...Lord of the Rings and Modern Day Epic? Epic adventures are one of the oldest and most celebrated works of literature. These adventures paint pictures of larger-than-life heroes, terrifying battle scenes, and heroic triumphs. Most epics served the purpose of transmitting culture and history, as well as entertaining readers. Among classical epics are the well-known Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, and The Odyssey. However, is the epic adventure a dying breed of literature? Is it possible that epic stories have sustained the test of time and evolved over the centuries? The Lord of the Rings trilogy, including The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, is one of the greatest examples of a modern day epic. What do The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and The Lord of the Rings all have in common? They all share typical characteristics of epic adventures in some form or another. Though the motives and reasons may differ, the theme of journeying is common to all epic adventures. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, King Gilgamesh sets out on a perilous adventure with his closest friend Enkidu in order to find enduring fame and glory. In The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus embarks on a 10 year-long journey through trials and tests to find his way back home to his wife and son. Epic hero Achilles, of The Iliad, sets out to fight in the legendary Trojan War. Similarly, Frodo Baggins, unassuming hero of The Lord of the Rings, sets out from his home and...
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...Qualities of an Epic Story in The Notebook What is an epic? An epic, by definition, is the telling of an epic hero’s story through the vast journey and sacrifices he makes. The Notebook would be considered an epic for many reasons. Some may disagree and say it’s just a love story that contains no characteristics, and no proof of being an epic. But in this paper the characteristics of an epic will be explored through facts and examples from the text and from today’s present life and culture. The epic hero, Noah Hamilton in Nicholas Sparks’ The Notebook states, “I am no one special, just a common man with common thoughts. I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me. And my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect, I've succeeded as gloriously as anyone who ever lived (The Notebook).” Some examples of the characteristics in The Notebook that proves this is an epic would include vast settings, the story begins in medias res, the characters have epic digressions and that the hero embodies the values of the culture. Because of how the story starts, media res would be considered the first characteristic of an epic that can be noticed in The Notebook. Our story begins at a nursing home in the south where Allie is being looked after due to her dementia. The nurse is in her room, attempting to have Allie come out and go outside for a little while until a mysterious man shows up. Now, we don’t know who this man is that has just entered her room, and we’re not...
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...Literature has always explored the theme of love. Love cannot be defined in just one way, there are several different types of love. Three types of love that can be found often in classic readings are eros(romantic), philia(friendship), and familial, or the love of family(“The 7 Types Of Love”). Love in literature is not far different than love in modern culture. The love titled philia can be found in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh has a strong love for Enkidu in the epic. Their love is solely the friendship they have. Gilgamesh wanted to fight Enkidu and destroy him to begin with. They were evenly matched as they were made alike. After Enkidu comes along, Gilgamesh changes his ways of being mean. They set off on a quest together to kill Humbaba, and together they succeed. The relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is the heart of the Sumerian epic. Enkidu and Gilgamesh first meet as enemies and fight each other. It is during this battle that Gilgamesh comes to understand that his thoughts about women and life in general could be wrong. He learns from Enkidu and Enkidu learns and becomes more `civilized' through his friendship with Gilgamesh. When the gods...
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...Development of Gilgamesh The “Epic of Gilgamesh” was an ancient work of Mesopotamian literature. This epic was passed down by oral tradition. It was not until the nineteenth century, that the epic was rediscovered. The character Gilgamesh was a powerful king and a great warrior. He was king of the city of Uruk. He was a man, who was one-third human and two-thirds divine. He feared that one day he would die. Therefore, Gilgamesh went on a quest in search of immortality. Throughout his quest, Gilgamesh developed from arrogant, to equal, and to humble. At the beginning of the epic, Gilgamesh was an arrogant king. He was the most strongest and handsomeness man. He was prideful man, who feared that his name would not be remembered. Gilgamesh was...
