Yaobin Ma

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a very poetic piece of great literature. The story started off telling us that Gilgamesh is descendent from goddess Ninsun and a mortal human. Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk, but Gilgamesh was an angry man, he made his people suffer through his tyrant way of controlling. I feel that the epic is starting off with a good set up at this point. Since if there is a problem, there’s always a solution. When there’s a solution, there will be a good story to tell. As we expected to, gods sent Enkidu to serve justice for the people in Uruk. Enkidu notices that Gilgamesh is having a wedding. Enkidu wants to interrupt Gilgamesh’s wedding. He arrived there and had a battle against Gilgamesh. The battle was intense, Enkidu realizes Gilgamesh’s power and they became friends. There’s an old saying Chinese that says “no fights, no acquaintance”, meaning that you get to know the other person when you exchange physical interaction/fight with that person. This old saying fits into this scenario perfectly. Also, as we mentioned in class, check and balance. Since Gilgamesh was uniquely strong, there was no one to check on him. He was the one and only ruler for Uruk. After they become friends, Gilgamesh suggested going slay the region guardian Humbaba.   Enkidu and the elders recommended not to do so due to the risks involved. Gilgamesh did not listen and instead proceed to go to the forest where Humbaba habituated. I like how the author is determined to introduce us the reader that after the encounter of Enkidu, a new chapter arise. Gilgamesh received advice from the elders for his journey. He also went to visit his mom Ninsun and she adopts Enkidu to be her son. Gilgamesh and Enkidu continued their journey to the forest. In the story, Gilgamesh said: “My friend, I had a dream, And the dream I had was very disturbing” (TEOG 22-23). Every now and then, Gilgamesh had those dream where he believed it is the future vision. Those dreams were nightmares about the guardian Humbaba. I think this is a very interesting way of phrasing because Gilgamesh was all mighty and powerful all his life and now he has to face a greater existence. This is implying that Gilgamesh is experiencing fear for the first time. Enkidu calms Gilgamesh’s nerve by telling him a brighter interpretation of his visions. As they finally get close to Humbaba’s territory, tablet IV ended.