Question

then, from heaven, the voice of the god called to gilgamesh: \hurry, attack, attack humbaba while the time is right, before he enters the depths of the forest, before he can hide there and wrap himself in his seven auras with their paralyzing glare. he is wearing just one now. attack him! now!\-gilgamesh: a new english translation, stephen mitchellidentify a feature of epic poetry in the passage. in three to four sentences, explain its impact on the epics plot.

Explanation:

The passage features divine intervention, a core trait of epic poetry, where a god directly commands Gilgamesh. This divine guidance removes Gilgamesh's potential hesitation, pushing him to act immediately against Humbaba before the monster can access his full, nearly unbeatable power. By timing the attack to when Humbaba only has one aura instead of seven, the god's instruction creates a critical turning point that makes Gilgamesh's victory against the otherwise overwhelming foe feasible, driving the epic's plot toward its next phase of Gilgamesh's heroic journey.

Answer:

A key feature of epic poetry present here is divine intervention, where a god directly issues commands to the heroic protagonist Gilgamesh. This intervention acts as a crucial plot catalyst: it forces Gilgamesh to act swiftly, targeting Humbaba before the monster can activate his seven paralyzing auras, which would make him nearly unbeatable. Without this divine guidance, Gilgamesh might delay or hesitate, likely leading to his defeat, so the god's voice ensures the hero can secure a pivotal victory that advances his heroic arc in the epic.