Gilgamesh Mesopotamia - Assignment Example

AISHA ENGLISH Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume A, second edition. 3rd October 2007 Summary, response comparison on Gilgamesh; Gilgamesh is a fascinating piece of art replete with well chosen images of mythological world. It is an intermingling of such elements that gives it a credit of being both an epic and mythological work of art, simultaneously. This entire piece of art revolves around the exploits and undertakings of one character that is central to the theme of the plot. He goes to places, meets people, and faces turmoil. The setting of this poem keeps on changing in accordance with theme treatment of technique and motif. Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk in Babylonia on the river Euphrates. His is the heroic haughty character. He builds the city of Uruk, its high gates, mason work and other emblems of wonder and charm. "Supreme over other kings, lordly in appearance, he is the hero, born of Uruk, the goring wild bull. He walks out in front, the leader, and walks at the rear, trusted by his companions. Mighty net, protector of his people," "Two-thirds of him is god, one-third of him is human" His atrocious rule and harsh treatment with the subjects make them turn to god Anu for help, "Gilgamesh does not leave a girl to her mother ()!" The daughter of the warrior, the bride of the young man, Anu listened to their complaints, and (the gods) called out to Aruru: Referential connotations signify nature of mythology and describe Gilgamesh's temperament To compensate maltreatment god Anu sends a wild man into the lands of the strongest and powerful king as a rival to his effusive power and strength... Enkidu is invested with the force of a powerful beast like human elements .No sooner does he meet Gilgamesh than he becomes friends with him. He becomes a devoted comrade who accompanies him where ever he goes to expeditions and other missions. Gilgamesh desires to have sex with any woman of his choice, be it a prostitute or a bride or even some one's wife. His strength is his assent and he can go to any extent to reveal the impeccable power of his internal and external make up. Enkidu is against his sexual exploits .He combats with him in order to dissuade him in his inclinations towards such unlawful pursuits. Thus they fight and it ends with his victory over Enkidu. There by, it convinces Enkidu of Gilgamesh's superiority and strength. As the story unfolds in its full swing of events and episodes, Gilgamesh and Enkidu go to Cendar Forest .In the heroic fight that follows after this, Gilgamesh kills the guardian beast humbaba; the beast of the forest with the help of gods and his fame gets wide spread. Humbaba screams out a curse on Enkidu: "Of you two, may Enkidu not live the longer, may Enkidu not find any peace in this world!" ---these words imply the death of Enkidu which the readers guess at this stage He wants to exceed his own existence; he wants a stature of immortal life, eternal and perpetual. He longs to live forever and restore his youth at the same time. After the death of his friend his desire to perpetuate his existence becomes evident. He is fearful of death and wants to eliminate it. His friend is cursed because he helps him kill the beast and bull of heaven. The bull of heaven is introduced in the story for a fight in which Gilgamesh defeats it and kills it. Before dying the bull puts a curse of death on Enkidu. The plot's flow of continuity is disrupted by the technique of heroic epic combats--First with Enkidu, then with the beast and finally with bull of heaven. All these characters come to life with animation of violence and combat in the text. Main purpose of introducing characters in this fashion manifests common trends of ancient art. Meeting of utnapishtim is essential to the plot's conclusive symmetry. Without him the narrative would not have reached its full culmination. Utnapistim's character gives order and continuity to the plot. The information he gives about the story of the flood and wrath of gods' is a way to use the technique of flash back in the course of the plot to form a link between past and present. It informs the readers about the past they had no knowledge of - particularly about the story of flood, the concept of taming and limitation of immortality and it's similarity to the biblical story of flood "The gods shook like beaten dogs, hiding in the far corners of heaven, Ishtar screamed and wailed: "The days of old have turned to stone: We have decided evil things in our Assembly! Why did we decide those evil things in our Assembly Why did we decide to destroy our people We have only just now created our beloved humans; we now destroy them in the sea!" All the gods wept and wailed along with her, all the gods sat trembling, and wept" . Characterization has an element of dexterous monopoly over each and every passing event. One event leads to another with an introduction and emergence of a new character in its wake. So tied up are all the ingredients to one another that there is a convolution of different episodes in a punctilious fashion. Nothing seems out of shape and time. Everything happens in a set time for something to come next which germinates a tinge of suspense and mystery. The plot of this epic narrative is interwoven with the perfect handling of characterization to suit different techniques. Heroic combat, technique of flash back mythological connotations - all decorate and enhance the flow of the structure of cause and effect. Pot, setting and characterization compliment and substantiate each other for a purpose or exploitation of variety of techniques. He goes on a precarious journey to meet Utnapishtim the far away and his wife. They are the only people whom gods have given immortality. The question that comes to mind is how they got it. It is not so easy to procure it, but they have to pay a heavy price to get it. Gods' wrath is incurred and flood rages in a place where Utnapishtim once ruled. None of the gods are suppose to reveal the secret of this premonition to any one. So no one dares to tell him but one who comes to his house and speaks to the walls about it, thus preparing him about the pre-meditated catastrophe that is about to occur, he warns him beforehand about the impending flood . Finally a boat loaded with silver and terrestrial stuff rescues him and his wife. He meets Siduri in the tavern which she owns. She directs him to, Urshabani the ferryman who works for Utnapishtim. Since Gilgamesh destroys the wooden things for his own protection, Urshabani asks him to make punting poles from tress for his protection during his journey across the waters of death. Should he touch water he would die So in a boat he sets sail with Urshabini to meet Utnapishtim. On the shore he meets Utnapishtim who narrates him the story of the flood and how he is saved by one of the gods who betrayed the trust of others by helping him escape before the windy vehemence of the flood sweeping land into dust "I [Utnapishtim] released a dove from