4 ms·
I don't get why people are defining "literature" so narrowly as to exclude things like wisdom literature. Ecclesiastes isn't literature? Or the poetry of Hesiod
by xhevahir 4y ago
I don't get why people are defining "literature" so narrowly as to exclude things like wisdom literature. Ecclesiastes isn't literature? Or the poetry of Hesiod? That's pretty eccentric.
There's also the problem of applying the criterion of "fiction" to cultures that had no such concept. (The beginning of this article goes into it: https://theamericanscholar.org/fictions-revenge/ https://theamericanscholar.org/fictions-revenge/ .)
- generationP 4y agoBoth way newer than Gilgamesh.
- xhevahir 4y agoI was taking issue with the prevailing definition in this thread of literature as "high fiction." Not suggesting that those two examples are older than Gilgamesh.
- goto11 4y agoGilgamesh has characters and a long story with character development, which makes it quite distinct from other kinds of writing like inventories, prayers, collections of advice etc. Typically it is called the first epic. The article is kind of a straw-man - nobody have claimed Gilgamesh is the first writing we have.