The Language of an Epic

The story of Gilgamesh is delivered in a poetic voice that uses a mixture of techniques to give life to the story and vibrancy for the audience with the intent of making this tale larger than life, an epic. Since it's probably written much after any hypothetical historical Gilgamesh, the line between fact and myth are hard to distinguish, and the author(s) write in a way that incorporates the contemporary beliefs in the supernatural as a part of normal life, possibly deliberately obscuring the line so as to solidify Gilgamesh's story as legendary.

From the very beginning of the epic and throughout, the language that describes several characters and events highlights their epic proportions. Gilgamesh is first introduced with glowing praise:

"He who saw the Deep, the country's foundation,

who knew . . . , was wise in all matters!

Gilgamesh, who saw the Deep, the country's foundation,

who knew . . . , was wise in all matters!" p. 1

The phrases here tell of Gilgamesh's knowledge and wisdom and highlight his exploits. The repetition, possibly a product of the poetic structure, helps to emphasize the significance of this praise, as well as give the praise a form which would make sense if one actually heard it. This repetition of stanzas continues throughout, stressing or reemphasizing different parts. If the epic was read aloud by scribes, these repeated phrases would serve to remind the listener and bring them back to the central pace of the story.

The author(s) also continue to talk of the events in the epic with the same perspective of the scale of events. Gilgamesh is described as 2/3 god, 1/3 man. Enkidu is described in a dream as a falling star, made by the gods. When Enkidu is trying to convince Gilgamesh not to fight Humbaba, Humbaba is described as:

"Humbaba, his voice is the Deluge,

his speech is fire, and his breath is death!

Why do you desire to do this thing?

An unwinnable battle is Humbaba's ambush!" p. 18

The language that describes Humbaba as so terrifying and powerful makes the feat of conquering him that much more impressive, lending to this idea of Gilgamesh's legendary proportions.