The Return of the Text: On Self-Reference in Cuneiform Literature

Abstract

The article proposes the existence of a recurrent motif in cuneiform literature, the self-referential climax, in which literary works end by describing how they came into being: In the narrative equivalent of a snake biting its own tail, the poems that employ this motif culminate in their own creation. The article argues that the motif can yield a glimpse into the “implicit poetics” of cuneiform literature, that is, the conception of literature that circulated among cuneiform scholars and composers. It examines three case studies—Inana and Shukaletuda, The Cuthean Legend of Naram-Sîn, and Gilgamesh—arguing that they evince in their self-referential climaxes a distinctly bittersweet notion of textuality, since their creation relies on the tragedy of their main character, in a clear counterposing of content and form.