• The Muslim faith prescribes 5 articles of faith, or “pillars” of Islam: 1) daily prayer, 2) charity, 3) fasting, 4) pilgrimage, and 5) profession of faith. Where do you find examples of or injunctions to these acts in the selections you read?
• Who is the speaker? What is the speaker’s purpose? Who is his audience?a
• The Qur’an retells several episodes from both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Gospels. What facts differ in the Islamic telling and how do this differences change the emphasis?
• It what ways does the Qur’an proclaim a new “covenant” with the “People of the Book”?
• Why do you think the Qur’an emphasizes both the singular (unitarian) nature of God and the humanity of Jesus?
• Come up with one additional questions from your reading to pose to the class.

For this blog post I decided to answer one of the discussion questions on The Classic of Poetry. The question is “how do repetition and variation function in the poems? Think in terms of the analogies the poems draw between natural and human cycles.” Now I believe that repetition and variation emphasizes melodic rhythm and highlights certain words or phases to show its importance and cater to its meaning. A great example of this is the poem “Plums Are Falling.” This poem describes a woman’s journey of finding a suitable man for herself. The recurring line Plums are falling signifies the decreasing amount of available men that she is capable of marrying. In the first stanza, she states ‘seven are the fruits’ and in the second stanza ‘three are the fruits,’ referencing that as time goes by, the chances of finding that right one is getting smaller and smaller.

Also the poem “Peach Tree Soft and Tender” is a great example of repetition and variation is utilized. This poem is depicts the life of woman as she transitions into being a wife and her obligations to her family (home). The line ‘Peach Tree Soft and Tender’ symbolizes the woman. The beginning of the first stanza, ‘Peach tree soft and tender, how your blossoms glows’ relates to the young lady being in the process of growing in to a woman; the beginning of the second stanza ‘Peach tree soft and tender, plump, the ripening fruit’ relates to the young lady in her prime getting ready for marriage; and lastly the beginning of the third stanza ‘Peach tree soft and tender, its leaves spread thick and full’ illustrates the young lady as a fully blossomed woman and her succeeding as a wife, mother and daughter.

These examples of repetition show the realities of what it means to be a woman, more so the cycle of being a woman. The poem “Peach Tree Soft and Tender” seems to describe the overall process of being a woman whereas the “Plums Are Falling” specifically sheds light on the process of getting a husband and becoming a wife, hoping to get the right one in the end.

In this poetry, the narrator is providing us insights regarding the proper morals and values in his era. “Huge rat, huge rat” is repeated 3 times in line 1, 9 and 17. The huge rat can be interpreted in many different ways. One way to describe a rat is that they are ugly, dirty and is known as pest for some people. The Great Plague and the Black Death pandemic are some example of how toxic and deadly rats can be. Rats can also be seen as sneaky and deceitful. To compare someone to rat illustrate that the rat figure in the poetry is too good of a person.

The poetry also shows a movement of feelings and emotions as well as the actions and responds that correspond to each time period. For instance, “For 3 years I’ve fed you, yet you pay me no heed”, “ For 3 years I’ve fed you and you showed me no gratitude”, “For 3  years I have fed you and you won’t reward my toil.” The narrator is expressing a grievance and sense of tolerance towards the rat. Proper morals and values in the Asian culture relates to how one should be grateful of a person good deed. The rat seem to lack proper manners by paying no heed, showing no gratitude and not rewarding their toil.

To summarize the passage, the writer is being taken advantage of by the rat. The rat is benefiting from the farmer as he grows his crops. It seems through each passage the farmer’s crops grows to better stock (from millet, wheat, to sprouts) and the greedy rat is taking more. The rat dwells in the farmer’s land. In the end, it seems that the farmer wants to move away from where the rat dwells because he no longer wants to be taken advantage of by. The farmer dreams of living in a happier place where the rat has no control over him.

When news of Hector’s death reaches the city of Ilion, all the people are devastated. The women, especially are completely shattered and play a crucial role in lamenting his death. Personally, I feel that women are more sensitive and prone to emotions. So I can see a relation between the women of that society, several of thousands of years ago and the women now, of the 21st century. Hector’s beloved wife, Andromache faces so much grief and constantly worries about her status as a widow and her son’s as an orphan. I think it is pretty interesting to see how powerful a man is to his family’s reputation. It seems that without a male figure in a family the others lose their self-value and pride.

