Abstract

Both the Iliad and the Heike monogatari have received scholarly attention throughout the years, though rarely in comparison with one another. A few scholars, such as Tyler Creer and Naoko Yamagata, have attempted to examine the two side by side, but very little work has been done beyond their respective analyses. This is unsurprising as a cursory glance at the two texts suggests that they are too separated by time and space to warrant closer examination. I argue, however, that there is great value in analyzing the two side by side. Indeed, a closer look at these texts reveals that they bear striking similarities, both thematically and narratively. One particularly intriguing similarity is the narrative use of liminality and space. In both texts, the narrator utilizes liminal spaces to push back against prevailing attitudes towards war and the warrior ethos so prevalent in both the Archaic Greek and medieval Japanese cultures. The implementation of space is twofold: to show the humanity of the characters involved and to reveal how war disrupts societal structures. Thus, in both texts these in-between spaces become a vehicle to question the Japanese and Greek warrior ethic. This demonstrates how even in cultures where war is glorified, there is still a hesitation to completely embrace it, and this hesitation is made manifest in the way that it is portrayed in poetry and literature.

Degree

College and Department

Humanities; Comparative Arts and Letters

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/