Gilgamesh: A New Rendering in English Verse (Paperback)

by David Ferry (Translator) "of him who knew the most of all men know; who made the journey; heartbroken; reconciled; who knew the way things were before the Flood,..." (more)
Key Phrases: early morning dawning, stormy heart, temple prostitute, Nether World, Cedar Forest, Bull of Heaven (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This is one of the more recent translations of the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, about the hero-king of ancient Mesopotamia whose adventures--searching for eternal life, surviving a worldwide deluge in an ark filled with animals, to name a couple--make up one of oldest pieces of literature on record. David Ferry's version attempts to provide the most readable rendering of the epic, artfully finding a poetic voice that's particularly accessible to the modern ear, as well as working to smooth over the gaps in the poem caused by the fragmentary record of the original clay tablets. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Ferry's ( On the Way to the Island ) version of this Mesopotamian epic is not simply a translation but an artful interpretation which aims to convey the spirit rather than the letter of the fragmentary original. Working from scholarly translations of the Sumerian and Akkadian tablets but departing from them freely, he has produced a "rendering" with shape and wholeness. And Ferry has enhanced the closeness of the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, the wild man created by the gods to temper the hero's fierceness. Early in the poem, Gilgamesh sagely tells Enkidu, "The life of man is short. / What he accomplishes is but the wind." After Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh is driven to seek the secret of eternal life from Utnapishtim, who was granted eternal life. Gilgamesh learns bitterly the truth of his own words in the beautiful but unconsoling speech of the wise man: "Time after time the river has risen and flooded. / The insect leaves the cocoon to live but a minute." Ferry's iambic pentameter is more lyrical than epic, and captures the elegiac and ironic undertones of Gilgamesh's failed search for immortality. One senses that he has restored the poetry of this oldest epic.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (June 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374523835
• ISBN-13: 978-0374523831
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,721 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #3 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology > Gilgamesh
  #14 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry > United States > 20th Century
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning!, September 15, 1998

By	Daniel Robuck (Campbell, CA) - See all my reviews

For years I have had trouble with translations of "Gilgamesh" that were either too formal, too literal, or too academic. Ferry's translation is involving, adventurous, psychological and above all, extremely accessible to the modern reader. And what do you get? Political power, a romance that transcends death, a bit of wit, gorgeous poetry, a great war, and an ending that is so spiritual that it will stay with you for years. I read Ferry's translation last year, and returned again this year to see if it was as beautiful as I remembered. The answer: moreso!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gilgamesh comes alive, June 18, 2000

By	Thomas E. Burke (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

If you enjoyed Robert Fagels' wonderful translation of the Illiad and the Odessey, I think you will appreciate what David Ferry has done with this ancient story. By his own admission he has taked some poetic liberties but by doing so he has made these archaic characters accessible and human. Other editions will give you a feel of the problems of translation; this will give you a sense of the primordial power of simple story telling and simple themes.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lyrical and Beautiful, But Short, November 2, 2000

By	Michael Chu (Newport Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I was initially introduced to this version of the classic epic of GILGAMESH through Harold Bloom's THE WESTERN CANON. This is, without a doubt, the best translation of the Mesopotamian epic, giving the reader a taste of the style of the original.

GILGAMESH is one of the oldest works of Western literature, having been written around the same time as the Bible. It tells the tale of King Gilgamesh and his companion Enkidu and their journeys, finally, with the tale of Gilgamesh's attempts to escape death.

David Ferry's translation of GILGAMESH is exquisite. Poetic and lyrical, it has a flavor uniquely of its own. With excellent explanatory notes, anyone with an interest in ancient literature, or in the GILGAMESH epic would do themselves a favor to read Ferry's translation. If there is any weakness to GILGAMESH, it is the fact that the epic itself is very short, and will leave readers feeling that the stories ended all too soon.