G I L G A M E S H 

For this text, you will be keeping Cornell notes based on your reading of the text, and based on class
discussion. That means that you should update your notes during class based on what your peers have said,
adding your own thoughts on the right-hand side.
As you analyze the text, you should think on both macro- and micro- cosmic levels. How does the
quote reflect human experience and understanding? How does it reflect your own? What is the author saying
with this quote? What does this quote say to you?
As we read, look for quotes about​ love, friendship, human limits, ambition, death, what makes us
human​, and ​law and justice​. Each of your responses should be at least two complete sentences in length; they
may be longer, as seen in the example below. You should have at least three quotes per ten pages; that is a
total of twenty-four quotes for the entire poem. This will be a ​major project grade​, as well as minor
assignment grades for note checks. You will be graded on thoroughness, thoughtfulness, and inclusion of both
reading- and discussion-based notes. Make sure to include page numbers!
YOU MUST WORK IN GOOGLE DOCS.

Part I: Gilgamesh and Enkidu (p. 15-24)

Quotes, discussion notes, vocabulary Analysis, my thoughts, definitions

Quote 1​: “He ran beside the freed gazelle/like a
brother/and they drank together at a pool/like two
friends/sharing some common journey/not needing
to speak but just continue.” Pg. 16
Friendship​: We learn about Enkidu and his demeanor
here. He relates strongly to the creatures and is very
animal-like, yet he is a man. He finds comfort and
companionship in the animals and wildlife. To
foreshadow, he may lose this companionship and
become very lonesome.

Quote 2​: “People said: he looks like Gilgamesh/but
he is shorter and also stronger/.../they hailed him as
the equal of their king.” Pg. 22
Response​: Gilgamesh tells his dreams to his mother,
Ninsun. She then analyzes these dreams and tells him
what will come from them. She tells Gilgamesh that
“his equal would fall to him like a star from heaven.”
We see here that the people know the significance of
Enkidu.

Quote 3​: “He turned to Enkidu who leaned against
his shoulder and looked into his eyes and saw himself
in the other, just as Enkidu saw himself in Gilgamesh.
In the silence of the people they began to laugh and
clutched each other in their breathless exaltation.”
Pg. 24
Response​: Here we can see that Enkidu is the solution
to the problem of Gilgamesh becoming too god like.
Enkidu helps him learn how to be more human.
Gilgamesh is doing unexcusable things, but his
people see his potential. In order for him to fulfill that
potential, he needs to connect with someone. Enkidu
needs to become more human and Gilgamesh helps
him. They were both incredibly lonely

Discussion​: My thoughts on the discussion​:

● Both of the bad things he does are attempts All of his life, Gilgamesh has been searching for an
at finding an equal (battling and sleeping equal that he balances out with. When he finds
 with women.) Enkidu, he is freed from this endless loop of
● Foreshadowing about the two men freeing searching and can be at peace.
each other in a way.
● Enkidu is very gentle.
● The take-away lesson: We need close
companionship to thrive and reach our full
potential.

Summary​: Enkidu lives as an animal, but is a man. Gilgamesh lives as a god, but is a man. Gilgamesh does
not realize that he is unfulfilled and lonely. He sleeps with men’s fiancés before they get married and
constantly battles and kills men. A hunter sees Enkidu and sends a prostitute to seduce him so the animals
will shun him. Enkidu becomes more human after meeting the prostitute. He meets the king and they fight
because the king constantly fights people who he believes he is better than. Gilgamesh is scared and jealous.
Neither of them can beat the other. They recognize their equality and realize that this is what they both
have needed.

Part II: Humbaba (p. 27-50)

Quotes, discussion notes, vocabulary Analysis, my thoughts, definitions

Quote 1​: “Enkidu was afraid of the Forest of
Humbaba/and urged him not to go, but he/was not
as strong as Gilgamesh in argument,/and they were
friends:/they had embraced their vow/to stay
together always,/no matter what obstacle./Enkidu
tried to hold his fear.” Pg. 27
Friendship​: Even though Enkidu is afraid, he stays
true to his promise of companionship with
Gilgamesh. This shows us that where Enkidu is weak,
Gilgamesh is strong; and where Gilgamesh is weak,
Enkidu is strong.

