Explain the historical importance of Sei Shonagon’s zuihitsu, The Pillow Book, and suggest what can be learned about the Heian court by analyzing at least three of the details provided in “Hateful Things” (Reading 11.5b)
Please provide the best answer for the statement
1) Aside from poetry and diaries, the women of the Japanese court also created a new literary form, the zuihitsu (literally, “by the line of the brush”), random notes or occasional writings. The first of these was The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, lady-in-waiting to the imperial consort Teishi and head of a literary salon that introduced considerable literary innovation. The clarity of Sei Shonagon’s observation in The Pillow Book gives the reader a remarkable overview of daily life in the Heian court. Sei Shonagon looks at the entirety of her world, from its insects to the palace dog
2) Students’ choice of details from the reading, and their analysis of their significance, will vary
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