Teaching Gilgamesh
The most epically old of all the old epics.
- Activities: 13
- Quiz Questions: 141
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A man tragically loses his best friend and goes on a journey to find the secret of immortality. You can't get a more classic story than that. No, literally. You can't. Because The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest surviving work of literature in the Western world.
Not to ruin every other work of literature and film for you, but The Epic of Gilgamesh is pretty much the foundation of all those other stories. Sure, it has sex, monsters, gods, death, and adventures to the end of the world. But the big things that Gilgamesh cares about are the same things you and your high school students experience in your daily lives: having somebody—anybody—in this world who really "gets" you; and trying to make your time on this earth meaningful and as long as possible.
Awww, Gilgamesh. No one "gets" us like you do.
In this guide, you'll find
- an exercise in PR, with the students acting as team of advisers and speechwriters to an unpopular King Gilgamesh.
- a chance to imagine being one of the story's gods, to decide whether and how punishment should be meted out to Gilgamesh after an unfortunate tree-felling incident.
- an exploration of death in the story and a chance to think more deeply about the lessons Gilgamesh can impart about mortality.
King Gilgamesh arrives at the semi-bummer conclusion that humans just can't live forever—but we can find peace in the legacy we leave behind after death. Our Shmoop guide unpacks all that and much more.
What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides
Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.
Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:
- 13 – 18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students
- Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students
- Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text
- Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students
- A note from Shmoop’s teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles
Want more help teaching Teaching Gilgamesh?
Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.
Instructions for You
Objective: Gilgamesh may be the king of Uruk, but he's not exactly universally loved at the beginning of the first chapter. Unsurprisingly, some of his subjects are pretty peeved when he challenges men to athletic contests and sexually exploits young women.
Not cool, Gilgamesh.
In this activity, your students will touch down in Uruk near the beginning of the first chapter, when Gilgamesh is getting blowback for how he's ruling the kingdom. They'll have to imagine they're his team of advisers doing some damage control, figuring out how to bridge the gap with his subjects. This'll take the form of a public speech, which they'll have to prepare and present to the populace.
This can happen once they've read halfway through the first chapter. That way your students will have enough background information to know how to big up the main man, and also anticipate any (inevitable) criticism that might come his way.
Onward.
Materials Needed: A copy of the text and/or our Shmoop summary page
Step 1: Get the class to split into groups of three or four, where they'll imagine that they're Gilgamesh's advisors. They'll kick things off by getting to the root of the problem, figuring out exactly what Gilgamesh has done to cause this PR nightmare. They have to write down at least five things about Gilgamesh that the people of Uruk aren't happy about. Each of the five should include:
- What Gilgamesh has done wrong
- Where in the text this occurs
- Why this is such a heinous act
Each section should be around three sentences long, with the groups having ten minutes to put this together. When finished, you can have a brief class discussion where the groups call out the various (and no doubt brilliant) ideas they came up with.
Step 2: It's damage control time. King G is going to give a speech telling the people how sorry he is for his misdeeds, that he won't do it again, and how he's planning to be a better ruler and person in the future. The speech should include the following:
- Acknowledgment of his wrongdoing
- G's plans to improve his bad behavior
- How Gilgamesh thinks he's also been a good ruler
- How he plans to rule Uruk more successfully in the future
The speech should be around four minutes in length when read out loud. It should make specific reference to the text, and each student should perform one part (so preferably a minute or so each). It should be written in the first person as Gilgamesh, and they have 20 minutes to get it together.
Step 3: Once the speeches are complete, each group gets four minutes to stand up and address the populace.
When the groups are finished, a member of the class (or yourself) can ask them a question about their speech or the way they're going to rule in the future. At least one member of the group must answer the question as Gilgamesh. Get ready for some rock-solid Gilgamesh impressions.
Step 4: To round things out, the students should read to the end of the first chapter at home. They'll then write a 250-word essay predicting how Gilgamesh will react to Enkidu's arrival and how it might shake things up for the leader.
They should refer to several of the king's character traits that were discussed in class, showing where they appear in the opening chapter. They'll also want to discuss how these will affect G's behavior when E turns up in town. Something tells us things might get…
Epic.
Instructions for Your Students
Gilgamesh may be the king of Uruk, but he's not exactly universally loved at the beginning of the first chapter. Unsurprisingly, some of his subjects are pretty peeved when he challenges men to athletic contests and sexually exploits young women.
Not cool, Gilgamesh.
In this activity, you'll touch down in Uruk near the beginning of the first chapter, when Gilgamesh is getting blowback for how he's ruling the kingdom. In groups, you'll have to imagine you're his team of advisers doing some damage control, figuring out how to bridge the gap with his subjects. This'll take the form of a public speech, which you'll have to prepare and present to the populace.
This can go down once you've read halfway through the first chapter. That way you'll have enough background information to know how to big up the main man, and also anticipate any criticism that might come his way.
Onward.
Step 1: Split into groups of three or four, where they'll imagine that you're Gilgamesh's advisors. You'll kick things off by getting to the root of the problem, figuring out exactly what Gilgamesh has done to cause this PR nightmare. You'll need to write down at least five things about Gilgamesh that the people of Uruk aren't happy about. Each of the five should include:
- What Gilgamesh has done wrong
- Where in the text this occurs
- Why this is such a heinous act
Each section should be around three sentences long, and your group has ten minutes to put this together. When finished, there will be a brief class discussion where the groups call out the various (and no doubt brilliant) ideas they came up with.
Step 2: It's damage control time. King G is going to give a speech telling the people how sorry he is for his misdeeds, that he won't do it again, and how he's planning to be a better ruler and person in the future. The speech should include the following:
- Acknowledgment of his wrongdoing
- G's plans to improve his bad behavior
- How Gilgamesh thinks he's also been a good ruler
- How he plans to rule Uruk more successfully in the future
The speech should be around four minutes in length when read out loud. It should make specific reference to the text, and each student in your group should perform one part (so preferably a minute or so each). It should be written in the first person as Gilgamesh, and you have 20 minutes to get it together.
Step 3: Once the speeches are complete, each group gets four minutes to stand up and address the populace. Including yours.
When the groups are finished, a member of the class or your teacher will ask a question about your speech or the way you're going to rule in the future. One member of your group (or more if you wish) must answer the question as Gilgamesh. Get ready for some rock-solid Gilgamesh impressions.
Step 4: To round things out, at home you'll read to the end of the first chapter. You'll then write a 250-word essay predicting how Gilgamesh will react to Enkidu's arrival and how it might shake things up for the leader.
You should refer to several of the king's character traits that were discussed in class, showing where they appear in the opening chapter. You'll also want to discuss how these will affect G's behavior when E turns up in town. Something tells us things might get…
Epic.
- Activities: 13
- Quiz Questions: 141
Schools and Districts: We offer customized programs that won't break the bank. Get a quote.