(1) Figures

The portrayal of characters through dialogue, actions, and plot twists is characteristic of the epic. Based on the society that gave it birth, the epic sums up important stages in the development of Tibetan history and expresses the lives of the ordinary Tibetan people as well as hundreds of figures. Whether heroes or tyrants, men or women, young or old, the figures make deep impressions with their clearly defined characters and striking images. The heroic figures, led by King Gesar, provide immortal examples of valiant sacrifices. No two figures are identical. For instance, among the heroic figures, King Gesar is portrayed as a leader with a broad and long-term view and a boldness of vision. Manager King is described as a resourceful and kind man. Gyaica is shown through his words and deeds to be a brave man of strong character, while Dainma is described as both intelligent and courageous. The female figures are portrayed more elegantly, with vivid and lively characteristics. For instance, according to Battles Between Hor and Ling, three kings of Hor send armed forces to seize Zholmo, wife of King Gesar. He did so because, when the wife of Hor's King Gurdkar had died, the four birds from Hor who were ordered to find the most beautiful woman in the world, had a crow to bring back the message of Gesar's queen.

(2) Rhetoric

The Life of King Gesar originated from the ordinary society of Tibet and was solidly based on ancient Tibetan literature, especially ancient folk stories. Before the epic was consolidated, Tibetan literature boasted a variety of works, especially folk stories, fairy tales, legends, traditional stories and poems. These were numerous and richly woven. The Life of King Gesar drew much from these previous literary works and carried forward the tradition of outstanding literatures through its plot development, evolution, materials, and forms of expression, as well as in ideology, religion, and customs. Rhetorically, it borrowed a number of Tibetan proverbs, cited in the original or adapted in the epic after polished.

The Life of King Gesar has also preserved various traditional words of praise, such as the Ode to Wine, Ode to the Mountains, Ode to Tea, Ode to Horses, Ode to Swords and Knives, Ode to Dress, and Ode to Armor.

The Life of King Gesar combines the styles of prose and verse. Its poetry joins the ancient past with the modern age of Tibetan literary development. It reflects the importance of ideological and rhetorical methods, especially in its poetic rules and forms. Poems of this style are common in The Life of King Gesar. Not only do they follow a multiple paragraph pattern and a circular style evident in the Tubo period, but also create a new style that uses eight-word stanzas, instead of the former six-word stanzas (in the original Tibetan language). The rules and forms were basically shaped and fixed by the 11th century and have remained unchanged. This form is widely used in Tibetan folk songs, narrative poems, poems in lyrical stories, and Tibetan dramas, as well as in the works of scholars and poets. They have become the most influential and important rules and forms in Tibetan poetry.

By using verse, proses, lyrics and narration, the epic combines real stories, myths, poems, fables, proverbs and mottoes, making it a collection of Tibetan folk culture.