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The Literary Epic Definition
Intended to be sung or recited, and the result of
the oral tradition, the epic is a long, narrative
poem detailing the adventure or journey of an
epic hero. Early epics poet(s) are often unknown.
Epic Hero Definition
The epic hero is larger than life, even though he
possesses normal human characteristics. His
personality and abilities, however, are more super
than those of everyday man.
Epic Hero Definition Cont’d
The epic hero is "often of divine
descent who is endowed with great
strength or ability". It is also no
mistake that the hero is referred to as
"he" because epic heroes are the
central male character in the epic
itself.
("Hero" Merriam Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam Webster's, Inc. 1995 NA. Academic OneFile. Thomson Gale.).
But the Epic Hero IS Flawed!
Often the epic hero has
excessive pride (or "hubris").
Singing his own praises, the
hero seeks to enhance his own
reputation through foolish,
dangerous exploits
In doing so he endangers
others.
(Landow, George. "Notes on Heroic Poetry." http://www.victorianweb.org/genre/epic2.html.
).
Epic Hero Characteristics
1 Unusual circumstances of
birth; sometimes in danger or
born into royalty
2 An event, sometimes
traumatic, leads to adventure or
quest
3 Hero has supernatural help
4 The Hero must prove himself
many times while on adventure
5 When the hero dies, he is
rewarded spiritually
Epic Design:
Invocation – The poem begins
with calling on a muse or god
to inspire divine intervention
while telling the tale. In the
invocation, the subject and the
epic question are introduced.
“Sing, O goddess, the anger of
Achilles son of Peleus, that
brought countless ills upon the
Achaeans.”-Homer
Epic Design:
"In media res" translates to the poem beginning"in
the midst of action". The audience learns
background information and details as the epic
progresses.
Epic Design Cont’d:
Language- The epic's language is literary and
elevated. The language is used by all in the poem,
from king to servant (even though epics rarely detail
lives or actions of the servants).
The Epithet-Whatever virtues his race most prizes,
these the epic hero as a cultural exemplar possesses
in abundance. His key quality is often emphasized
by his stock epithet: "Resourceful Odysseus," "swiftfooted Achilles," "pious AEneas."
Epic Design Cont’d:
The Epic or Homeric simile -The simile is much like
the literary simile using "like" or "as"; however, the
epic simile is full of description and helps to move
the action along and to build suspense:
“As when the shudder of the west wind suddenly
rising scatters across the water, and the water darkens
beneath it, so darkening were settled the ranks of
Achaians and Trojans in the plain.”
Epic Design Cont’d:
The Confrontation- a hero gains honour by
challenging superhuman adversaries; the hero and
his antagonist, meet at the climax, which must be
delayed as long as possible to sustain maximum
interest.
In the book, How to Read Literature like a Professor,
Thomas Foster gives five elements of the journey that
readers can analyze. The five elements are:
3
1
2
the quester himself,
a place to go,
4. challenges or trials
en route during the
journey,
a stated reason to go
there,
5.
the real reason a
quester goes on the
journey
Gilgamesh
Mesopotamian Mythology
Mesopotamian Societies
Sumerians
•first major civilization (3000 BCE)
•non-Semitic people /language
•Uruk (and other cities)
•cuneiform writing
•elaborate mythology and cultbased mythic poems
Babylonians / Akkadians
•later (c.1200-600 BCE)
•Semitic people.language
•myth based on Sumerian myth
Mesopotamian Societies
Both societies share:
•social/political hierarchy with
kings as head of state
•priestly class who also
teach/write/preserve literature
•tradition of sacred writings
associated with actual rituals
•high level of “civilization” (i.e.
social structure & material
wealth)
•irrigation-based agriculture,
water resources organized by
government
•cuneiform writing
Gods and Goddesses
•Sin (the moon), had a
higher place in the
pantheon than his
children:
•Shamash (the sun), who
becomes important as a
deity of all-seeing justice,
and
•Ishtar (the morning
star), whose multifaceted
nature includes goddess of
sexual love, of justice and
warfare, of communal
prosperity . . .
Gods and Goddesses
•Tammuz (Dumuzi) was Ishtar’s
husband – a god like Attis (with
Cybele) who died and was reborn
every year.
•Ereshkigal was the goddess of
the Underworld (Kurnugi).
•Ea was the god of fresh water,
thus a fertility god; he is often a
protective figure (asin the flood
myth in Gilgamesh).
•Belili, Dumuzi’s sister – parallel
to Geshtinanna in the Sumerian
story, who takes her brother’s
place in the underworld.
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh is on the Sumerian king-list as
one of Uruk’s earliest kings – in the realm of
myth.
He features in several Sumerian myths (such
as the one with Inanna’s hulupu tree), and in
one long poem, the “Epic” of Gilgamesh.
This poem is the most popular pieceof
literature in Mesopotamia, found in many
different languages and versions across 2500
years. We discovered it in about 1920.
There are two major versions: we are reading
an adaptation of the Nineveh version,
compiled by a priest in about 800-700 BCE.
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