An
epic (from
Greek:
έπος or
επικό "word, story, poem") is a lengthy
narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.
Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and
Albert Lord and
Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form. Nonetheless, epics have been written down at least since
Homer, and the works of
Vyasa,
Virgil,
Dante Alighieri and
John Milton would be unlikely to have survived without being written down. The first epics are known as primary, or original, epics. Epics that attempt to imitate these like Virgil's
Aeneid and Milton's
Paradise Lost are known as literary, or secondary, epics. One such epic is the
Anglo-Saxon story
Beowulf.
Another type of
epic poetry is
epyllion (plural: epyllia) which is a brief narrative poem with a
romantic or
mythological theme. The term, which means 'little
epic', came in use in the nineteenth century. It refers primarily to the type of erotic and mythological long elegy of which
Ovid remains the master; to a lesser degree, the term includes some poems of the
English Renaissance, particularly those influenced by Ovid. One suggested example of
classical epyllion may be seen in the story of Nisus and Euryalus in Book IX of
Aeneid.
Oral epics or world folk epics
The first epics were products of
preliterate societies and
oral poetic traditions. In these traditions, poetry is transmitted to the audience and from performer to performer by purely oral means.
Early twentieth-century study of living oral epic traditions in the
Balkans by
Milman Parry and
Albert Lord demonstrated the
paratactic model used for composing these poems. What they demonstrated was that oral epics tend to be constructed in short episodes, each of equal status, interest and importance. This facilitates memorization, as the poet is recalling each episode in turn and using the completed episodes to recreate the entire epic as he performs it.
Parry and Lord also showed that the most likely source for written texts of the epics of
Homer was dictation from an oral performance.
Epic: a long narrative poem in elevated stature presenting characters of high position in adventures forming an organic whole through their relation to a central heroic figure and through their development of episodes important to the history of a nation or race.
Epics have nine main characteristics:
- The setting is vast, covering many nations, the world or the universe.
- begins with an invocation to a muse.
- starts with a statement of the theme.
- features long and formal speeches.
- shows divine intervention on human affairs.
- "Star" heroes that embody the values of the civilization.
The hero generally participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries that try to defeat him in his journey and returns home significantly transformed by his journey. The epic hero illustrates traits, performs deeds, and exemplifies certain morals that are valued by the society from which the epic originates. Many epic heroes are
recurring characters in the legends of their native culture.
Conventions of epics:
- Praepositio: Opens by stating the theme or cause of the epic. This may take the form of a purpose (as in Milton, who proposed "to justify the ways of God to men"); of a question (as in the Iliad, where Homer asks the Muse which god it was who caused the war); or of a situation (as in the Song of Roland, with Charlemagne in Spain).
- Invocation: Writer invokes a Muse, one of the nine daughters of Zeus. The poet prays to the Muses to provide him with divine inspiration to tell the story of a great hero. (This convention is obviously restricted to cultures which were influenced by European Classical culture: the Epic of Gilgamesh, for example, or the Bhagavata Purana would obviously not contain this element)
- In medias res: narrative opens "in the middle of things", with the hero at his lowest point. Usually flashbacks show earlier portions of the story.
- Enumeratio: Catalogues and genealogies are given. These long lists of objects, places, and people place the finite action of the epic within a broader, universal context. Often, the poet is also paying homage to the ancestors of audience members.
- Epithet: Heavy use of repetition or stock phrases: e.g., Homer's "rosy-fingered dawn" and "wine-dark sea."
Literate societies have often copied the epic format; the earliest European examples of which the text survives are the
Argonautica of
Apollonius of Rhodes and Virgil's
Aeneid, which follow both the style and subject matter of
Homer. Other obvious examples are
Nonnus' Dionysiaca,
Tulsidas'
Sri Ramacharit Manas.
Notable epic poems
The first page of the
Beowulf manuscript
Ancient epics (to 500)
- *Ramayana, ascribed to Valmiki (Hindu mythology) (5th century BC to 4th century AD)
- *Saundaranandakavya by (Indian epic poetry)
- **Valayapati by a Jaina poet
Medieval epics (500-1500)
- *Waldere, Old English version of the story told in Waltharius (below), known only as a brief fragment
- *Ruodlieb, Latin epic by a German author
Modern epics (from 1500)
- *The Purple Island by Phineas Fletcher (1633)
- *Columbus by Ubertino Carrara (1714)
- *La Pucelle d'Orléans by Voltaire (1756)
- *Mountains and Rivers Without End by Gary Snyder (composed 1965-1996)
Other epics
