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There are many differences and critical comparisons that can be drawn between the epics
of Beowulf and Gilgamesh. Both are historical poems which shape their respected
culture and both have major social, cultural, and political impacts on the development of
western civilization literature and writing. Before any analysis is made, it is vital that
some kind of a foundation be established so that a further, in-depth exploration of the
complex nature of both narratives can be accomplished.
The epic of Gilgamesh is an important Middle Eastern literary work, written in cuneiform
on 12 clay tablets about 2000 BC. This heroic poem is named for its hero, Gilgamesh, a
tyrannical Babylonian king who ruled the city of Uruk, known in the Bible as Erech (now
Warka, Iraq). According to the myth, the gods respond to the prayers of the oppressed
citizenry of Uruk and send a wild, brutish man, Enkidu, to challenge Gilgamesh to a
wrestling match. When the contest ends with neither as a clear victor, Gilgamesh and
Enkidu become close friends. They journey together and share many adventures.
Accounts of their heroism and bravery in slaying dangerous beasts spread to many lands.
When the two travelers return to Uruk, Ishtar (guardian deity of the city) proclaims her
love for the heroic Gilgamesh. When he rejects her, she sends the Bull of Heaven to
destroy the city. Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the bull, and, as punishment for his
participation, the gods doom Enkidu to die. After Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh seeks out
the wise man Utnapishtim to learn the secret of immortality. The sage recounts to
Gilgamesh a story of a great flood (the details of which are so remarkably similar to later
biblical accounts of the flood that scholars have taken great interest in this story). After
much hesitation, Utnapishtim reveals to Gilgamesh that a plant bestowing eternal youth is
in the sea. Gilgamesh dives into the water and finds the plant but later loses it to a serpent
and, disconsolate, returns to Uruk to end his days.
This saga was widely studied and translated in ancient times. Biblical writers appear to
have modeled their account of the friendship of David and Jonathan on the relationship
between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Numerous Greek writers also incorporated elements
found in the Gilgamesh epic into their dragon-slaying epics and into stories concerning
the close bond between Achilles and Patroclus.
Gilgamesh is definitely the best known of all ancient Mesopotamian heroes. Numerous
tales in the Akkadian language have been told about Gilgamesh, and the whole collection
has been described as an odyssey--the odyssey of a king who did not want to die. This is
one of the major differences between the heroic characters. Beowulf, in order to achieve
immortality through the tales of his bards, must perish in battle to accomplish this task.
A similarity between both characters is their desire to obtain immortality. They both
have different techniques in trying to reach their ultimate destination, although both share
the unique qualities of being flawless, strong, and heroic to the end. The fullest extant
text of the Gilgamesh epic is on twelve incomplete Akkadian-language tablets found at
Nineveh in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (reigned 668-627 BC). The
gaps that occur in the tablets have been partly filled by various fragments found
elsewhere in Mesopotamia and Anatolia. In addition, five short poems in the Sumerian
language are known from tablets that were written during the first half of the 2nd
millennium BC; the poems have been entitled 'Gilgamesh and Huwawa,' 'Gilgamesh and
the Bull of Heaven,' 'Gilgamesh and Agga of Kish,' 'Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Nether
World,' and 'The Death of Gilgamesh.'
The Gilgamesh of the poems and of the epic tablets was probably the Gilgamesh who
ruled at Uruk in southern Mesopotamia sometime during the first half of the 3rd
millennium BC and who was thus a contemporary of Agga, ruler of Kish; Gilgamesh of
Uruk was also mentioned in the Sumerian list of kings as reigning after the flood. Much
like Beowulf, there is, however, no historical evidence for the exploits narrated in poems
and the epic.
The Ninevite version of the epic begins with a prologue in praise of Gilgamesh, part
divine and part human, the great builder and warrior, knower of all things on land and
sea. In order to curb Gilgamesh's seemingly harsh rule, the god Anu caused the creation
of a Enkidu, a wild man who at first lived among animals. Soon, however, Enkidu was
initiated into the ways of city life and traveled to Uruk, where Gilgamesh awaited him.
Tablet II describes a trial of strength between the two men in which Gilgamesh was the
victor; thereafter, Enkidu was the friend and companion (in Sumerian texts, the servant)
of Gilgamesh. In Tablets III-V the two men set out together against Huwawa (Humbaba),
the divinely appointed guardian of a remote cedar forest, but the rest of the engagement is
not recorded in the surviving fragments.
