The Tale Of Genji

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1008

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PROLOGUE-CHAPTER 1

Reading Check

1. Whose daughter is Tamakazura?

2. What does Tamakazura accuse Genji of being?

3. Whom does the Kokiden Consort wish to see become the Emperor’s heir?

4. Why is the Emperor interested in Lady Fujitsubo?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Genji tease Tamakazura about her copying?

2. What merit does Genji see in fictional writings?

3. What conflict surrounds Genji’s mother at court?

4. What is the Emperor’s motivation for demoting Genji to commoner status?

Paired Resource

“Critical Art: Plato and Aristotle’s Debate Over Poetry”

This review from Rhetoric Society Quarterly explores the division between Plato and Aristotle on the matter of poetry and its worth.
This resource relates to the theme of The Truths Within Fiction and Poetry.
What is the basis of the disagreement between Aristotle and Plato about poetry? Do they mean the same thing by “poetry” as we mean when we use the word today? Which of the two philosophers would Genji agree with most? Why?

CHAPTERS 2-3

Reading Check

1. How old is Genji at the beginning of Chapter 2?