ASIAN AND

AFRICAN
LITERATURE
EGYPTIAN
LITERATURE
 Egyptian literature began in
antiquity, about five thousand years
before Christ.
The earliest Egyptian writings were
cut on stone monuments and tombs.
The papyrus is a form of writing
material taken from the reed which
grew in the Nile. Papyrus ceased to be
used when the reeds became extinct.
But many of the ancient Egyptian
writings on papyri are still in existence
today. They are to be found in
museums and libraries. The most
important ones are in the British
Museum in London.
Egyptian writings consisted of three
different forms;
The hieroglyphics, the oldest
form, the characters of which
depicted the objects or ideas
expressed by line drawings;
The hieratic symbols, simpler
and more conventionalized in form
than the hieroglyphics. The
characters were used on the papyrus
manuscripts;
The demotic symbols were used
about the seventeenth century B.C.
They were widely used in
commercial documents.
HEBREW
LITERATURE
 Since most Filipinos are Christians,
knowledge of Hebrew literature which
contains many of the religious beliefs
inculcated in the people by Christian
missionaries is important. It is for this reason
that this section immediately follows
Philipppine literature.
The Hebrew Bible is a whole library of prose and poetry with poetry
predominating.

The Hebrew is of the desert and is governed by its immutable laws.

Above all the Hebrew is a poet and with his imagination, transports the
commonplace into a thing of sensous beauty.

The Old Testament consists of different types of literature all expressing

the various aspects of the national, religious, and aesthetic life of the
Hebrew people of ancient time.

The New Testament pictures the lives and the teachings of Jesus of
Nazareth and His followers or disciples.
ARABIC
LITERATURE
 The biggest group among the non-Christians are
the Muslims of Mindanao whose literature springs
mostly from Arabian literature.

Arabic poetry is characteristically witty and

satirical. Each line is a compact thought filled with
meaning. The poems give praises to such virtues as
truthfulness, hospitality, generosity, and love of
freedom.
 The Arabs produced one of the most famous
collections of tales in the world known as The
Thousand and One Nights, or The Arabian Nights.

Music and poetry were very much a part of court

life of the great Haroun-al Raschid as the reader of
Arabian Nights Entertainment has known.
PERSIAN
LITERATURE
 Persian literature is more of poetry than prose
with the rose and the nightingale figuring
conspicuously. The poetry of Persia has understones
of pessimism which in effect stifles as one reads on
as though he were surrounded by heavily perfumed
air. Its elegance borders on the artificial and its over-
elaborate and mystic interpretation of life and death
becomes monotonous.
 Persian poetry places emphasis on
form rather than thought. It is filled with
descriptions of moonlight, of gardens, of
love, of wine.
INDIAN
LITERATURE
Indian literature carries the distinction of including two major epics, the Mahabharata and
the Ramayana