[1] It was on a writing board which suggests it was regarded as a text for school and is currently held in the British Museum.
[2] The dating is not established as fact, but is thought to be near that time period and the writing of Khakheperraseneb tells a story of suffering.
The Middle Kingdom was a period of reunification after Mentuhotep II’s defeat of the rival 10th Dynasty of Herakleopolis that would last for about 400 years.
The Middle Kingdom was known for its cultural realm, and the works of literature during this time would later be referred to as classics by Ancient Egyptians.
[8] Literature had a strong impact and “many of the works known today were composed in the Middle Kingdom, and later Egyptians saw several of them as classics.
[11] Miriam Lichtheim believes that the Complaints are nothing more than literature although she does leave the door open for possible political criticism.
[13]” Evidence showed that Egypt was largely in a prosperous state at the likely time of the writing.
[15] Assman continues on by saying that “the bard embodies and performs a tradition, an author changes it by adding to it.
[19]” A writer who is revered would either have had more well-known compositions or his complaints were originally a larger piece and astounded future Egyptians looking back on his work.
The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 69 (1983): 88. doi:10.2307/3821439 [14] Assmann, Jan. "Cultural Memory and the Myth of the Axial Age."
In The Axial Age and Its Consequences, edited by Bellah Robert N. and Joas Hans, 366-408.