For Wednesday: "The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant" (pp.58-75)

Here's the full text of the poem for those still without the book: http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/texts/the_eloquent_peasant.htm

Remember that the "China" group will answer these questions and should be prepared to discuss them on Wednesday.

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: For a 21st century reader, it seems subversive to have a poem about a peasant demanding justice from his social superiors. Do you think the Egyptians would have read it this way? Does the poem use the peasant to criticize the injustice of their society? Or does the peasant receive a lesson from his superiors?

Q2: In one passage, the peasant exclaims, "The tongue of men is their balance" (73). What do you think this means, and how does it tie into the power of speech in the poem itself? Why do the Egyptians prize the ability to speak and write above everything else? (consider, too, that the poem is called "The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant"). 

Q3: At one point the peasant cries, "A fourth time appealing to you! Shall I continue at it all day?" (69). Why do you think the High Stewart ignores the peasant's entreaties for so long? Does he need to be convinced, or does he have another plan in mind? 

Q4: Throughout the poem, the peasant uses metaphors to make his case, such as: "For a gardener of wretchedness/is now watering his plot with bad,/to make his plot grow with falsehood,/to water the evil of the entire estate" (70). Why do you think he use this tactic when talking to the High Stewart, rather than simply coming out with his greviances? Is this more effecitve? Is there a specific metaphor he uses that seems to powerfully make his case?