Final Entry

In class, we were able to conclude that Gilgamesh is an epic. But the question though, still keeps coming up, what exactly is an epic? I've decided to answer this question not only with a definition, but with proof from the text.

First off, an epic should have a hero of imposing status, national or international importance, and of great historical or legendary significance. Obviously, this description is referring to Gilgamesh, a man one third human, and two thirds god. Not only this, but he was also king of the dominant city of Uruk, which brings us straight to our next characteristic: an epic's setting is vast, covering many nations, worlds or even the universe. Uruk is not the only place where the story takes place. For all we know, the Cedar forest, or the sea of death could have been miles away from the city. In the epic, they describe distances in leagues, I honestly don’t know how much that is, but I’m sure its way more than we think.

An epic's action refers to deeds of great valor which require heroic courage to achieve. Supernatural forces such as gods, angels, or demons are the ones who interest themselves in this action. It's easy to say that it would take more than an average being to accomplish what Gilgamesh did. He fought and defeated Huwawa, the demon of the cedar forest, killed the bull from heaven which Ishtar the godess had sent to him as a punishment, was able to reach Utnapishtim after undergoing a terrible journey, and lastly, he even rescued his friend Enkidu from the Nether World.

To finish my analyzation of an epic, I will say that they all have a style of sustained elevation and that the poet retains a measure of objectivity. This means that most epics are not influenced by the author's emotion or personal opinion. Who knows what the author of Gilgamesh was thinking when he wrote it, but he definitely made it fit the genre's conditions.