AP World History

OPTIC

The OPTIC Strategy for Visual Analysis is a simple method of rhetorical criticism designed to help with the process of analyzing visuals. OPTIC is an acronym, standing for Overview, Parts, Title, Interrelationship, and Conclusion.

OPTIC

•O = Overview – A general statement of what you see as your first impression

•P = Parts – What specific parts are there in the visual? You should describe each piece

•T = Title – What is the title of the piece?

•I = Interrelationships – How do the parts interrelate? How does the title fit into this interrelationship?

•C = Conclusion – What can you conclude about this visual? What does it mean or represent?

Applying Optic

(see image)

Overview: The coffin lid depicts a very lifelike person with dark hair and eyes and a very decorated headdress

Parts: The head has fancy hair and a hat. The eyes are almond shaped and have make-up on them. The breastplate of the person looks very intricate, maybe woven, perhaps made out of various materials like teeth, bones, etc. Although the coffin is made out of wood, the part under the necklace looks like it is made of bronze. There might be some hieroglyphs in the middle

Title: Wooden coffin of the mummy of Nesperennub

Interrelationships: Not sure whether this is a man or a woman’s coffin, but it is definitely a well-preserved coffin. Looking at the title and at the coffin, it is Egyptian and clearly old. It isn’t gold, however, only wood. Does that mean the person wasn’t wealthy?

Conclusion: This is well-preserved sarcophagus for an upper-class Egyptian. The fancy hairdo and headgear and the bronzing on the coffin suggests that it belonged to someone from the upper class. Only people from the upper classes had coffins as elaborate as this one. The fact that it isn’t made of gold either indicates that the person wasn’t royalty, or that it is one of the outer coffins that were usually not gold but wood. In any case, it is a great example of what Egyptians in 800 BCE must have looked and dressed like