Epic Of Gilgamesh Literary Analysis

Published works of art are always found to have similarities with other published pieces. Whether they may be visual or audio, one is bound to find similarities that match their criteria of misery or happiness. This paper is about the similarities found in Mulan that relate to and are applicable to Gilgamesh. The story of Mulan is originally a Ballad. Published by an anonymous author, people assume that Mulan lived in the Northern Wei (386- 534) in the Northern Dynasties Period (386- 581) C.E. in China. Mulan is a girl that grew up in Ancient China. She took it upon herself to disguise herself as a man, and take her father's position in the army due to his advancement of age and fragility. She is accepted into the military as a male warrior.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu was an example of the character archetype, “The Sidekick,” because he was a faithful and supportive companion of Gilgamesh. Although Enkidu and Gilgamesh initially fought, a strong friendship was sealed between them.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is set in Uruk, an ancient city of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer, now modern-day Iraq. The epic was said to be written by Sin-liqe-unninni, but it is based on five earlier Sumerian poems with no known author. The piece was difficult to translate, and there are two main version for the Epic of Gilgamesh. This is the result of the environment during the time the piece was being written. Early Mesopotamian people are bilingual, and since there was no unified form of writing, the text is written in Akkadian and Sumerian.

Gilgamesh, just like any other heroes, receives a vision from the gods pertaining to his fate, “The father of the gods has given you kingship, such is your destiny, everlasting life is not your destiny.” It makes no sense at first but as the story progress, we found out that Gilgamesh was never meant to live eternal life.

The Epic of Gilgamesh shows and describe the journey of a successful hero. Throughout his quest, Gilgamesh goes through a departure, initiation, and a return stage. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu sets out to go on the heroic journey to defeat Humbaba he experiences the first departure stage. The initiation stage occurred when Enkidu died and Gilgamesh started the second heroic journey searching for immortality. Gilgamesh search for immortality was beyond the initiation stage he searched for it through every quest and journey he encountered. In the second initiation stage, Gilgamesh went through a significant amount of problems and hardships. The return stage occurred when Gilgamesh leaves his fantasy world and return to people back home with new knowledge and teachings. Utanapishtim's tale in (Tablet 11) of the great flood

Man cannot live for ever this is an indisputable fact; however, long after our mortal bodies decay, we can live on through our children and our children's children. David Ferry’s version of the poem “Gilgamesh” support this idea and synthesises it with other points to support the following theme: no matter how great a man is in living his glory is only valuable if he lives on in his offspring. I believe Gilgamesh’s journey and failure to find immortality supports this, revealing values that early Mesopotamian culture held.

David Ferry, in his translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh explores the idea of change and how it affects people. Gilgamesh faces many challenges such as having to fight the Bull of Heaven, defeating Huwawa, suffering through his own friend’s death, and then eventually facing the ultimate test of seeking immortality. Through these journeys, Gilgamesh meets many new people, including himself. Interactions between people often teach one new lessons they would not have otherwise learned if they had not made those encounters before.

The characters of Gilgamesh and Job are heroes in the sense that they sacrifice their own well beings for the good of society. Both characters help contribute to the epic tales that were passed down from generation to generation and gave members of society a sense of understanding especially when it comes to death.

Someone wise once said, “patience is a virtue.” Virtue is commonly considered to be incredibly moral behavior. By this, one can see that if a character is patient, then that character has virtue. Virtue can also be found in the way the one treats the people around them. Gilgamesh, the main character from the ancient Sumerian tale “Epic of Gilgamesh”, has neither patience nor virtue. Gilgamesh is not a virtuous character because he mistreats women and he is impatient.

Great leaders embody a paradox. They develop strength and wisdom through failure and ignorance. The activist Gandhi recognizes this contradiction, noting that both strength and weakness and wisdom and folly are close companions: “it is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.” Gilgamesh proves this truth in The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Herbert Mason. In this tale, a godly man, Gilgamesh, develops a friendship with beast-turned-man, Enkidu, who begins to teach Gilgamesh about the world and helps him to grapple with challenges. After one challenge in particular, a battle with the giant Humbaba, Enkidu dies abruptly, leaving Gilgamesh alone again, and forcing him to overcome adversities by himself. Gilgamesh is initially despondent, but these adversities eventually give him the strength to grow in wisdom and appreciation. Gilgamesh flourishes from his failures because he can finally understand the meanings of life and death, accept

In essence, many of Mesopotamia’s tales focus on Gilgamesh’s epic. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a poem that portrays Gilgamesh’s journey, and ultimate aspiration for immortality despite the inevitability of death. The poem reveals his quest for a purpose and identity, which in turn can be perceived from many different aspects, ultimately molding his character in the epic. He perceives himself as two-thirds divine and one third man at the start of the tale, and progressively gains wisdom on his quest to conquer his aspirations of immortality, until he comes face to face with reality. His state of mind at the beginning of the epic, along with how it changes and matures, reveals the true heroes and villains of the story.

The hero Gilgamesh, passed through various tests and turns out better for it. For at the beginning the epic the king appears in the form of an unbridled, corrupted and cruel young man, then after the death of Enkidu, he is finally capable of a heartfelt deep sorrow. For the first time he becomes aware of the futility of existence, feeling the fear of the death, the hero of the poem turns to the gods to find out the secrets of life and death. From now on, Gilgamesh cannot simply rule his people, he wants to know the secret of death. His soul comes to complete despair: how could the immortal power and energy in the body of Enkidu die? This fire of the soul leads the hero all the further from his native land, gives strength to overcome unprecedented

Symbolism in general is the building blocks to all sources of literature and can shape a piece of writing in many ways. Symbols in general can portray what something or someone represents, giving a deeper and metaphorical meaning to a symbol. Symbolism is often used within poetry, literature, music, or even art. This is how an author conveys a different meaning to the audience. For example artists may use the color “red” not only because of the color theory, but to convey love, passion, and maybe even health. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an example of a piece of literature that uses symbolism frequently. For example, it uses “garden” meaning paradise and even refers to The Garden of Eden.In the Epic of Gilgamesh by anonymous, the symbols cedar meaning immortality, mountains which represents proximity to the gods, and gates and portals symbolizing a passage to the unknown are very important within the epic itself.

Literature, art, and music have always found ways to transcend the physical barriers and borders humans put up. They influence cultures other than the ones of their origins. Similarities between religions, mythologies, and folk stories have been noted often throughout time by academics and historians. The holy texts of some major religions like The Old Testament and the Quran share many overlapping literary themes and events with older religions and folk tales, like the ancient Sumerian poem; “The Epic of Gilgamesh”. Many examples of overlapping themes is the presence and references to great floods, supernatural influences, otherworldly gardens, and battles between good and evil. Not only do these shared themes point to an innate psychology present in all people in every culture, but perhaps even to a direct influence of “The Epic of Gilgamesh” on these holy texts.

Gilgamesh is an epic that has been passed down for thousands of years. The epic narrates the legendary deeds of the main character Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is two-thirds immortal and one-third mortal; however, he cannot accept his fate that one day he too will die. The entire epic tells the story of Gilgamesh’s life and searche for immortality. Through his many trials and tribulations, Gilgamesh proves that he has great physical strength. However, throughout the epic Gilgamesh also shows he is emotionally unstable and immature.