

20
frequently associated with surrealist experts Salvador Dali and Luis Buñuel. If the Generation of 27
doesn't sound like the right group for you, then how about the Generation of 98? Whether you are a
passionate connoisseur of the written word or a passing visitor there will be something that will spark
your creativity in this section on Spanish literature.

The history of Spanish literature can be traced back centuries and it is clear that over this time,
Spanish literature has not only been influenced by the events happening within Spain and across the
world, but has also influenced the world itself. Spain has produced some fantastic writers in all
genres, many of whom were instrumental in the developments of some of the biggest literary
movements.

Don Quixote
By: Miguel De Cervantes
Alonso Quixano, a less-than-affluent man of fifty, "lean bodied" and "thin faced, lives modestly in the
Spanish country village of La Mancha with his niece, Antonia, and a cranky housemaid. Practical in
most things, compassionate to his social peers, the local clergy, and the servant classes, Quixano is
respectful toward the ruling classes, whom he unquestioningly accepts as his superiors. He is driven
neither by ambition for wealth and position nor bitterness at his genteel poverty.

Well-read and thoughtful, Quixano's most prized possessions are his books. From his readings and
studies, he becomes by degrees interested, then obsessed, with the codes, deeds, and tales of
chivalry — of knights errant on some courtly and idealized mission. As his appetite for the lore of
chivalry increases, Quixano begins selling off acres of his farmlands, using the funds to buy more
books, and increasingly throwing himself into his studies. "From little sleep and too much reading his
brain dried up and he lost his wits. He had a fancy . . . to turn his passion knight errant and travel
through the world with horse and armor in search of adventures" with the purpose of "redressing all
manner of wrongs."

At length, he is galvanized into action by his passion for the chivalric code. Outfitting himself with
some old rusty armor, Quixano enlists his spavined hack horse to go forth in search of knightly
adventures. Hopeful of finding a proper noble to dub him, Quixano finally is licensed in his venture by
an innkeeper who believes him to be a lord of a manor. Now Quixano is "Don Quixote de La
Mancha"; the tired hack and dray horse becomes elevated to "Rosinante."

All the new knight needs now in order to venture forth is a lady to whose service he is sworn and a
servant or page. For the former, he chooses Dulcinea del Tobosa, named after Aldonza Lorenzo, a
farm girl whom he had been taken with at one time.
After three days on the road, Quixote encounters a group of traveling salesmen whom he attacks
after they refuse to acknowledge Dulcinea's great beauty. He is badly beaten by the servant of the
salesman and forced to accept the help of a neighbor, who brings him home on the back of a donkey.

While he is recovering, Quixote is forced to watch as his housekeeper, a barber, and a priest burn all
his books on chivalry in an attempt to persuade him to give up his improbable quest. But this only
fuels Quixote's determination. He persuades Sancho Panza, a plump, simple-minded-but-
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opportunistic laborer, to serve as his page, by playing on his ambitions. Don Quixote promises
Sancho his own island to govern, for surely such a splendid knight as he is sure to become will soon
take many spoils.

And so this pair set forth, Quixote on his spavined old horse, Panza mounted on Dapple, his mule.
Their second adventure lasts for three weeks and is comprised of a series of events that comprise the
balance of Book One. Among other things, Quixote battles windmills, thinking them to be giants. At an
inn, which he mistakes for a castle, Quixote is visited in bed by a maid, who causes a great uproar
when she discovers she has come to the wrong room. Refusing to pay the bill and accusing the
innkeeper of being inhospitable, Quixote is rousted, only to fall promptly into another misadventure
with a religious procession, and yet other ironic and error-prone encounters with locals.

Interspersed among these adventures are a series of stories and moral tales, illustrating the pastoral
storytelling tradition in Spain. As well, there are two long, learned disquisitions, delivered by Quixote.
The first is a description of the Golden Age of mythology, told during a supper shared with some
unlettered goatherds who don't understand a word he says. Later on, Quixote addresses a company
during dinner at an inn in a debate about whether the career of arms is superior to that of letters, or
vice versa.

Throughout the adventures it becomes clear that Quixote, for all his seeming madness, is a mild-
mannered, empathetic man, genuine in his concern for chivalric ideals. Although he has agendas of
his own, Sancho Panza has come to believe in and show loyalty to his new master. But in spite of all
his good intentions, Quixote's quest leads him to be returned home, imprisoned in a cage on an ox-
cart by his village priest and barber for Don Quixote's own good.

Published in a separate volume, Book Two of Don Quixote's adventures contains a unique feature.
Shortly after Book One was published and Cervantes was at work on Book Two, he got word of the
appearance of a pirated Book Two in which the author, a writer named Avellaneda, presumed to write
further adventures of the knight, going so far as to renounce his service to Dulcinea. Cervantes was
at Chapter 59 in Book Two, having Quixote and Panza headed to a jousting tournament in
Saragossa. Now, angered by the pirated version, Cervantes sets forth in revenge by having Quixote
and Panza eating dinner at an inn and "overhearing" talk of the Avellaneda version. The knight and
squire promptly set forth to Barcelona, home of Don Alvaro Tarfe, a character from the Avellaneda
book. When they arrive in Barcelona, they kidnap the Avellaneda character.

Book Two also introduces the character of Samson Carrasco, a young man from Don Quixote's
village. A recent graduate of Salamanca University, Carrasco takes on the earlier roles of the priest
and the barber in attempting to rescue and keep Don Quixote away from danger, but Don Quixote is
not interested in being "rescued." He is determined to go to Tobosa to pay his respects to Dulcinea.
They encounter three peasant girls and by some deception, Sancho hopes that his master will accept
one of these as being Dulcinea. When events or appearances run counter to his expectations, Don
Quixote tends to believe that enchanters have worked their mischief. In this instance, he believes
enchanters have made Dulcinea look like an ugly peasant girl.

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Don Quixote unexpectedly wins a battle with a knight (The Knight of the Mirrors), who turns out to be
none other than Samson Carrasco in disguise. Samson had hoped to get the Don back home to
safety by disguising himself as a rival knight. The plan backfires. Shortly afterwards, Don Quixote and
Sancho Panza meet the "Knight in the Green Topcoat," which includes the episode of the lion with
whom the Don wants to do battle.

The major portion of this section is devoted to an unnamed duke and duchess who, with their
retainers, play a series of pranks — in the form of burlesque pageants — on Quixote. They also
cause injury to both the knight and his squire. Another vital element is the appointment of Sancho
Panza as governor of an island — another elaborate prank that ends with Panza renouncing the life
of a feudal governor and showing a deep layer of loyalty to Quixote.

Once again Samson Carranzo appears, this time at the beach in Barcelona where, in the guise of
The Knight of the White Moon, he challenges Don Quixote to battle. Of course, Quixote accepts the
challenge and, in the presence of the viceroy and a distinguished company, is roundly defeated. A
condition of Quixote's defeat is that he abandon knight errantry for the rest of his life.

In the remaining chapters, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza return to La Mancha, but not before they
experience an additional stay with the Duke and Duchess and sundry other humiliating experiences
suffered by the ex-knight.

When they arrive home, Don Quixote, apparently broken in spirit, is put to bed. After a long sleep, he
declares his name to be Alonso Quixano once more and appears to have regained his reason.
Shortly after he denounces chivalry and knighthood, he dies among the lamentation of friends.

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