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Epic Literature Assignment

Introduction

An epic is a genre of poetry which is traditionally known as epic poetry. An epic is a long, narrative poem that usually talks about the heroic accomplishments and events that are symbolic to the culture of the poet. Various ancient wrote epic poetry to tell tales of profound adventures and heroic deeds. In modern terminology an epic is often referred to other forms of art, such as epic theatre, films, music, novels, plays, television shows, and video games, where the theme of the story is that of grandeur and heroism, similar to an epic poetry.

The word epic was derived from the Latin word "epicus", meaning a story or a poem.

Most western epic (including Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante's divine comedy) bashfully presents itself as a extension of the tradition started by these poems. Classical epics recount a journey, either physical as written by Odysseus in the odyssey or mental as written by Achilles in the Iliad or both. Epics highlight cultural benchmarks and to define or call into question cultural values.

Next type of epic poetry is epyllion. It is a crisp narrative poem with romantic or mythological themes. The term, meaning "little epic", was used in the nineteenth century. It refers primarily to the erudite poems of the Hellenistic period . Similar works were composed in Rome during the age of the neoterics; to a lesser degree, the term includes some poems of the English renaissance, particularly those influenced by Ovid. The most well known example of classical epyllion is may be Catullus 64.

Epic Literature Assignment

Types of epics

  • Folk epic- oral compositions passed on from one storyteller to another storyteller and changes over time.
  • Literary epic- written compositions that remain unchanged over generations of time
Epic Literature

The most prominent examples of epic poetry are:-

  1. Ancient Greek Iliad and odyssey,
  2. Virgil's Aeneid,
  3. The ancient Indian Ramayana and Mahabharata,
  4. Dante's divine comedy,
  5. The Portuguese Lusiads and John Milton’s paradise lost.

Characteristics of epics

Some of the main characteristics of epics are:-

  1. Mainly begins in the Medias res.
  2. Covers many nations, the world or the universe.
  3. Starts with calling to a muse (epic invocation).
  4. Starts with a statement about the theme.
  5. Uses of epithets.
  6. Contains long lists also known as an epic catalogue.
  7. Contains long and formal speeches.
  8. Shows divine intervention on human affairs.
  9. Features heroes that embark lives according to the values of the civilization.
  10. Often features the tragic hero's descent into the underworld or hell

Conventions to write an Epic

1. Praepositio: begins with a statement about the theme or cause of the epic. This may take the shape of a purpose (as in Milton, who proposed "to justify the ways of god to men"); of a question (as in the Iliad, which homer initiates by asking a muse to sing of Achilles’ anger); or of a situation (as in the Roland, with Charlemagne in Spain).

2. Invocation: invoking of the muse. Writer prays to the muses to provide him with inspiration to tell the story of a great hero. (This convention is restricted to cultures influenced by European classical culture.).

3. In medias res: opens with "in the middle of things", with the hero at his lowest point. Most of the times flashbacks show earlier parts of the story.

4. Enumeratio: catalogues and genealogies are given. These long lists contain of objects, places, and people place the finite action of the epic within a broader, universal context. The poet may also be paying homage to the ancestors of audience members.

5. Epithet: heavy use of repetition or stock phrases: e.g., homer's "rosy-fingered dawn" and "wine-dark sea."

Notable Epic Poems

Some of the notable epics are as follows:

1. The Epic of Gilgamesh : It is based on the actual Assyrian king. Gilgamesh is projected as a young god-king in the poem whose arrogant practices trouble the population of his kingdom until Enkidu, a Wildman created by a goddess, challenges the monarch’s power.

2. The Mahabharata : It is narrated by the sage Vyasa, and is a 220,000 line poem that follows a human incarnation of the god Vishnu while two dynasties fight for supremacy.

3. Ovid – Metamorphoses : It contains less bloodshed as well as travel as compared to other writers like Homer and Virgil. It is written in epic dactylic hexameter (six long syllables staggered by shorter ones), the poem is less of a confirmation of myth as much as a retelling of it.

4. Firdawsi – The Shahnameh: It is also known as ”The Book of Kings”, The Shahnameh reflects old Zoroastrian traditions prevailing in the country while narrating the whole history of the Persian Empire including the Eurasian reign to its downfall during the Muslim conquests of 7th century.

5. The Song of Roland: The emergence of Western Europe from the Dark Ages, lead to the creations of Heroic Poetry combined chivalric lore that bolstered the myth of the knight in shining armour. It was known as Le Chanson de Roland. It tells the story of the battles in the 8th century between the conquering Muslims and the defending Franks as they strike for power in Iberia and the Pyrenees.

Epic literature is a very wide subject and can be complex to study and comprehend in the general sense. It contains many types and belong to eras par our time about which one needs to do a detailed study before attempting any question or writing assignment or even preparing for examinations. But we assignmenthippo.com will help you with any query at all. assignmenthippo.com is the place where you can contact us at anytime and our excellent tutors who are well qualified will attend to you and solve all your doubts. assignmenthippo.com will be helping you out with your assignments without fail. We respect that you can’t lose on marks and that is why we arehere to provide you with the best facilities and qualitative results. You can also take online classes from the best tutors. Myassignmenthelp believes in providing the best services for your satisfaction. We serve our clients with good and satisfying work and with complete dedication.

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