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...emotion, especially when it comes to converting such into words, is an otherworldly art only prodigies can master. And when it comes to prodigies, history raises the classic words of The Odyssey by Homer, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and Antigone by Sophocles and puts them on a pedestal of perfect implementation. Throughout the course of these stories, there is one uncut emotion that makes today’s world go round: love. Often times in life people search for the perfect partner -- a true love and a happily ever after. In The Odyssey, Odysseus and Penelope could be considered a power couple even in modern-day society. Although Odysseus is gone for twenty years, he never forgets his faithful wife in Ithaca. This love seems to help him persevere through the many hardships that he encounters on his journey home. On the other hand, Penelope, of course, maintains balance in the scale of affection by unraveling his shroud and delaying her marriage to the suitors...
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...The Analysis of Gilgamesh I believe The Epic of Gilgamesh should be considered the world’s first written epic as it reads true to all the literary elements of an epic piece. The plot contains a hero of superhuman strength, a mission which determines the fate of a nation and battles against monstrous foes. This story contains a few different themes which seem to be universally represented in many works of literature. The epic cover tales of love, strength, humility, wisdom and death. While Gilgamesh was young he lived as many young men have throughout history. He was strong, fearless, virile and foolish. As a king with no equal he lived as such. Young Gilgamesh was without any love, humility, or mature wisdom. Besides being a fearless warrior he lacked any traits or characteristics of a good king. He spent endless days in athletic contests and defeating all his competitors. Gilgamesh would lay with all the women of his land without regard to morals or ethics. If the tale was laid out as a human life from birth to death then this section would be his adolescence. He was energetic, rambunctious, and risk-taking. There was no consequences for his actions. Teens often have a need to push the limits of life to learn their physical and mental ends, coupled with the need for adventure cause dangerous actions and behavior. As with most teenagers, later in the story he began to develop mentally, emotionally and socially. As a young adult does, he gradually increased his mental and...
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...The Knight’s Tale Courtly love, according to Mr. Windham, is the idealized view of an extra-marital relationship between the sexes in which a knight performs brave deeds to win the approval of a lady. Courtly love occurred mostly during the 1066-1485, otherwise known as the middle ages. This form of love can be found all throughout The Knight’s Tale, a tale of two cousins, who do everything from the proclaiming of their love for Emily, to fighting an epic knight battle in an arena; this tale seems to be courtly love through and through, but there is something that is prohibiting this tale to be a true tale of courtly love; their proclaimed love, Emily, is not married. The first reading of courtly love is the knights’ proclamation of love towards Emily. These two knights, Arcite and Palamon, are cousins with a brotherly bond. They have a chivalrous honor and promised to watch after each other no matter what. This is their code of honor emphasizing loyalty to each other. After the Battle of Thebes, these two knights are found wounded on the battle field. Theseus, the king of Athens who marched on Thebes, spares their lives but condemns them to life in an Athenian tower. On one day of their imprisonment, Palamon wakes...
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...Aylin Sipahi CMLT C110 Final Essay for Epic of Gilgamesh February 19, 2013 The Epic of Gilgamesh serves as a great looking glass into a long lost culture in which most artifacts are lost. The story centers on Gilgamesh, a ruthless king who is two thirds god and one third man. As king, he does not meet his potentials of leadership as he is often self-centered and sometimes depicted as inhumane. When his dear friend Enkidu dies, he sets off to find immortality. He eventually fails, but during his journey, he came to terms with his mortality and became a more compassionate person. Even though the main characters are men, the women play small but vital roles along his journey. The women in this epic reveal that they are solely responsible for the civilization of Gilgamesh and Enkidu by means of dream interpretation, sex, and motherly instincts, because the men of this epic do not have the ability to do them on their own. As king, Gilgamesh does things of his own accord and with his own judgment. He terrifies his city with his ruthless behavior, and even upsets the gods. He takes away sons from families, and has his way with newly wedded brides on their honeymoon before the grooms. As Gilgamesh sees women as merely sex objects, it’s difficult to imagine that when he needs direction he goes to his mother, Ninsun “who is well-beloved and wise (page 66).” It is interesting to see that Gilgamesh sees every other woman as a sex object, except his mother. Some theories to support...
