Review (PDF) The Epic Of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics)
The ancient Sumerian poem The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest written stories in existence, translated with an introduction by Andrew George in Penguin Classics.Miraculously preserved on clay tablets dating back as much as four thousand years, the poem of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, is the world's oldest epic, predating Homer by many centuries. The story tells of Gilgamesh's adventures with the wild man Enkidu, and of his arduous journey to the ends of the earth in quest of the Babylonian Noah and the secret of immortality. Alongside its themes of family, friendship and the duties of kings, The Epic of Gilgamesh is, above all, about mankind's eternal struggle with the fear of death.The Babylonian version has been known for over a century, but linguists are still deciphering new fragments in Akkadian and Sumerian. Andrew George's gripping translation brilliantly combines these into a fluid narrative and will long rank as the definitive English Gilgamesh. If you enjoyed The Epic of Gilgamesh, you might like Homer's Iliad, also available in Penguin Classics.'A masterly new verse translation'The Times'Andrew George has skilfully bridged the gap between a scholarly re-edition and a popular work'London Review of Books
File Size: 9296 KB
Print Length: 276 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0140447210
Publisher: Penguin Classics; Rev Ed edition (June 2, 2016)
Publication Date: June 2, 2016
Sold by: Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B01ESELZNO
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray: Not Enabled
Word Wise: Not Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Not Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #12,859 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Ancient, Classical & Medieval #3 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Middle Eastern #3 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > Epic
I recommend this Penguin Classic, but it offers more thorough scholarly apparatus than usual for the series. This is not meant as a criticism! But, a beginner may find a "version" such as Stephen Mitchell's easier to start with for an overview of the storyline, and a briefer introduction and helpful endnotes. The poem itself is not lengthy, but the ancillary texts and sources, as Andrew George shows us, do take up considerable space which may please enthusiasts but discourage newcomers to this epic poem.George prepared for Oxford UP in 1999 a two-volume edition, and this Penguin adapts the core of the English translation for a wider audience. It appears ideal for a college classroom or the reader wanting to learn more about the lacunae, the gaps, the language, and the editorial decisions made by George and fellow translators. A fascinating appendix shows how out of grammatical markers, syllabic, and half-syllabic cuneiform incisions the sounds and rhythms and absences that fill this most ancient of narratives turn into what we can understand. To a point.Terms such as "louvre-door," "glacis-slope," "hie to the forge," and notably Ishtar's exhortation to "stroke my quim" give a rather archaic diction to parts of the translation. George aims obviously for precision in such terminology, but this does clash with the more demotic vernacular chosen by Mitchell in his popularization. Mitchell's also considerably more erotic and develops passages that in their original state, reading George, remain terse.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a fascinating tale of great historical importance. Composed 1500 years before Homer's epics, the story is one that modern man can readily understand and appreciate. Gilgamesh was the more than capable ruler of the ancient town of Uruk; his strength and physical beauty were unmatched by any in the land, and his subjects adored him. Although he possessed so much, Gilgamesh wanted desperately to live forever like a god. He was two-thirds god and one-third human, but he refused to accept his destiny to die. If it were his lot to die, he wanted to perform great deeds so that his name would never be forgotten.The story opens with the story of Enkidu, a wild man of nature who was to become Gilgamesh's best friend and accompany him on his dangerous journeys. The first trip takes them to the Land of the Cedars where Gilgamesh sets out to kill Humbaba, the guardian of the forest. When he later slays the Bull of Heaven, the anger of the gods is turned upon him and Enkidu, leading to new suffering by Gilgamesh. In desperation, he seeks Utnapishtim in the land of the gods; Utnapishtim was granted eternal life after preserving mankind in the wake of a great flood. Gilgamesh again finds only heartache for his troubles. Returning to Uruk, he preserves the story of his journeys and deeds in writing, and it is, perhaps ironically, in this written record that Gilgamesh is recognized today for the great man he was.One learns much about the ancient gods in this tale, and the story of the great goddess Ishtar's role in the related events is pretty amazing. When Ishtar invited Gilgamesh to be her husband, he issued forth a litany of former lovers whom Ishtar had turned out and cursed, boldly rebuffing Ishtar's advances.
The Epic of Gilgamesh (Penguin Classics) The Epic of Gilgamesh (Classics) The Gilgamesh Epic and Old Testament Parallels (Phoenix Books) The Epic of Gilgamesh (Norton Critical Editions) Sumerians: The Land Of The Civilised Kings: Discover The Truth About - The Sumerians (Babylonia, Nibiru, Gilgamesh & Planet X) (Genesis, Assyrians, Ziggurat, Lexicon, Pantheon, Mesopotamia, Sumer) La Leyenda de Gilgamesh (Spanish Edition) Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative Gilgamesh The Penguin Book of Caribbean Verse in English (Penguin Classics) The Penguin Book of Russian Poetry (Penguin Classics) Penguin Classics Fear and Trembling: Dialectical Lyric By Johannes De Silentio (Penguin Pocket Hardbacks) The Penguin Arthur Miller: Collected Plays (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) The Penguin Book of the Undead: Fifteen Hundred Years of Supernatural Encounters (Penguin Classics) Modern Classics Journeys End (Modern Classics (Penguin)) Little Black Classics Box Set (Penguin Little Black Classics) Modern Classics Selected Poetry (Penguin Modern Classics) Homosexual Verse, The Penguin Book of (Penguin poets) American Indians and the Law: The Penguin Library of American Indian History (Penguin's Library of American Indian History) The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Penguin Dictionary) The Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory (Penguin Reference Books)
