The Epic of Gilgamesh (Volume A). History Mesopotamia, 1900– 250 B.C.E. Gilgamesh, priest- king of...
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Transcript of The Epic of Gilgamesh (Volume A). History Mesopotamia, 1900– 250 B.C.E. Gilgamesh, priest- king of...
![Page 1: The Epic of Gilgamesh (Volume A). History Mesopotamia, 1900– 250 B.C.E. Gilgamesh, priest- king of Uruk written in cuneiform Ur revised in Babylonian.](https://reader033.fdocuments.net/reader033/viewer/2022061600/56649e3b5503460f94b2db8f/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
The Epic of Gilgamesh (Volume A)
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History
• Mesopotamia, 1900–250 B.C.E.
• Gilgamesh, priest-king of Uruk
• written in cuneiform• Ur• revised in Babylonian
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Ur
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Cuneiform
• wedge-shaped script• 2100 B.C.E.
• clay tablets• Sumerians
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• length
• content: historic, mythic
• motifs
• divine intervention
• heroic flaw
• orality and performance, writing
• language
Elements of Epic Writing
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• death and friendship
• nature and civilization
• power and violence
• travel and homecoming
• love and sexuality
• physical and intellectual journeys
Binary Themes
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Death and Friendship
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Foil
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“Go up, Ur-Shanabi, pace out the walls of Uruk. Study the foundation terrace and examine the brickwork. Is not its masonry of kiln-fired brick? And did not seven masters lay its foundations?” (Tablet X, 151)
Dichotomies
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“Shall I not die too? Am I not like Enkidu?” (Tablet IX, 135)
“For whom, Ur-Shanabi, have my hands been toiling? For whom has my heart’s blood been poured out? For myself I have obtained no benefit, I have done a good deed for a reptile!” (Tablet X, 150)
Physical and Intellectual Journeys
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Gods
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Women
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Flood Myths
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Consider the etymology of the name “Gilgamesh” (“the old man is still a young man” OR “the offspring is a hero”). Is Gilgamesh’s name significant, despite the fact that he loses the plant that would return him to his youth? In what ways is it a fitting name despite his failure in the quest for immortality. How, in fact, has he actually accomplished immortality?
Discussion Questions
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Throughout The Epic of Gilgamesh, many dreams occur, and often their meaning is unclear, or at least inscrutable for the characters who have them. Is there a general unity of the dreams? What is their purport? Do they come from the gods? Are they true? Are they good?
Discussion Questions
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The Norton Anthology
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