The Function Of Dreams In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Further analysis of the poem The Epic of Gilgamesh, described the characteristic of king Gilgamesh from the beginning, middle, and end. Throughout the poem, there are immature and petrified moments of Gilgamesh, but more importantly he learned to grow as he explore his journey. Friendship, love, and fear appears to be essential in this poem. Why are those terms relevant ? and how does it connect with the trait of Gilgamesh ?, let’s continue to find out the truth about Gilgamesh.

Ninsun interpreted the dream as a premonition of the arrival of a friend and partner whom Gilgamesh will come to love. It is also interesting to note that the tablets say that Shamhat was simultaneously giving Enkidu the same sort of prediction as Gilgamesh. (15). The tablets also seem to imply that Gilgamesh and Enkidu may have had a homosexual relationship. (11).

Dreams also play a particular role in Herodotus’ The History. Like the Oracles, dreams influence people to make certain decisions. And like the situations with the Oracles, fate also plays a role. These people had these specific dreams because they were fated to make said decisions. The dreams, possibly, were the only ways to convince them, or to ensure that fate run its course.

Dreams have long fascinated the human race. This alternate reality, separate from the conscious world we see around us, has captured the interest of many people throughout history. In fact, mankind has been studying dreams since the invention of the written word. Perhaps the lure of dreams is that there seems to be some significance behind them. Most reject the idea that dreams are just random meaningless fragments of data. The vivid sensations that dreams create are just too powerful to ignore. The world of dreams is filled with peculiar phenomenon and unexpected events that beg our attention. Consider the following example of a dream:

The maturation of Gilgamesh and his desire to acquire wisdom throughout his journey is quite apparent. By overcoming difficulties such as upholding Uruk, becoming friends with Enkidu, and various other scenarios, Gilgamesh proves that he did in fact grow up throughout the epic.

In Gilgamesh, dreams are used as a form of communication between the Gods and humans. Major events are seen through these dreams and fantasies are foretold. In the ancient Mesopotamian culture, dreams play a major role. Dreams foretold the coming of Enkidu, the death of Enkidu, the protection of Shamhat during the battle with Humbaba, and much more. The fact that dreams play such an important role in

Gilgamesh has frequent dreams that foreshadow what difficulties he will come across in the future. As the story progresses, his dreams become darker and darker, where he realizes that he is not as strong as he thinks he is (pg 4) and that he will not live forever (pg ). Before Gilgamesh met Enkidu, he relied on his mother, the goddess Ninsun, to interpret his dreams. After he met Enkidu, Enkidu gladly offered Gilgamesh emotional support on days following a rough night of sleep. When they are on their way to Humbaba’s forest, Gilgamesh has dreams that jolt him awake from his sleep from terror, but Enkidu’s presence calms Gilgamesh down (pg 10). Even though Gilgamesh is such a big, powerful being, he is still intimidated by the messages that come to him in the form of dreams. Enkidu doesn’t ridicule him for this, but instead listens to Gilgamesh’s worries and provides either advice or

The author uses many literary devices in The Epic of Gilgamesh in order to describe the character of Humbaba, the one who guards the cedar forest, because he wants the reader to be just as fearful of the character as Enkidu, who is the speaker of lines 155-158 in the text. The character’s fear of the ugly beast is ironic because when Enkidu dies Gilgamesh too becomes afraid to die. Another reason I chose this short passage is that the author uses imagery and foreshadowing to hint to the reader what happens later on in the epic and I believe it is essential to the poem. The author also uses repetition in order to stress the idea that Humbaba is not to be tormented. Enkidu warns Gilgamesh not to go near the forest of cedars to kill Humbaba, but Gilgamesh laughs at him and asks Enkidu why he is afraid to die all of the sudden. The paragraph I chose also prepares the reader for unforeseen events that occur later on in the epic poem, including Enkidu's death.

