Theme Of Death In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Death is something that every human must face. It is the inevitable conclusion to life and is something that humans have had to come to terms with since the dawn of their existence. This is very clear in many of the writings and stories that human beings have told throughout history. This obsession about the ultimate culmination of life is heavily expressed in literary works like The Epic of Gilgamesh, Virgil’s The Aeneid, and Beowulf. The first half of The Epic of Gilgamesh deals with the king Gilgamesh and his friendship with Enkidu, a duplicate of the king, while the second half of the epic poem deals with Gilgamesh coming to terms with Enkidu’s death and his own mortality. Gilgamesh was a king who “surpass[ed] all other kings, heroic
However, this all changes when Gilgamesh’s newfound friend and carbon copy, Enkidu, dies. The king is deeply saddened by his death and also faces the fact that he too will eventually die. So, in order to cheat death, Gilgamesh decides to search for Uta-napishti and ask how he can live forever. He tells Gilgamesh to do different tasks, but Gilgamesh fails every time. Gilgamesh realizes that if he cannot complete these tasks there is no way he can beat death. Gilgamesh accepts his fate and returns home. Gilgamesh’s story concludes with him seeing his city’s walls which “will be his enduring monument” (George 88). It is important to note that The Epic of Gilgamesh, quite possibly the earliest work of literature, has a central theme of mortality, because it is at the very core of the human experience. This story greatly depicts a dilemma that most humans will eventually face in life. Death is something that is guaranteed and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. However, there is something that one can do; something that will metaphorically make one live forever. That something is making a notable impact on the
In his final words, Beowulf accepts his death, saying “Fate swept us away, / sent my whole brave high-born clan / to their final doom. Now I must follow them” (Heaney 2814-2816). Those who lived and died in valor are honored forever. But, if you impede on other’s living a full life like Grendel, his mother, and the dragon, then you perish in vain. Beowulf, the story’s hero, finds glory and justice in slaying the monsters. This shows that death is merely a culmination and reflection of the life you lived. Beowulf, like society as the time progressed, has accepted death as part of the human experience. Eventually everything is going to end, so the characters of Beowulf view this as a reason to live for happiness and to find meaning along the way. There is still an emphasis on leaving a legacy, however, there is even more of a value on just living a good life while you are still alive. Life and death is depicted as less clear-cut than previous works because of this, however, that is makes it even more understandable. As time goes on, we as humans still understand that death is unavoidable, however, our feelings toward it becomes ever more