The Shape of Stories
Narrative Structures in Cuneiform Literature
Published on 30. March 2023
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-90-04-53714-9 (ISBN)
Description
How were narratives composed in the ancient Near East? What patterns and principles, constraints and considerations guided the shaping of cuneiform stories? The study of narrative structures has emerged as a promising approach to the textual heritage of the cuneiform world. Engaging with practically any ancient text-whether literary, historical, or religious-requires some understanding of the narrative forms that shaped their content. This volume gives researchers the tools to better understand those form, illustrating each approach to narrative analysis with a case study from the cultures of the ancient Near East: Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Hittite.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
661 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-04-53714-9 (9789004537149)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Sophus Helle, Ph.D. (2020), Aarhus University, is a postdoctoral researcher in Assyriology at Freie Universitaet Berlin. His translation of Gilgamesh and the poems of Enheduana, the world's first author, are published with Yale University Press.
Gina Konstantopoulos, Ph.D. (2015), University of Michigan, is Assistant Professor of Assyriology and Cuneiform Studies at the University of California Los Angeles. Her monograph on the Sebettu-demons is forthcoming with Brill.
Gina Konstantopoulos, Ph.D. (2015), University of Michigan, is Assistant Professor of Assyriology and Cuneiform Studies at the University of California Los Angeles. Her monograph on the Sebettu-demons is forthcoming with Brill.
Content
List of Figures and Tables
Notes on Contributors
1 Introduction: Narratology and Cuneiform Studies
?Sophus Helle and Gina Konstantopoulos
Part 1 Stitching a Story
2 Recurrent Structures in the Sumerian Gilgamesh Cycle
?Alhena Gadotti
3 Transition and Cohesion in the Tale of Zalpa
?Robert Marineau
4 Unreliable Foreshadowing in Divine Predictions
?Louise Pryke
Part 2 Medium and Emotion
5 Tablets as Narrative Episodes in Babylonian Poetry
?Sophus Helle
6 The Dynamics of Repetition in Akkadian Epics
?Selena Wisnom
7 Charting Emotional Shapes in Cuneiform Literature
?Gina Konstantopoulos
8 Representing Time in the Kiutu Incantation-Prayers
?Beatrice Baragli
Part 3 The Shape of the Past
9 Historical Explanation in the Babylonian Chronicles
?Ben Dewar
10 The "Pre-History" of the Sumerian King List and its Narrative Residue
?Goesta Gabriel
11 Blank Space: Akkadian Metapoetics in the Bel-etir Narrative
?Claudio Sansone
Part 4 Excavating Narratives
12 In Search of Dumuzi: An Introduction to Hylistic Narratology
?Annette Zgoll, Benedicte Cuperly, and Annika Coester-Gilbert
Index
Notes on Contributors
1 Introduction: Narratology and Cuneiform Studies
?Sophus Helle and Gina Konstantopoulos
Part 1 Stitching a Story
2 Recurrent Structures in the Sumerian Gilgamesh Cycle
?Alhena Gadotti
3 Transition and Cohesion in the Tale of Zalpa
?Robert Marineau
4 Unreliable Foreshadowing in Divine Predictions
?Louise Pryke
Part 2 Medium and Emotion
5 Tablets as Narrative Episodes in Babylonian Poetry
?Sophus Helle
6 The Dynamics of Repetition in Akkadian Epics
?Selena Wisnom
7 Charting Emotional Shapes in Cuneiform Literature
?Gina Konstantopoulos
8 Representing Time in the Kiutu Incantation-Prayers
?Beatrice Baragli
Part 3 The Shape of the Past
9 Historical Explanation in the Babylonian Chronicles
?Ben Dewar
10 The "Pre-History" of the Sumerian King List and its Narrative Residue
?Goesta Gabriel
11 Blank Space: Akkadian Metapoetics in the Bel-etir Narrative
?Claudio Sansone
Part 4 Excavating Narratives
12 In Search of Dumuzi: An Introduction to Hylistic Narratology
?Annette Zgoll, Benedicte Cuperly, and Annika Coester-Gilbert
Index