Quote 2​: “I learned, Enkidu said, when I lived/with Response​: Enkidu lives questioning everything he
the animals never to go down/into that forest. I does. He needs a reason and verification for every
learned that there is death/in Humbaba. Why do you thing that he does. Being friends with Gilgamesh
want/to raise his anger?” Pg. 28 opens his eyes to a world of bravery and boldness.

Quote 3​: “Their voices gave the confidence his
friend/had failed to give; some even said/Enkidu’s
wisdom was a sign of cowardice./You see, my friend,
laughed Gilgamesh,/the wise of Uruk have
outnumbered you.” Pg. 31
Response​: The people of Uruk encourage the king
and believe in him. Although Enkidu believes in
Gilgamesh, he is not certain that they will make it
out of this journey alive. He is the more cautious
equal. This balances out Gilgamesh’s wild and
spontaneous side.

Quote 4​: “You are not my son but I adopt you/and
call upon the same protection now/for you I called
upon for Gilgamesh./She placed a charm around his
neck, and said:/ O let Enkidu now protect his friend.”
Pg. 33
Ambition​: Ninsun, Gilgamesh’s mother, embraces
the same maternal feeling when regarding Enkidu.
She feels strongly about the protection of her son.
She knows that Gilgamesh protects Enkidu when he
is lost, so Enkidu must protect Gilgamesh when he is
lost.

Quote 5​: “I can’t imagine being left alone/I’m less a Response​: In his dream, Enkidu hears that one of the
man without my friend./Gilgamesh did not two men has to die. Since Gilgamesh has never had a
believe/the gods had chosen one of them to die.” Pg. good friend like Enkidu, he denies this and wishes
47 that things would be the same. This shows that the
relationship between the two was ​extremely
important to Gilgamesh.

Response​: The friendship between the two was a

Quote 6​: “Gilgamesh knew his friend was close to very mutual friendship. They helped each other
death./He tried to recollect aloud their life realize simple things around them. Enkidu and
together/that had been so brief.” Pg. 48 Gilgamesh filled the emptiness in each other’s lives
and hearts with everything they were missing.

Response​: When Enkidu dies, he feels helpless and

Quote 7​: “Everything has life to me, he heard Enkidu regretful. He realized that his life before was filled
murmur,/The sky, the storm, the earth, water, with life and destiny. When he became a man of
wandering,/the mood and its 3 children, salt, even society, he gained a new view on life that highlighted
my hand/had life. It’s gone. It’s gone.” Pg. 48 death.

My thoughts on the discussion​:

Discussion​: The two guys had a bond that could not be broken.
● Gilgamesh had never cared about death. He He had killed any people, not caring or aware of how
constantly battled and killed men. But, when it makes people feel. He has to live with this feeling
his companion dies, he learns to feel death of death for his whole life now.
and loss.
● He learns another side of death.
● Enkidu uses the rest of his strength to protect
Gilgamesh. Even though he was scared and
he didn’t want to go, he sacrificed himself.
● Either way they’re living with death if one of
them die.
● It talked mostly about losing someone that
you hold dear to your heart.

Summary​: Gilgamesh and Enkidu traveled into the Forest of Humbaba to defeat Humbaba himself. They
were very afraid and had multiple dreams telling them that only one of them would make it out alive.
Gilgamesh calls to Humbaba by chopping at a cedar. Humbaba, very strong and powerful, hears this and
attacks. He beats Enkidu into the ground. On edge, Gilgamesh stands over Humbaba with an axe. Humbaba
says if he doesn’t kill him he will worship Gilgamesh as a god. Gilgamesh resists and kills him anyway. Ishtar,
goddess of love, fruitfulness, and war, comes to Gilgamesh and brings him his royal robes and crown. She
says the gods blame him for the death of Humbaba, but they will forget if he marries her because she will
have love and peace. He says she is a trickster and “an old fat whore” and says no. She asked her father,
Anu, to let the Bull of Heaven destroy him. The bull killed 300 men then attacked Gilgamesh. Enkidu found
strength and killed the bull. Ishtar cursed the Uruk lands with grief. Enkidu’s wound grew worse. He had a
dream telling him one of them had to die to pay for the loss of the bull of heaven. Gilgamesh knew Enkidu
was close to death. Enkidu feels empty and helpless. He regrets becoming man because men see death in
things. Enkidu dies and Gilgamesh now feels empty.