In Tablet VI Gilgamesh, who had returned to Uruk, rejected the marriage proposal of
Ishtar, the goddess of love, and then, with Enkidu's aid, killed the divine bull that she had
sent to destroy him. Tablet VII begins with Enkidu's account of a dream in which the
gods Anu, Ea, and Shamash decided that he must die for slaying the bull. Enkidu then fell
ill and dreamed of the 'house of dust' that awaited him. Gilgamesh's lament for his friend
and the state funeral of Enkidu are narrated in Tablet VIII. Afterward, Gilgamesh made a
dangerous journey (Tablets IX and X) in search of Utnapishtim, the survivor of the
Babylonian flood, in order to learn from him how to escape death. He finally reached
Utnapishtim, who told him the story of the flood and showed him where to find a plant
that would renew youth (Tablet XI). But after Gilgamesh obtained the plant, it was seized
by a serpent, and Gilgamesh unhappily returned to Uruk. An appendage to the epic,
Tablet XII, related the loss of objects called (perhaps 'drum' and 'drumstick') given to
Gilgamesh by Ishtar. The epic ends with the return of the spirit of Enkidu, who promised
to recover the objects and then gave a grim report on the underworld.
Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon epic poem, the most important work of Old English
literature. The earliest surviving manuscript is in the British Library; it is written in the
West Saxon dialect and is believed to date from the late 10th century. On the basis of this
text, Beowulf is generally considered to be the work of an anonymous 8th-century
Anglian poet who fused Scandinavian history and pagan mythology with Christian
elements. The poem consists of 3182 lines, each line with four accents marked by
alliteration and divided into two parts by a caesura. The structure of the typical Beowulf
line comes through in modern translation, for example:
Then came from the moor under misted cliffs
Grendel marching God's anger he bore ...
Much like Gilgamesh, the story is told in vigorous, picturesque language, with heavy use
of metaphor; a famous example is the term 'whale-road' for sea. The poem tells of a hero,
a Scandinavian prince named Beowulf, who rids the Danes of the monster Grendel, half
man and half fiend, and Grendel's mother, who comes that evening to avenge Grendel's
death. Fifty years later Beowulf, now king of his native land, fights a dragon who has
devastated his people. Both Beowulf and the dragon are mortally wounded in the fight.
The poem ends with Beowulf's funeral as his mourners chant his epitaph.
Both Beowulf and Gilgamesh are loved and are shown loyalty from their people.
Although both Beowulf and Gilgamesh represent two different types of heroes, both
achieve ultimate good through their actions. The need for love and loyalty is also
manifested throughout both poems. Death merely becomes an incident in the lives of
Beowulf and Gilgamesh. They both teach its audience and invaluable lesson: What
matters is not how long, but rather how well we live.
Bibliography
Fry, Donald K. The Beowulf Poet: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs,
N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1968. A collection of essays on the poem current up to the mid
1960s.
Fulk, R.D., ed. Interpretations of Beowulf: A Critical Anthology. Indiana University
Press.Indianapolis: 1991. Fulk's anthology is a diverse collection of critical approaches to
Beowulf. Essays range from the poem's structure and design to Christian and intellectual
perspectives to theory on the narrative. The collection includes J.R.R. Tolkien's famous
'The Monsters and the Critics,' in which he critiques the history of Beowulf criticism to
his own day.
Greenfield, Stanley B. and Daniel G. Calder. A new critical history of old English
literature. New York : New York University Press, 1986.
Excellent overview of the history of Old English literature with a good chapter on
Beowulf and heroic poetry. A good place to start for an orientation to Beowulf in literary
historical context.
Nicholson, Lewis E., ed. An Anthology of Beowulf Criticism. South Bend, Ind.:
University of Notre Dame Press, 1963.
A standard collection of scholarly essays on Beowulf up to the early 1960s.
Chase, Colin, ed. The Dating of Beowulf. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1981.
This book is a compilation of studies done from 1979 to 1981 to determine the date when
Beowulf was composed. The studies used many different methods to determine its
origins, from grammar and sentence construction to comparing the text to historical
knowledge. The collected essays present many opinions, but they do not make any
conclusions.
The Norton Anthology of World Literature, ed. Gilgamesh: Norton and Company, 1985.
Contains world literature from the various authors and ages.
