Genre
Fictional novel
Setting and Context
The book is set in 4000B.C in the context of cult worship.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Terrifying, horrific, moving
Protagonist and Antagonist
Inanna is the story’s protagonist.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is when Inanna goes to attend a funeral in her sister’s home. Upon arrival at the first gate, her sister orders that she strips one garment at each gate. Inanna obeys, and by the time she gets to her sister, she has stripped all her garments and is utterly naked.
Climax
The climax is when Inanna is resurrected after three days. When she arrived naked before the judges in her sister's home, she was condemned to death.
Foreshadowing
The visitation of Inanna to her sister’s home foreshadowed her temporary death.
Understatement
Dumuzid’s joyousness and celebration with slave girls are understated. After realizing that his wife, Inanna, is dead, he does not bother to attend her funeral. When the wife resurrected, she punished him to death.
Allusions
The story alludes to superstitious powers and the underworld authority where dark forces operate.
Imagery
The imagery of the underworld is predominant in the book. For instance, the underworld is painted as dangerous where even the Queen of heaven and earth is scared of visiting. When the Queen, at last, manages to visit her sister in the underworld, she is subjected to death for three days.
Paradox
Inanna is a satirical character in the text. For instance, she is introduced as a goddess, meaning powerful and can withstand any tribulation. Ironically, when she is set to go to the underworld, she is scared, and she asks for prayers from other gods for her safety.
Parallelism
Dumuzid’s passion for life parallels Inanna’s because the two think differently.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The gods are personified as supernatural beings.
