Download A Brief History of Epic Poetry!

THE EPIC
& EPIC POETRY
So, what is an epic?
A long narrative about a larger-thanlife hero and his companions.
It is set in the “ideal” past, a past
imagined as greater than the present.
The hero often has superhuman divine
traits.
The style is elevated to the greatness
of the deeds.
The poem was originally passed down
through oral tradition.
Categories of Epics
Folk Epic
Literary Epic
evolves from people of the
civilization & their lives. It rises
above the facts of those lives,
but is grounded in the
commonality of the culture’s
experiences, wisdom, and values.
deliberately created by the
artist-writer about a civilization
or a people. It, too, may be
based on long-ago histories or on
long-ago literature.
Elements & Motifs of the Epic
(you will need to know this for the rest of your life)

ourney of a Hero

attles/Monsters

lazon

ageantry

ratory/Rhetoric

ataloging

onor/Loyalty

estiny


epetition

ymbolism

ong Sentences

arallelisms

yperbole

itotes

ung by Bards to Illiterates

Characteristics of the Epic
1. Characters are beings of national importance and
historical or legendary significance.
1. The setting is grand in scope, covering nations, the
world, or even the universe.
1. Action consists of deeds of great valor and courage.
1. Style is sustained in tone and language.
1. Supernatural forces interest themselves in human
action and often intervene directly.
Characteristics of the Epic
6. Praepositio: an invocation to the Muse for inspiration
in the telling of a story. Poet requests divine help in many
European epics.
7. Epics often start in medias res. "In the middle of the
action.“
8. Dialogues tend to be extended, formal speeches.
9. Enumeratio: epic catalogues list warriors, armies,
resources.
10. Epithets: heavy use of repetition or stock phrases
A Chronology of Epics
18th to 20th Century B.C.
Gilgamesh (Mesopotamian mythology)
8th to 6th Century B.C.
Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad (Greek mythology)
Hesiod’s Works and Days (Greek mythology)
4th to 5th Century B.C.
Mahabharata and Ramayana (Hindu mythology)
Book of Job
1st Century B.C
Virgil’s Aeneid (Latin mythology)
A Chronology of Epics
1st Century A.D.
Ovid’s Metamorphosis (Latin)
8th to 10th Century
Beowulf (Anglo-Saxon)
13th Century
Epic of Sundiata (Mali)
14th Century
Dante’s Divina Commedia (Italian)