A Comparative Study On The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Faust From The Perspective Of Thematology

The Epic of Gilgamesh is known to the world by its ancient rich content and higher artistic expression. It is largely the total set of myths, legends and hero stories about ancient Mesopotamia. Faust, Goethe’s poetic tragedy, which is a large book relative to the universe and life, shows the author’s sage-like vision and insight. The literary studies of each of these two works are already fruitful. However, there are few studies comparing these two works. This thesis is a study on these two works about their common motifs, like good and evil, desire and punishment, self-redemption and salvation in parallel way of comparative literature. So we can have a broader and more comprehensive understanding on these two works, thus further promoting the works’ research and dissemination.This thesis is divided into three chapters in addition to the introduction and conclusion.The introduction provides an overview on background knowledge and basic content of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Faust. It summaries the relevant literature review on these two works and the issues of this thesis.The first chapter discusses evil with good, the common motif of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Faust. It analyzes the two works’ character’s different external manifestations and different ways in conquering evil by good.The second chapter discusses desire and punishment, the common motif of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Faust. For Gilgamesh, he is bound to cause public anger for his own dissolute brutal desire; while he will have extraordinary wisdom and courage for his desire to explore the eternal law. For Faust, his desire is more about evil. And Mephistopheles is the representative of evil. The contract signed with Mephistopheles means that Faust must continue to refuse the evil and promote himself,. So that his soul will not be taken away by Mephistopheles and he can escape from death.The third chapter discusses self-redemption and salvation, the common motif of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Faust. Different conception of self-redemption and salvation shaped different immortal characters, which comes from different backgrounds of culture and religion. Gilgamesh’s self-redemption is achieved by transformation from tyrant to hero step by step, while his salvation is embodied in his experience on seeking immortality in spite of danger after his mission for people. For Faust, his self-redemption is achieved by continuously transcending and abandoning evil on the basis of self confidence and rationality. In other words, it is human selfredemption rather than passively waiting for God’s salvation. The salvation of Faust is a kind of Humanitarian spirit, his kind, noble, noble spirit for the sake of the public makes him live forever.In conclusion it points out that in The Epic of Gilgamesh and Faust, the similar motifs makes them have academic value of comparative studies. The writer hopes that we can have a better understanding on these two works by parallel study, making their art charm more prominent.