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Dr. Theresa Thompson
English 2110
Fall 2010
The Epic of
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh, King of Uruk.
Oldest version is written in cuneiform script, in ancient
Sumerian language of Babylon, on clay tablets.
Three major versions of the later Akkadian Epic of
Gilgamesh.
Retains
features of
oral tradition
of
storytelling
and employs
features of
written
literary
traditions.
Articulates a
specific
cultural
view.
Old Babylonian (OB) Version,
~1700 b.c.e., author created a
unified Epic about the hero
Gilgamesh.
Standard Babylonian (SB) elevenand twelve-tablet versions
represent the two most important
post-Old Babylonian Akkadian
versions.
There are 11 Tablets of the Epic
accepted without controversy.
The 12th Tablet remains
controversial: Gilgamesh’s Descent
into the Netherworld.
Death and Irony in the Epic
Abusch: “… man, hero, king, god. Gilgamesh must learn to live…. But the work
emphasizes the theme of death and explores the realization that in spite of even
the greatest achievements and powers, a human is nonetheless powerless against
death.”
“Thus in the
final
analysis,
Gilgamesh
must also
come to
terms with
his own
nature and
learn to die,
for he is both
a man and a
god, and as
both he will
experience
loss and will
die.”
Vulpe: Gilgamesh's trnasforms “from a god (a being unconscious of any
contradiction between his will and the world) into a man, a being greater even than
his gods, a being only too conscious of the limits of his powers, but also a being
able to transcend his own, immediate interests….’”
“… the fundamental irony of the poem, the profound discordance between the
hero's view of himself and his world, and the audience's understanding of this
world, [is] the audience's foreknowledge of the hero's fate.”
“This foreknowledge is crucial to the effectiveness of the poem's irony.
Before Gilgamesh, we have seen the abyss. We know what he does not
know, and we can thus watch him live greatness and despair as he
searches for himself the solution to which we know he must come.”
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Literary Language
Complex tropes involve
heightened language,
complex mental
associations.
Tropes
• Any language that
makes a mindpicture.
• Simple tropes are
straightforward
descriptions.
• “He is the strongest in
the world,…” (14)
• Similetic: examination by
comparison of
similarities.
• Analogy, contrast,
allusion, parabola,
allegory.
• “…he is like a bull.”
• Metaphoric: Tenor and
vehicle.
• one thing is spoken of in
terms of another. The thing
being spoken of is the
tenor; the thing in terms of
which it's being spoken is
called the vehicle.
Symbol /
symbolism
• concrete item(s) or
event(s) that
represent an abstract
concept or range of
concepts.
• Example: Gilgamesh’s
concrete journey
represents abstract
ideas about his growth,
change, development,
transition.
Symbolism
Symbolic journey: from barbarism to civilization.
Gilgamesh doesn’t know how to be human: Enkidu is made to teach him. (13)
Enkidu must learn to be civilized—and women make men civilized (14-15)
Journey of mortal life leads to death. (26, 27-28, 32-33)
Wilderness symbol:
despair & fear create
mental chaos—
Gilgamesh seeks
order, meaning.
Death is the end of
all flesh; Gilgamesh’s
name only endures
because he has been
heroic in human
terms. (40)
Snake as symbol: Sheds his skin, symbol of
eternal regeneration of nature (33, 39).
Ningizzida: god of the serpent and the tree of life (40).
Does this story seem familiar?
Additional Elements to Consider
Babylonian Captivity (586 b.c.e.-516 b.c.e.)
Oral
Traditions:
close to
the life
world;
adapt
older
stories to
present
situations.
Gilgamesh shares many features
with other ancient texts.
Samson and
Hercules (16, 30,
38-39)
Noah and the
Flood (37)
Ferryman and the
Ocean of Death
(33-34)
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Works Consulted
•  Tzvi Abusch, “The Development and Meaning of the Epic
of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay.” Journal of the
American Oriental Society 121. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 2001):
614-622.
•  Keith Dickson. “The Jeweled Trees: Alterity in
Gilgamesh.” Comparative Literature 59.3 (Summer
2007): 193-208.
•  Nicola Vulpe. “Irony and the Unity of the Gilgamesh
Epic.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 53.4 (Oct.,
1994): 275-283.
•  Hope Nash Wolff. “Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Heroic
Life.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 89.2 (Apr. June, 1969): 392- 398.
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