the boat; it flew off, but circled around and returned, for it could find no perch. It eats, it scratches the ground, but it does not circle around and return. I then sent out all the living things in every direction and sacrificed a sheep on that very spot. At one time Utnapishtim was mortal. At this time let him be a god and immortal; Let him live in the far away at the source of all the rivers " These lines signify the theme of flood and immortality of utnapishtim Consequently, he offers him a chance to become immortal which he loses for his whimsical banality. He asks him to stay awake for 6 days and 7 nights, which he does not avail. On the contrary, he falls asleep on the 7th night day instead "O woe! What do I do now, where do I go now Death has devoured my body, Death dwells in my body, wherever I go, wherever I look, there stands Death "-- these lines are rhythmic in the image of death and fear of death and desperation. As a compensation to his folly he offers him an opportunity to pluck the magic plant for eternal youth .This plant grows at the bottom of the ocean surrounding the far away. He goes down the bottom of the sea to plunk out the youth perpetuating magic plant. He plucks it, but he does not trust its powers; he leaves it there for the snake to eat it and thus loses the chance for eternal youth. In this nonchalant manner he leaves the plant and goes to sleep with Urshabani without thinking what could happen and the snake devours it in the night. "For whom have I labored For who have I journeyed For whom have I suffered I have gained absolutely nothing for myself; I have only profited the snake, the ground lion." This textual reference culminates the climax with an internal conflict and the protagonist is torn with grief at his own folly. Themes, technique and motives: The theme as it manifests itself in a written word or a line of implication is the power of god's will and the fate of man. Man is destined to face what may come. He cannot possibly change the pattern of nature's plan. Death is irrevocable and life is uncertain . Various techniques enrich the fabric of the text, endowing it with efflorescence of ancient art. The treatment of mythology in the form of gods, the exuberance of dreams to foresee the future events and the element of heroic epic combats make this literary art a treasure of precious worth. Heroic battle makes this literary art work unique with its majestic aura and glory keeping the order of heroic trend. The fight with the bull of heaven and the combat with humbaba, the beast of the forest animate the text with sonorous vivacity Response The thing I enjoyed most about this literature is the way each episode unfolds with element of suspense and mystery in its wake to the knowledge of man. The fight with the beast and bull of heaven is thrilling and entertaining for me. The plant of magic gets eaten up by the snake because of Gilgamesh's negligence which is humorous and also painful. People will admire the heroic element penetrating the fabric of this piece of art. They will also enjoy knowing about a king of different culture and time of the life he leads and the wishes and dreams he yearns to fulfill with all the hazardous consequences. Most importantly they will love the glamour of mythology in the textual reference pertaining to workings of gods'. Thus this literature will undoubtedly make the readers spell bound to know what will happen next. They will enjoy it to its entirety. Historical contribution; Its greatest contribution to world literature is that --- it has been written in various languages and translated in many like English French and German .This advent of the way it has been written on clay tablets and translated in French and English reveals its popularity and magnificence. The languages in which it has been written are Sumerian, Semitic, Hebrew, Hurrian and Hittite - an Indo European language, Greek, French and English. It appears in various forms in the shape of poems and stone tablets in Akkadian language. The script of such languages in which it is written is called cuneiform, the wedge shaped. The contribution of this literary art work to world literature is the greatest asset for human knowledge and information. It gives us a picture of life of the past that will stay in the mind forever-- king of Uruk, his way of life and his dealing with his subjects will stay alive for all generations to know about him. Comparison; I would like to compare this piece of art with another epic of popular fame. Homer's Iliad is replete with images of heroic nature of a battle fought for winning back the most beautiful woman in the world -- Helen betrays the trust of her husband, king Meneluas and elopes with the seductive and attractive son of Priam, Paris, king of Troy. The famous Trojan War is fought to procure Helen and make amends for the loss of losing her. The heroic battle is fought in the name of honor. Honor, knighthood accolade, dignity become the theme of this long dramatic poem, in which episodes unleash the turmoil and violence on the battle field where heroes die for honor. In Gilgamesh, the hero fights for other reasons, his prime concern is immortality, strength and life of fame. He fights for a different cause. On the contrary Trojan and Achaeans have a noble and honorable motive to fight. The entire epic depends upon the fight which ceases for intermittent time, but has to culminate into a sad ending with Hectors death and return... The poem's (Gilgamesh) main setting is in Uruk , Babylonia where as Iliad's main action is the 9 year old battle between Trojans and Achaeans .The plot revolves around the exploits of one character who wanders here and there , to Southern Iran and then to the waters of death near far away. In Homer's Iliad many heroes take part in the battle for victory on both sides. The plot seems connected with one action of the battle which ceases only to begin again. All honorable heroes from both sides exhibit heroic qualities, like Hector Achilles, Diomedes and many, more. They elevate the stature and scope of the epic to a lofty level of honor and laudation. Monotheism and gods' involvement in the affairs of the world become explicit in both the epics . .Both the epics show the miracle of handling episodes, events, techniques, mythological device to form a complete whole. Uniformity of the plot and its dependence on variety of techniques, motives and themes is hard to find elsewhere. It is a rare quality and both the epics manifest the seeds of supreme power and scope. Gilgamesh and Iliad are master pieces, yet so distinct and dense in the treatment of symbolism, dreams and themes. They are conspicuously different in every respect of the same genre. Reference; sources Richard Hooker "Summary of Gilgamesh Mesopotamia Glossary" {1996} NORTON ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD LITERATURE "DISCOVERY MODULE 1 MONOTHEISM: THE GODS AS NATURAL FORCES" OVERVIEW Wwnorton&company {2003-2007} Tony Arkwright, Justin Eichenlaub, John Ramsey "The Virtual Iliad "{1998} Read More