Part III: The House of Dust (p. 53-87)

 Quotes, discussion notes, vocabulary
Quote 1​: “The only nourishment he knew was
grief,/endless in its hidden source/yet never ending
hunger.” Pg. 53
Quote 2​: “Gilgamesh wandered through the
desert/alone as he had never been alone./When he
had craved but not known what he craved.” Pg. 54
Quote 3​: “He could not be sure,/going on with
only/the companionship of grief/in which he felt
Enkidu at his side./He said his name: Enkidu,
Enkidu,/to quiet his fear/through the darkness.” Pg.
59-60
Quote 4​: “I am not blind/with self-love but with
loss!/He felt his head split with the pain/of making
himself heard.” Pg. 66
Quote 5​: “He stopped, realizing/he had not come this becoming unclear due to his rambling and constantly
far to hear himself/recall the failure of his grief to explaining himself. After stopping for a moment, he
save/but to find an end to his despair.” Pg. 68
Quote 6​: “Utnapishtim raised his hand and touched
the shoulder/of the younger man to put him at
ease.” Pg. 73
Quote 7​: “That is the way gods think, he laughed. His
tone/of savage irony frightened Gilgamesh/yet gave
him pleasure, being his friend./They only know how
to compete or echo.” Pg. 77
Quote 8​: “I would grieve/at all that may befall you
still/if I did not know you must return/and bury your
own loss and build/your world anew with your own
hands.” Pg. 80
Quote 9​: “In her shufflings and her faithful
silence/like a servant only there to hold the door./He
hardly knew her as a person,/he had talked only to
Utnapishtim,/been only with him./Was she all he
Analysis, my thoughts, definitions
Response​: He felt hungry and needed to be filled.
The only way he could feel in any way better was to
grieve. He felt as if he couldn’t be happy. This shows
us that Enkidu filled his hunger and now that he
didn’t have that friendship he was lonely.
Response​: Enkidu distracted Gilgamesh from the fact
that he was alone. When they met, Enkidu helped
Gilgamesh to forget his lonely past.
Response​: Just the idea of Enkidu brings peace to
Gilgamesh. When he says “companionship of grief” I
think he is saying that Enkidu is now an initial
thought of fulfillment, but an eventual thought of
sadness and emptiness.
Response​: He was mistaken as a complainer and
someone who wants attention. He just wanted to be
heard as someone telling the truth about the loss
that they have been through.
Response​: The reason that he had some was
was able to come back to why he really needed this
help he longed for
Response​: All Gilgamesh wanted at the time was the
word and reassurance of Utnapishtim. This simple
gesture helped Gilgamesh to feel secure and that his
future will have peace.
Response​: The gods that rule over all things often
compete and cause conflict. This is a bad thing
because they literally rule over ​all things.​ The effect
of angering the gods results in many bad things.
Response​: Utnapishtim says that Gilgamesh has the
opportunity to rebuild his life from scratch. He
envies this freedom because he will never be able to
start his life anew.
Response​: Gilgamesh wonders how such a ‘bland’
and mysterious woman could fulfill Utnapishtim’s
emptiness. I think we are told this so we realize that
the complexity behind relationships.
needed as a companion?” Pg. 81
Response​: Gilgamesh is suddenly awaken by the fact
Quote 10:​ “Gilgamesh wanted to reach out to tell that he and Utnapishtim share similar stories and
him/he was wrong, sensing suddenly the hours/one relate on an emotional level. They relate the parts of
might spend alone in contemplating oldness/as he their lives where they felt like life was going on and
himself had spent alone in his spoiled youth,/seeing had no meaning.
nothing there but time.” Pg. 84
My thoughts on the discussion​:
Discussion:​ Gilgamesh believes that if he is immortal, he will
● Gilgamesh is sad. never have to feel the pain of death. He is the sole
● He wanted to be immortal because he feared reason for Enkidu’s death but he doesn’t realize this.
death. He wanted to use the plant to give him He learns the pain of death and wants to live forever
eternal life from the plant and wanted to eat with Enkidu by eating the thorn plant.
it for himself.
● When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh’s humanity
fades.
● His rotting corpse is a symbol for Gilgamesh’s
rotting humanity.
● He changes as a person after Enkidu’s death.
● He learns the pain of death.
● Fatigue represents loneliness
● Start: Unknowingly fatigued because
something he didn’t know of was missing
● End: Much more fatigued because he knew
what was missing and he could never get it
back.
● He expresses his grief to others by explaining
why he’s so sad. He didn’t think he could find
anyone who could relate to what he was
feeling.
● The gods act like their source of life: their
River.
● It’s his fault Enkidu is dead. He lost him due to
his own arrogance.