Keywords:
there many differences critical comparisons that drawn between epics beowulf gilgamesh
both historical poems which shape their respected culture both have major social cultural
political impacts development western civilization literature writing before analysis made
vital that some kind foundation established that further depth exploration complex nature
both narratives accomplished epic gilgamesh important middle eastern literary work
written cuneiform clay tablets about this heroic poem named hero gilgamesh tyrannical
babylonian king ruled city uruk known bible erech warka iraq according myth gods
respond prayers oppressed citizenry uruk send wild brutish enkidu challenge wrestling
match when contest ends with neither clear victor enkidu become close friends they
journey together share many adventures accounts their heroism bravery slaying
dangerous beasts spread many lands when travelers return uruk ishtar guardian deity city
proclaims love heroic when rejects sends bull heaven destroy city enkidu kill bull
punishment participation gods doom after death seeks wise utnapishtim learn secret
immortality sage recounts story great flood details which remarkably similar later biblical
accounts flood scholars have taken great interest this story after much hesitation
utnapishtim reveals plant bestowing eternal youth dives into water finds plant later loses
serpent disconsolate returns days this saga widely studied translated ancient times biblical
writers appear have modeled their account friendship david jonathan relationship between
numerous greek writers also incorporated elements found epic into dragon slaying epics
into stories concerning close bond between achilles patroclus definitely best known
ancient mesopotamian heroes numerous tales akkadian language been told about whole
collection been described odyssey odyssey king want major differences heroic characters
beowulf order achieve immortality through tales bards must perish battle accomplish task
similarity characters desire obtain immortality they different techniques trying reach
ultimate destination although share unique qualities being flawless strong fullest extant
text epic twelve incomplete akkadian language tablets found nineveh library assyrian
king ashurbanipal reigned gaps occur tablets been partly filled various fragments found
elsewhere mesopotamia anatolia addition five short poems sumerian language known
from were written during first half millennium poems entitled huwawa bull heaven agga
kish nether world death probably ruled southern mesopotamia sometime during first half
millennium thus contemporary agga ruler kish also mentioned sumerian list kings
reigning after flood much like beowulf there however historical evidence exploits
narrated ninevite version begins with prologue praise part divine part human great builder
warrior knower things land order curb seemingly harsh rule caused creation wild first
lived among animals soon however initiated ways life traveled where awaited tablet
describes trial strength which victor thereafter friend companion sumerian texts servant
together against huwawa humbaba divinely appointed guardian remote cedar forest rest
engagement recorded surviving fragments tablet returned rejected marriage proposal
ishtar goddess love then with killed divine sent destroy tablet begins account dream gods
shamash decided must slaying then fell dreamed house dust awaited lament friend state
funeral narrated viii afterward made dangerous journey search utnapishtim survivor
babylonian order learn from escape death finally reached told story showed where find
plant would renew youth obtained seized serpent unhappily returned appendage related
loss objects called perhaps drum drumstick given ishtar ends return spirit promised
recover objects then gave grim report underworld anglo saxon poem most important work
english literature earliest surviving manuscript british library written west saxon dialect
believed date from late century basis text generally considered work anonymous century
anglian poet fused scandinavian history pagan mythology christian elements poem
consists lines each line four accents marked alliteration divided parts caesura structure
typical line comes through modern translation example came moor under misted cliffs
grendel marching anger bore much like told vigorous picturesque heavy metaphor
famous example term whale road tells hero scandinavian prince named rids danes
monster grendel half fiend grendel mother comes evening avenge fifty years later native
land fights dragon devastated people dragon mortally wounded fight ends funeral
mourners chant epitaph loved shown loyalty people although represent different types
heroes achieve ultimate good through actions need love loyalty also manifested
throughout merely becomes incident lives they teach audience invaluable lesson what
matters long rather well live bibliography donald poet collection critical essays
englewood cliffs prentice hall collection essays current fulk interpretations critical
anthology indiana university press indianapolis fulk anthology diverse approaches essays
range structure design christian intellectual perspectives theory narrative includes tolkien
famous monsters critics critiques history criticism greenfield stanley daniel calder history
english literature york york university press excellent overview english good chapter
poetry good place start orientation literary historical context nicholson lewis anthology
criticism south bend university notre dame press standard scholarly early chase colin
dating toronto toronto book compilation studies done determine date composed studies
used different methods determine origins grammar sentence construction comparing text
knowledge collected present opinions make conclusions norton world norton company
contains world various authors ages
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