One of the most important women in Hector’s life, Hecuba, his mother undoubtedly suffers an unbearable amount of pain. She refers to him as her heart, an affectionate and very touching statement. It is difficult to miss her saying that Hector is the dearest of all her children. Nowadays, I think that as much as parents deny that they don’t have favorites among their children, they actually do. Some members of the family just understand each other much better than do others and grow attached to them.
Hector’s sister-in-law Helen, also laments his death. She acknowledges his support and kindness that he displayed towards her while alive. She has good things to say about him after his death. I think Helen plays the role of friends who mourn for their friends after they pass away and remember or recall the good things that their friends did when they were alive.

• In the Norton headnote, xing is translated ‘evocative image’: “Xing brings natural images into suggestive resonance with human situations.” How does xing function both in the form and the meaning of the first 4 selections?
• These poems are clearly different in form and scope from the epic verse we’ve read so far. But are there similarities as well: In religious and moral instruction? Literary elements? Traces of oral performance? Find some examples of these.
• How do repetition and variation function in the poems? Think in terms of the analogies the poems draw between natural and human cycles.
• Why do you suppose these poems are so central to Confucianism? What values in the teachings of Confucius are celebrated in these poems?
• In the Analects, Confucius writes “The three hundred Poems are summed up in one single phrase: ‘Think no evil’.” Is this evident in the poems you read? Where?

My discussion is going to touch almost all the three books (XVIII, XXII and XXIV) in the Iliad, and is respectively about i) the death of Patroclus which drives Achilles to go to war with Hector, ii) the confrontation between Achilles and Hector which ends by Hector’s death and iii) the intervention of gods so that Achilles releases Hector’s corpse to Priam, his father. In these books, the conflicts between humans and divines as well as between humans themselves can be clearly noticed in some passages.

When Antilochus announced the death of Patroclus to Achilles, his rage went up as if it was the straw that broke the camel (XVIII, 23-38). Achilles and Hector were both known to be strong heroes, so each one’s parent fears his son to lose glory. Thetis’ reaction, Achilles’ mother, is like any mother who fears to see her son committed to sacrifice his life. She knows that she has to seek reinforcement for his son, and she did so from Hephaestus (XVIII, 137-146) because she wants to see him back glorious. Hector’s family fears the same way to lose glory when he faces Achilles, his father and mother as well as his wife begged him to not confront with Achilles. The negotiation that Hector proposes to Achilles is not credible for a hero (XXII, 306-315) who cannot give up in front of his enemy for any reasons.

All the gods react almost very weakly, they look most like kings than divines, they are not neutral instead they were divided between them, some supported Achilles while others Hector, there was none punishment from any of them to either Achilles or Hector. Many of them contribute to Achilles’ victory, for example when Iris asks Achilles, despite his armor being held by the Trojans, to be courageous and go to the war (XVIII, 208-209). The reaction of Zeus in book XXIV, describes most likely his weakness as a king of all the gods, he should prevent what happened instead of intervening so that Achilles gives back Hector to his father. The passage (XXIV, 70-82) between his wife Hera and him tells us more about his weakness to convince her.

Did really Achilles revenge the death of his friend when dragging Hector’s corpse, I think no because, even though it is in a context of war, violence cannot be resolved by violence instead it will increase rage. However, I would consider it true if Achilles did not take gifts from Priam, (XXIV, 244-254) but did it just because Zeus had asked him to do it.

• Although the Trojan War is prosecuted by men, it has particular and wide-ranging effects on the women of Troy and the surrounding area. Describe women’s role as both agents and casualties of war.
• What reasons does Achilles give for refusing Agamemnon’s enticements to return to battle? Do you agree with his decision? (See Book IX, line 311-441)
• In several places in Book XVI the gods intervene directly in the fates of men in battle (e.g. Zeus and Sarpedon, Apollo and Patroclus). What is the gods’ relationship to fate? Can they overrule fate? What are the consequences of the gods’ interfering too much?
• What mistakes does Patroclus make that bring about his fate?
• In several places, Patroclus is addressed directly, in the 2nd person, by the speaker of the epic (XVI.615; XVI.721; XVI.826). What effect does this have on the narrative?