Vocabulary​:
Futility-​ pointlessness or uselessness.
"the horror and futility of war"

Summary​: Gilgamesh feels empty and needing to be fulfilled. He learns the ache of death. Mad, perhaps
insane, he tried to bring Enkidu back to life. His life became a search for life’s meaning. He wanted to talk to
the one who had survived the flood and death itself, Utnapishtim. He went to the Mountains of Mashu. The
mountain’s peaks reached the shores of heaven. He tells the guards that he has come to see his father,
Utnapishtim, to ask about life and death. He wants to bring Enkidu back to life. The scorpion guards says
there is only death and grief beyond the mountains. He forced the guards to let him through and noticed
that the guards feared for him. He traveled through darkness for days. He eventually stumbles upon a
fruitful valley. He was in pain because he was now free from the darkness. He explains aloud why Enkidu
was so special to him. He realizes he’s doing this for no reason for nobody can hear him. He reached a
cottage where Siduri lives. She drew away from him in fear. She doesn't know his grief. She then took pity
on him and took care of him and tried to help him forget his pain. After awhile, her presence began to
suffocate him. He asks her to tell him the way. She tells him with fear. He finds Urshanabi and tells him his
story. Urshanabi realizes that he had come this far to find an end to his despair. The boatman says he may
not get to Utnapishtim because he broke the sacred stones. He told Gilgamesh to cut down trees so he
could use them to get the Utnapishtim across the sea of death. He finally gets to Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim
was the only one on his journey who didn’t add to his misery. They share the same loneliness so Gilgamesh
feels relieved. Utnapishtim tells him that compassion burns forever. Utnapishtim begins to fulfill some of
Gilgamesh’s emptiness. They chat and Utnapishtim tells his story. He was told to abandon his belongings
and build a ship. He fled from holocaust and death and was very sad. The god of war crowned him as a god.
Gilgamesh longs for eternal life like he felt with Enkidu. They traveled to Utnapishtim‘ home where they met
his wife, who seemed fairly simple and recluse, but knew her husband well. His wife wants to wake
Gilgamesh and send him home but Utnapishtim says he needs sleep. He wakes up after 7 days. Gilgamesh
still feels drawn back to death. Utnapishtim scolds the boatman for sending him across. His wife says that
Gilgamesh has come so far and their journeys are, in a way, similar. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that there is
a plant at the bottom of the river that gives you new life. They hugged and Gilgamesh tied stones to himself
and got the thorn plant. When they parted, Gilgamesh no longer felt the loneliness of death. He took a dip
in a stream and left the plant unguarded. A serpent came and ate the plant. Gilgamesh felt lonely and wept
yet again.

Part IV: Sorrow Shared (p. 91-92)

Quotes, discussion notes, vocabulary Analysis, my thoughts, definitions

Quote 1​: “Perhaps, he feared,/his people would not Response​: Gilgamesh could relate to Enkidu and
share/the sorrow that he knew.” Pg. 91 Utnapishtim very well. Before he had Enkidu, he had
nobody to compare himself, his feelings, or his story
to. Returning to Uruk is like returning to his past life.

Discussion​: My thoughts on the discussion​:

● Gilgamesh returns to Uruk Gilgamesh lived his whole life as a superior. He just
● He thinks he is the only person to feel grief now feels all of these emotions and thinks that he is
● He’s now learning human emotions for the different from everyone else.
first time
● He didn’t understand that grief and
loneliness has been felt by everyone.

Summary​: Gilgamesh must return to Uruk. He fears he has nobody to share interests with now that he does
not have Enkidu. He asks a man if he has ever heard of Enkidu and the man says no. This shows Gilgamesh
that it’s impossible to keep the names of friend’s we have lost. He then notices the tall walls and for a mere
moment all that laid behind him passed from view.