Essay - Literary Themes in Gilgamesh Predominant Literary Themes in Gilgamesh Life...

Literary Themes In Gilgamesh

Predominant Literary ***** in Gilgamesh

Life, Death, Friendship, and Resignation

Gilgamesh himself is extraord*****ary - a mighty king who is nevertheless obsessed with himself. He *****fflicts his own people with numerous atrocities and while the people admire Gilgamesh for what virtues he has, they plead ***** the gods to distract him and give them some relief.

Enkidu is created up by the goddess Aruru to be a match for Gilgamesh. Enkidu is a primordial man - coming from a different lineage than o*****r humans, since the great goddesss has invented him herself. He is practically an *****imal, yet possessed of reason, ***** thwarts a trapper by filling in h***** pitfalls and lett*****g animals out of his snares. In t***** aspect he is perhaps an earth*****spirit - somehow related to his being friendly with animals. The trapper says he comes from ***** mountains and says he is stronger ***** the meteor of Anu which may perhaps be a reference to iron in its meteoric form. The application of such a phrase to Enkidu ***** important because previously only ***** himself has ***** grandiose epithets applied to him; thus ***** is comparable to Gilgamesh. The father of the ***** advises him to set Shamhat against Enkidu, which will make Enkidu a man. ***** o*****r w*****ds, the fa*****r of the trapper ***** his son to lay a trap for Enkidu, which he ***** bait with a female.

What has just happened is that Enkidu is an archetype ***** Prometheus/Adam - the ***** man. Just as Adam is divested ***** parad*****e by eating of ***** tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so Enkidu loses t***** kind ***** paradise by enjoying a different ***** of fruit. However, note that in both c*****es the men fall because ***** women. One could argue ***** the *****, his father, and ***** constitute a kind of Anti-Trinity ***** ***** make Enkidu stumble. Parallels between ***** ***** Adam are more than superficial. Shamhat tells Enkidu that he has become like a god, and it was exactly for ***** purpose that Eve consented to eat of the fruit of ***** tree of knowledge - to become ***** God.

***** knew trouble was coming because he had dreamt of Enkidu's arrival, yet received the news ***** some gladness.

Shamhat not only deprives Enkidu of his animal nature but civilizes him by clothing *****, teaching him ***** ***** bread and beer, and getting him to ba*****. Thus man goes ***** savage ***** civilized.

The emp*****is on Enkidu's resemblance to Gilgamesh throughout the early part ***** the text is a hint th*****t they are two ********** of the same man. Hence, when Enkidu prevents Gilgamesh from essentially raping a bride-to-be, *****ir wrestling is really a ***** man (Enkidu) ***** with his ***** passions. A recently civilized savage man wrestles ***** a savage civilized one.

***** and Gilgamesh evidently have a conversation about life and death, and Gilgamesh boasts that he isn't afraid to die because he's such a