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...pleasures to focus on our main goals and objectives that may turn out to be otherwise unattainable. We are challenged every day to surpass those obstacles that hold us back, knowing that they can be very meaningful. In the epic of The Aeneid, written by the Roman poet, Virgil, we come across Aeneas, who is marked by his loyalty and devotion, his pietas. This epic also raises the controversy of weather Aeneas wrongs Dido. However, his unquestionable obedience to the gods cannot possibly be blamed for Dido’s heartbroken soul. In the early books of the Aeneid, Aeneas is presented as the son of gods, a valiant, brave...
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...Gilgamesh is an epic of great love, followed by lingering grief that causes a significant change in character. It is the story of a person who is feared and honored, a person who loves and hates, a person who wins and loses and a person who lives life. Gilgamesh's journey is larger than life, yet ends so commonly with death. Through Gilgamesh, the fate of mankind is revealed, and the inevitable factor of change is expressed. Before the coming of Enkidu, Gilgamesh was a man of great power. A being for which there was no equal match, Gilgamesh boasted about his overwhelming glory and power. However, his arrogance was accompanied with an extensive abuse of power, which pushed the city of Uruk into a state of rage. Still Gilgamesh felt no despair; he lived to display to others his majestic power. The first sign of a sincere change in Gilgamesh arises as a result of the birth of Enkidu. From the beginning, a powerful link developed between man and woman. The wise Ninsun said to Gilgamesh,"You will love him as a woman and he will never forsake you". Gilgamesh had finally met his match, a friend that would serve as his life-long companion. Upon the seal of this great friendship, Gilgamesh began to change his selfish ways. Nevertheless, he shared with Enkidu the luxuries of kindness. Setting aside his great pride and power, Gilgamesh had opened a place in his heart, and in his sumptuous life, for his beloved brother. The second significant change in Gilgamesh was caused by the...
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...The Essential Role of Goddess in Homer’s The Iliad and The Odyssey Just as women were viewed as inferior to men during Homer’s era, a first glance at Homer’s epics The Iliad and The Odyssey portrays goddesses as inferiors to gods. Despite the era’s bias to men, the goddesses are of equal importance to the plot of his stories as the gods. The goddesses play vital roles as either helpers or nightmares to men by often determining the results of an action. Homer did not establish the goddesses in his epics merely as minor structures to blend in the background. Rather, he established dynamic goddesses who were both powerful and intelligent. In fact, in many ways the goddesses controlled the gods by having an influence in their decisions and actions through manipulation, persuasion and guidance. By influencing the gods, the goddesses also played a large role as shepherds for human fate. The goddess’s constant intervention in the mortals’ lives was driven by favoritism, love or sexual desires, and their pity for the weak. Although the goddesses are often restricted from doing as they wish by the gods, they have proven, in many occasions, to overpower the gods through manipulation. Goddesses were often told what to do by the gods. Tasks such as delivering messages from Zeus were often carried out by Athena. Just as Hector told his wife, “Go home, attend to your own handiwork at loom and spindle, and command the maids to busy themselves, too. As for war, that is for men, all we...
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...Hercules an Epic Tale... Hercules an Epic Tale... Tarik Lee January 14, 2011 Period 4, Ms. Burke In Greek mythology there are many heroes. Heroes came in the form of gods and men. Greek mythology tells a story of a man named Hercules that was an epic hero. Hercules is one of the epic heroes in Greek mythology for several reasons. Hercules has super strength, he attracts women, and he saves people. First off lets go to the beginning of this “epic” tale. Zeus is having a party for his new born son Hercules. All the gods are in attendance and having a good time. All except the biter god of the under-world, Hades. He’s already unhappy that Zeus has appointed him the god of the under-world, but also Zeus’ son is going to be better than Hades. Hades designs a plan that is going to make Zeus very angry. His plan is to kidnap Hercules so that it would be easier to defeat Zeus and takeover Mount Olympus. One night Hades does kidnaps baby Hercules. He gives him a potion he created to turn him mortal. Little Hercules drinks it willingly and he is now a mortal human, no longer a god. The only thing is that he still retains his super human strength because he didn’t drink the very last drop of the potion. Hercules grows up in an adopted home where his parents finally tell him about how they found him and he bared the charm of the gods. Now Hercules has to set out and become a true hero so he can be accepted back into Mount Olympus as a god. He goes through a series of task that...
