Exposition

King Gilgamesh is treating his people in a really

nasty way. The gods hear the people's complaints
and create Enkidu as Gilgamesh's equal. So, we
have Gilgamesh, a mindlessly selfish macho-man
who has not known true friendship, and Enkidu, a
mindless, uncivilized wild-man, who has never
know … a woman. It's a match made (literally) in
heaven, and these two dudes are set up to rock
each others' worlds. (In a manly way.)
Rising Action

The "Conflict" stage of The Epic of Gilgamesh is kind of a fake-out.

Sure enough, these two musclemen do go head-to-head with each
other … but then quickly put aside their differences and become
the best of friends. In no time, thanks to Gilgamesh's bright idea,
they find someone else to administer a beating to: the monster
Humbaba.
The real conflict seems to come later, when Gilgamesh and Enkidu
return triumphantly to Uruk, carrying the monster's head. Trouble
shows up in the form of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. Ishtar,
the goddess, wants Gilgamesh to take her as his wife. Gilgamesh
refuses, and not too nicely. Major trouble ahead, Shmoopers.
Climax

Enraged at being rejected by Gilgamesh, Ishtar sends the Bull of

Heaven down to earth, intending to have it kill Gilgamesh and
Enkidu. But the heroes, fresh from killing Humbaba, are clearly on a
roll, and they make swift work of the Bull.
This represents the high point of their monster-killing prowess.
And the high point of the heroes' egomania comes when Enkidu tears off
one of the Bull's legs and throws it in Ishtar's face. That's like a double
climax for the price of one … and the gods aren't about to let them get
away with any of it.
Shortly after having a dream in which Enlil, the king of the gods,
condemns him to die, Enkidu develops a mysterious illness and dies a
painful death.
Falling Action

Once Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh's life loses all meaning, and he

becomes tormented with the fear of death. He decides that
the only thing to do is to meet Utanapishtim, the one human
being who has been granted immortality by the gods. He sets
off on a journey beyond the Eastern edge of the earth, where
the sun rises, to find out the secret of immortality.
Resolution

Gilgamesh finally gets to speak to Utanapishtim and learns that

immortality isn't for everyone. The only people to get it are
Utanapishtim and his wife, after they survived the Flood;
Gilgamesh can't hope for the gods to make a similar exception
on his behalf. But, thanks to some wifely intervention,
Gilgamesh learns about the mysterious flower that will make
anyone who eats young again. He even gets the flower—but
then a snake steals it.
So much for Gilgamesh's plans to cheat death. When
Gilgamesh and Urshanabi arrive back in Uruk, Gilgamesh
brags about the magnificent architectural features of the city.
This echoes the opening words of the poem, thus bringing us
full circle (always a good sign).