Humanities 110

Introduction to the Humanities

Paper Topics | Fall 2018 | Paper 1

Due Saturday, September 8th, 5 p.m., in your conference leader’s Eliot Hall mailbox.
Maximum length: 1,500 words

Do a close reading of Gilgamesh’s lament for Enkidu in Tablet VIII.1-62 of Gilgamesh. In your reading, choose one theme that you find to be central to the epic as a whole and analyze how the passage treats that theme. Why is it significant that this theme appears in the context of a funeral?

This question asks you to start practicing the skills of “close reading.” As you analyze the passage, pay careful attention to the language, examining details such as imagery, diction (word choice), and the use of repetition, and think about how the patterns you notice contribute to the meaning of the text as a whole. Structure your paper around a strong central argument, and use explicit, textual evidence to support that argument. (It may prove helpful to look at our online guide about close reading essays.)