Brandon Scribner

6/3/18
Comp 201 World Literature
Dr. Victor Gomia
Module 3 Summary

In what ways are the Epic of Gilgamesh and the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales

timeless and placeless? This question sparks in interest in any lover of film, literature, or entertainment.

The entertainment industry has been recycling ideas of the previous eras for years. Always recalling back

to works by influential writers.

No matter the age of the stories both themes are still relevant to today’s life. You can easily break

down pop culture or modern literature and find the same themes. Themes of overcoming the fear of death,

friendship, battling against godlike objections and seemingly unforgiving odds. The themes in the Epic of

Gilgamesh are very common in film and literature of modern times. The ruthless leader is given a partner

to counter him and that leader under goes a transformation through the power of companionship and

rivalry. The Epic of Gilgamesh displays titan sized obstacles to be overcome. These obstacles can remind

the reader of any era of their own hardships. The reader can feel empowered by the text. Allowing them

to pursue feats they would not normally challenge. Strong themes as described by Robert William of

gradesaver.com in the Canterbury Tales, are themes of “feminism, anti-feminism, Christianity, words and

language, tellers as dramatic voices, fables, fiction, fabliaux, quitting, vengeance, and paying debts, sex

and adultery, justice and judgement, seriousness and silliness…” (William, “The Canterbury Tales

Themes”). The general prologue from the Canterbury Tales is an introduction in the very detailed

characters of the story. During this detailing you learn about small back stories of each character. This

makes the reader realize that people of even modern times although they may have different job titles

seek fulfillment in lives very similar to the characters of the Canterbury Tales. A reader may even realize

that a larger amount of various types of people exist outside of the stereotypes we see each day. We are
all in search of our own pilgrimage no matter when we were born or where we are from. The end goal of

life is always the same. We as humans have an internal instinct to seek fulfillment. In the Epic of

Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh sought out eternal life just to realize that although he had fought long and hard for

his chance to be immortal. He was to be remember for the walls and ziggurats he had built for his citizens.

Although the language of when these stories were written is different than the ones we see today. Both

stories have been translated into many languages. Geographic barriers barely exist to some extent in the

world today. Especially when it comes to printed or written word. Although not every country has

internet. Everyone in the world if shown how can enjoy a story of hundreds of years in age. Any place on

the globe at any time of day. I think the Canterbury tales do an especially great job at both showing the

oldest version of what I think a reality tv show experience would be like back then. With all these

different characters from all walks of life. Telling stories about who they are and what they plan to

accomplish. Just like tv today you have feuds for example like the Summoner and Friar. You have all

these similarities to how people still act and perform around strangers still today. Acting out of worry and

too invested in the opinion other have on them than how they truly are.

Overall, both The Epic of Gilgamesh and the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales are

timeless and placeless because of the underlying themes inside the literature. The most important part of

each of these stories is how it connects and resonates with today’s audiences. The settings, characters, and

literary elements have stuck hold for hundreds of years. The themes hold no nationality biases and can

relate to any geographic location. Every person in the world has a personal story that reminds them of

something that happened in one of if not both stories.

 Work Cited

William, Robert. Chainani, Soman ed. "The Canterbury Tales Themes". GradeSaver, 30

November 2008 Web. 3 June 2018.

The Norton anthology of world literature / Martin Puncher, General Editor. – Shorter Third

edition, 2012.