Doug Bingle
Humanities
Mr. Ludt
11/3/2015
Egyptian Secular Poetry
When most people think of the Ancient Egyptians, they associate them with the great
pyramids, the pharaohs, and hieroglyphics. Seen inside the tombs of the Great Pyramids,
hieroglyphics are the most commonly known form of Egyptian writing, but they were mainly
used in tandem with religious beliefs and practices. Scraps of Egyptian pottery and papyrus have
been discovered in the village of Deir el Medina that depict the daily life of the Egyptians in
writing. Unlike other developed societies of the time, day to day life revolved around
communication; the people of Deir el medina enjoyed sharing relationships with one another.
The love between two people was often represented through poetry, and these poems, authored
by common men and women, vividly depicted their relationships. Writers of this poetry,
distinguished by gender, used class-defined constraints and distinct imagery to chronicle the
robustness of their relations.
In Egyptian secular poetry the men give meaning to their poems by capturing the physical
beauty of the females, detailing physical and social differences between them and the females.
For example, the author of “How Well She Knows to Cast the Noose” characterizes the woman
so beautifully that he is incomparable to her. She “casts the noose on [him] with her hair, /She
captures [him] with her eye; /She curbs [him] with her necklace.” The writer highlights the
woman’s beauty in order to show how much control she has over him, simply by being beautiful.
In the words of another male author, the poem, “I Wish I Were Her Laundryman,” describes his
longing for a woman whom he can hope only to work for. It is his greatest desire to, “be faithful
to pick up the bundles, /Sturdy to beat clean the heavy linens, /But gentle to touch those finespun
things.” A clear class difference can be observed here, where the man can interact with the
woman he longs for only by tending to her chores. Through the detailed descriptions of
separation between males and females, the male writers add meaning to their writing to
emphasize their love.
Conversely, the female authors of the following poems used social differences and
familial contrasts to show their love for men. This is seen in the poem “I Passed before His
House” when the author describes her love for the man that cannot be achieved. The woman
wishes to embrace a man and “If only the mother knew [her] heart” could she continue her love
for him. She and the mother are separated by a societal boundary, such that the mother never
learns of the woman’s intent, accentuating the difference between the two in society. On the
other hand, the poem “My Brother Torments My Heart” highlights a familial difference between
two lovers. The writer, a woman, captures this difference in families with the line “Mother is
right in charging him thus: /’Give up seeing her!’” Here, the woman’s mother is the force that
divides the two lovers, creating a rift between them and the two families. Although separated
from their lovers, the female authors of Egyptian secular poetry focus on the contrasts between
families and societal classes to empower their writing.
In the village of Deir el Medina, both men and women used vivid imagery to express
their love for one another. The males generally used similes, whereas the females often
personified their hearts to add meaning to their poems. In the words of a male poet, the poem
“The Sister Without Peer” details the beauty of his woman by using similes. The author writes
that his partner “looks like the rising morning star /At the start of a happy year…When she steps
outside she seems /Like that the Sun!” This is also seen in “It Is Her Love that Gives Me
Strength” when the author’s heart “bounds in its place, /Like the red fish in its pond.” On the
other hand, in “My Heart Flutters Hastily,” a female poet shows how her heart longs for a man
whom she cannot stop thinking about. This is highlighted when she writes “My heart, don’t act
so stupidly, /Why do you play the fool… Be steady when you think of him, /My heart, do not
flutter!” While she may not want to say that she loves the man, the writer shows her true love for
him through her heart in her poetry. Another example of this is in the poem “My Brother
Overwhelms My Heart.” In this poem, the author writes that “My brother overwhelms my heart
with his words.” This adds character to the poet’s heart, evoking images for the reader. Both
genders use imagery to highlight their love; the males primarily use similes, and the females tend
to personify their hearts. When both writing strategies are applied to poetry, the writers
effectively communicate their love for one another.
The writers in the village of Deir el Medina wrote poems to show describe their love for
one another. The poems focus on varying aspects of ancient Egyptian life that depend on the
gender of the author. These selections show not only the love affairs of a select group of
Egyptian authors, but also the class system and social hierarchies that define them. In Egyptian
secular poetry, both males and females bring attention to the distinguished classes and social
constructs of ancient Egyptian society. By examining this poetry, the daily life of Egyptians in
Deir el Medina is comparable to other civilizations of the time. Apart from scholars and the
upper classes within ancient civilizations, the populations are generally seen as illiterate. Yet, the
remarkable amount of poems retrieved from this village suggests that the Egyptians were an
elevated society that had an unprecedented system of communication unique to its people.