The author uses words usually linked with agriculture to describe the greatness of this king. Gilgamesh's strength is affiliated with that of a wild bull (perhaps alluding to his mother's name) and having a head of hair as thick as a field of barley. The beginning of the Tablet describes a great deal about Gilgamesh's wisdom, coming from an unknown source during his [mysterious] journey. The reader, a bit confused, knows very little about the journey, the Deluge, and the superior wisdom at this point in the book.
The story then goes covertly into the past where we meet Gilgamesh, still king of Uruk but not as the heroic kindly king we saw before, but as a tyrant, one who owns his people instead of serving them. He rules his people, enslaves them as objects, with unquestionable strength. The people summon the god Aruru to create another man to challenge Gilgamesh's throne. Aruru takes a pinch of clay and creates Enkidu, described in the same way as Gilgamesh, creating a symmetry of poetic structure. Enkidu is a very mowgliesque character: he is one with nature, running with the wild animals and releasing them from the traps they get ensnared in. Local trappers find it difficult to make a living with Enkidu releasing their animals from their traps. A council of citizens gather and they have the idea of hiring a harlot to seduce Enkidu into the city [of Uruk].
Enkidu having never been to civilisation before, the harlot, Shamhat, becomes Enkidu's introducer to society. Shamhat tells Enkidu of Gilgamesh's tyranny, and Enkidu willingly offers to help. Shamhat warns him of Gilgamesh's superior strength. The Tablet ends with Shamhat telling a prophetic dream of Gilgamesh to Enkidu, which included a prophesy of Gilgamesh and Enkidu's future relationship.
A very detailed and considered summary, Aristobald; well done! You make some great observations regarding the use of agriculture as a symbolic vocabulary for the narrative. Also, you do well to hone in on the tension created between the antithesis of hero/tyrant that we see emerge in regard to Gilgamesh in the first tablet of the poem. It is this tension, coupled with the curiosity sparked by the articulation of Gilgamesh's mysterious knowledge and successful return from an important journey, that pulls the reader into the tale from the outset.
ReplyDeleteAs I've mentioned previously, Shamhat is a fascinating character who is responsible for bringing Enkidu from his "wild" state into the world of "reason" What, do you think, is the nature of this "reason"? Is it similar to, or different from our understanding of "reason"? Do we think of his change as positive or negative, or does it have mixed implications?
I like your use of "mowgliesque" in relation to Enkidu :-)!