I remember having dreams and when I have had them they were very interesting, and I wander why. 1 Reading the text book, it says most people dream four to five times a night, but not all people remember their dreams upon awakening in the morning. Non-dreamers are often surprised by their dreams when they first awake. (Dennis Coon, 2016). 1 How meaningful are dreams? Some theorist believe that dreams have deeply hidden meanings. Others regard dreams as nearly meaningless. 2 Yet others hold that dreams reflect our waking thoughts, fantasies and emotions(hartmann,2011). I also looked up on the Dream Bible which I never knew that these sites exist, so it was very interesting reading the different sites. 3 The dream Bible says

Dreams are scenarios your mind creates which represents who you truly are, were and are destined to be. You 're mind creates illusions that either further enhance your knowledge on what your purpose in life is or could make you fear it. Dreams are essentially part of the foundation of a persons life. Rudolfo Anaya in the novel Bless me ultima uses the concept of dreams to demonstrate the growth and the loss of innocence Antonio faces from beginning to end.

In tablet III, “The Preparation for the Expedition to the Forest of Cedar,” Gilgamesh and Enkidu were scared to go on this journey and because of the pride they could go back home, and they had to succeed. In the end of tablet II, “Gilgamesh heard the words of the senior advisers, he looked with a [laugh at] Enkidu…: [‘Now, my friend, how frightened I am!] [In fear of him shall I change my mind]” (22). The elders warned Gilgamesh and Enkidu that they should not go into the forest because this is not an accomplishable journey. Even the goddess Ninsun, Gilgamesh’s mother, warns them not to go, but they still went. In tablet IV, “The Journey of the Cedar Forest,” Gilgamesh got scared and had multiple dreams. When he woke up, Gilgamesh said, “[The dream that I had [was an utter confusion:] in [a] mountain valley… [The mountain fell down on top of…, [then] we like…” (30). The readers do not know the full dream because it was written in fragments, but we can understand Gilgamesh 's fear. During the journey, Gilgamesh has five dreams and every time Gilgamesh tells a dream to Enkidu, Enkidu interprets the dream in a positive way. He deciphers the dream that the gods wants Gilgamesh to go and kill the protector of the cedar forest, Humbaba, even though both of them are scared to kill him. Both travelers had five changes to go back home and give up on their

At the heart of a tale about slaying mystical creatures, scorning a goddess, and traveling to fantastical places, lies the narrative of a profound friendship between two men. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian literary masterpiece, all of its events are centered around the development of the friendship between Gilgamesh, the tyrannical and stubborn king of Uruk, and the man created by the Gods to both complement and challenge his nature: Enkidu. Each of the three dream sequences in the epic represent different stages of Enkidu’s life – one portends his birth, another foretells the actions that will ultimately lead to his demise, and the final predicts his death. In the Epic of Gilgamesh dreams are utilized as a tool to

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Mesopotamian epic poem loosely based on a real king who ruled sometime around 2700 BCE. The standard version of this epic was written in the Akkadian language. In this epic poem, Gilgamesh is King of Uruk, he is one third mortal and two-thirds god; he is described as a strong, arrogant, and unruly king that does not show much consideration for his actions. Gilgamesh is a very egocentric person; he has no respect for the feelings of others and does not care about how his actions affect the citizens of Uruk. The Gods notice the unruliness of Gilgamesh and conjure up Enkidu to defeat Gilgamesh. Instead of becoming enemies, Enkidu and Gilgamesh become friends, but their friendship is short lived when Enkidu dies, which leaves Gilgamesh to extremely grieve for the loss of his friend. In order to avoid death Gilgamesh seeks out immortality from a man called Utanapishtam. Unfortunately Gilgamesh soon learns that he cannot escape death because he finally comes to terms with his own mortality and discovers that death is inevitable. The contrasting themes of love and friendship, fear of failure, inevitability of death, and wisdom of experience that occur throughout the Epic of Gilgamesh show how man cannot escape his own mortality no matter how hard he tries.

The ancients believed that dreams had the power to predict future events or contained information that communicated the will of the gods. Several dreams occur throughout The Epic of Gilgamesh. The dreams found in The Epic of Gilgamesh help to foreshadow coming

Perhaps one of the main reasons the Epic of Gilgamesh is so popular and has lasted such a long time, is because it offers insight into the human concerns of people four thousand years ago, many of which are still relevant today. Some of these human concerns found in the book that are still applicable today include: the fear and concerns people have in relation to death, overwhelming desires to be immortal, and the impact a friendship has on a person’s life. It does not take a great deal of insight into The Epic of Gilgamesh for a person to locate these themes in the story, and even less introspection to relate to them.