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Nelson Manning

Jeremy Burns

WLIT 1

November 3, 2010

The Death of Enkidu in Gilgamesh

The life of Enkidu was inseparable from the fate of Gilgamesh in their tale. Even though the

work, Gilgamesh, is named for the primary character, Enkidu is equally essential in the plot and

message as Gilgamesh's story would have been one of a tyrant king without him. The most pivotal

point of the story is the death of Enkidu and the mourning of Gilgamesh as it brings to an end the

previous arch and style of the story and instigates a new shift in the psyche and actions of Gilgamesh.

The story is traditionally delivered orally, but even on the page it retains vestigial features of how it

was spoken and performed.

As Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh laments this death in the form of a poetic speech extolling the

virtues of Enkidu and the loss that will come with the departure. From this speech, it can be seen that

the definition of masculinity in that culture does not allow for open mourning. Gilgamesh states that he

will weep for Enkidu.../ Bitterly moaning like a woman mourning (28) which strongly insinuates that

it would normally not be considered the proper reaction for Gilgamesh to have, but due to their

closeness, Gilgamesh feels that it is appropriate to openly weep over the partner that he considers a

brother. To open a poem of mourning in that manner provides an element of shock to the listener as it

would cause them to pause and consider the people for which they would morn with unabashed

abandon. To swing the poem back to a level of cultural comfort, Gilgamesh immediately moves to

masculine, war-like metaphors by calling Enkidu the axe at [his] side, [his] hand's strength, and the

sword in [his] belt (28-29). Those metaphors reaffirm the strength and manliness of Gilgamesh as

has been displayed throughout the preceding parts of the story, and it adds gravity to Gilgamesh's

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willingness to put himself in a state of weakness to make known his love for Enkidu.

The poem of lament is set apart from the style of the rest of the text to signify both the

importance of the monologue and the style it was intended to be delivered. The change in style suggests

that, in an oral delivery, the section is to be played out with increased dramatics and poignancy. Up

until that point, the rest of the story is written in prose as it is to be told like any other story.

Gilgamesh's lament for Enkidu is the climax of the story where Gilgamesh loses the partner who is

responsible for his greatness, and it marks the decline of Gilgamesh as he begins to fail at tasks given to

him, such as the search for immortality. Throughout the events following that moment, Gilgamesh

shows sorrow, fear, and all of the negatives attributes that pull him down from the status of a demi-god

touched by fate and bring his essential humanity out. Without the preceding successes of Gilgamesh

and Enkidu, the death would not have had the same weight, and if the events of Enkidu's death were

described in the same tone and style as the rest of the story, it would fall flat and undercut the listener's

empathy for Gilgamesh as he falls from grace.

Following the poem, the story continues in the original style. There is a rhetorical punctuation

of finality when it is said that Gilgamesh touched [Enkidu's] heart but it did not beat, nor did he lift his

eyes again. When Gilgamesh touched his heart it did not beat (29). The repetition of Gilgamesh

touching Enkidu's heart transmits to the audience the feelings of disbelief that Gilgamesh feels. It is to

suggest that Gilgamesh felt for Enkidu's pulse, withdrew his hand in horror at not finding one, and felt

again because he did not trust his first reading. In finally accepting the death of Enkidu as a reality,

Gilgamesh proceeds with his final acts of mourning. He lays a veil over Enkidu as one veils the bride

(30) to bring back the element of tender, non-masculine love. That is the place that Gilgamesh finally

breaks down emotionally. He tears out his own hair, removes his clothes, and goes to great lengths to

bring himself down from his high status. This act of self-degradation foreshadows the later slip of

Gilgamesh from his status as an impenetrable god-man. For seven days and nights, Gilgamesh weeps

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over the body of Enkidu as it begins to decompose. After the body is disposed of, Gilgamesh orders a

monument of lapis lazuli and gold to be fashioned in the likeness of Enkidu. This act is symbolic of the

concept that Gilgamesh would rather shed all of his possessions and traverse insurmountable obstacles

to have the past change and have Enkidu return to him.

During the mourning process, Gilgamesh makes many promises to Enkidu. One of the most

prominent of those is that Gilgamesh will let his hair grow long, he will wear a lion's skin, and he will

wander the wilderness. In a manner, Gilgamesh's promise to decivilize himself is a secondary tribute to

the life of Enkidu. Where Enkidu's life in the civilized world is enshrined by the statue erected in his

likeness, Gilgamesh will pay respects to Enkidu's life as a wild man. This promise not only sets up the

next part of the story as Gilgamesh follows through on it, but it also shows the lengths that Gilgamesh

is willing to go to honor the memory of the man he loved most in the world.

By drastically modifying the form of the story, the author of Gilgamesh places incredible

emphasis on how a single death of a loved one can bring even the greatest of mankind to ruin. The

author goes to great lengths to set apart the scene of Enkidu's death and focus on the depth of love

shared by the two. Gilgamesh's greatness would not have been realized without the dedication of

Enkidu, and in his absence, Gilgamesh turns his thoughts to self preservation which ironically leads to

his own demise. Previous to Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh gave little thought to his own mortality or that

of his friend. After that point, he was filled with fear to the point that he quested for immortality.

However, in seeing his friend's death and being denied immortality, Gilgamesh has learned moral

lessons, and the author is using Gilgamesh as a vehicle to transmit those lessons to the audience. The

events of the story describe the brevity and fragility of life, but the primary lesson is that the quest for

glory, power, wealth, or immortal youth is a foolish one. Gilgamesh's life is a statement that the people

you love are more important than anything else, and without them, possessions and status are

meaningless.

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Works Cited

Lawall, Sarah N., and Maynard Mack. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 2nd ed. Vol. A. New

York: Norton, 2001: 28-30. Print.

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The passage begins on the bottom of page 28 at the beginning of the poem (Hear me, great ones of

Uruk...) and continues until the middle of page 30 before The Search for Everlasting Life (...and

weeping he went away).