Assignment:
Read the textbook A Ninth-Century Nobleman and the Courtly Ideal
Discussion Focus:
1. Ise is strongly organized around poetry. In your discussion with your peers this week, discuss with appropriate page citation and detailed reference to text...
2. What is the relationship between poetry and prose in Tales of Ise?
3. What characterizes the love relationship as depicted in Tales of Ise? Is it consistent, or are there differences in the different sections? How is gender represented in Ise?
4. Is there a basic unifying factor in Tales of Ise? If so, what? A "Courtly Ideal"? A set of ‘rules of taste' such as sobriety, restraint, formality, but also lyrical, emotional? Explain with specific passages.