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...Rahat Hasan War, Love, and Glory “And his loving father laughed, his mother laughed as well, and glorious Hector, quickly lifting the helmet from his head, set it down on the ground, fiery in the sunlight, and raising his son he kissed him, tossed him in his arms, lifting a prayer to Zeus, all you immortals! Grant this boy, my son, may be like me, first in glory among the Trojans, strong and brave like me, and rule all Troy in power” (6.562-69) In Book 6 of The Iliad, Homer describes the highly acclaimed Trojan warrior, Hector, returning from the battlefield to the city of Troy, where he meets his wife Andromache, and his infant son Astyanax. The excerpt displayed above describes the meeting of Hector with his family and serves an important purpose in The Iliad because it humanizes and reveals the positive traits of the great warrior; the audience can relate to Hector as he returns from war and suddenly embraces Astyanax upon seeing him. Homer is able to achieve a great level of emotional depth in this excerpt because he employs imagery that vividly conveys Hector’s return to his family. When Hector hastily removes his helmet upon seeing how it frightens Astyanax, Homer writes a series of clauses containing thoughts, feelings, and emotions which make the audience realize that Hector, who previously affirmed his devotion to the war, has a tender and loving side as well. Hector’s sudden display of emotion may seem questionable to the audience at first, because in...
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...Elucidate the importance of The Fourth Book of Paradise Lost. Answer: In the Fourth book of Paradise Lost, we are given more insight into the character of Eve and Satan. As Eve narrates her first waking moments after her own creation, we are immediately introduced to Eve's weakness, vanity. She awakes near a lake and sees an image of herself and thinks the images beautiful. Modern readers, especially coming from a feminist perspective, might view Eve's admiration of herself not as vanity or a weakness, but rather as a gesture of self-confidence and independence from man (especially as she finds her own image so much more beautiful than Adam's ). This self confident independence, however, is quickly lost. It is quite clear Milton believes in the traditional patriarchal system, complete with the gender stereotypes of 17th century Europe. Milton views the hierarchy of Adam being submissive to God and Eve being submissive to Adam as a natural God-given order: "God is thy law, thou mine," Eve says, "to know no more is woman's happiest knowledge and her praise." Later, when both Raphael and Michael come to visit the pair in separate episodes with messages from God, Eve will leave the conversation and only Adam will hear the message. The implication, of course, is that it is men who are in contact with God, and women are to learn about God only through men. Satan, as a character, has lost some of his original glamour and reader sympathy. It is clear in this book that Satan's argument...
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...Bridgett Traylor ENGL 2111- 12 Mrs. Schmitt 18 February 2016 The Same or Just Coincidence? One may wonder how a biblical narrative and an ancient Mesopotamian epic could have anything in common, as biblical narratives, such as the Flood in Genesis, are written by divine inspiration and ancient Mesopotamian writings, such as "The Epic of Gilgamesh," are steeped in mythology and written solely by human hand. Although fundamental differences are present in the two, the Flood in Genesis and "The Epic of Gilgamesh" also feature distinct parallels. At first glance, the discrepancies between "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and the Flood in Genesis appear to overpower any resemblances perhaps perceived as coincidences. However, further inspection uncovers startling similarities in these two accounts of the Great Flood, leading many to believe that the parallels are not coincidences at all. The story of the Flood in Genesis was first written as part of the Old Testament by the Jewish people. However, it is predated by far by the story "The Epic of Gilgamesh," a story that originates in the same area that holds many striking similarities to the tale of the Flood in Genesis. Though the story is modified to accommodate new characters, many properties of the story are similar, from small details like the creatures that are used as scouts to the religious purpose of the flood itself. For example, both the flood stories start with the characters receiving specific building instructions for a ship...
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