Poetry and Culture in Middle Kingdom Egypt: A Dark Side to Perfection (Studies in Egyptology and the Ancient Near East)

An in-depth study of the legacy of Egyptian poetry from the period 1940-1640 BC. As well as looking at the texts themselves, Parkinson explores the broader context of the role of literature during this period, whether for entertainment or propaganda purposes, and the social and ideological background to literary style, themes, metrics, authorship, audience and performance.