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An epic poem, epic, epos, or epopee is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.^[1]

Milman Parry and Albert Lord have argued that the Homeric epics, the earliest works of Western literature, were fundamentally an oral poetic form. These works form the basis of the epic genre in Western literature. Nearly all of Western epic (including Virgil's Aeneid and Dante's Divine Comedy) self-consciously presents itself as a continuation of the tradition begun by these poems. Classical epic poetry employs a meter called dactylic hexameter and recounts a journey, either physical (as typified by Odysseus in the Odyssey) or mental (as typified by Achilles in the Iliad) or both. Epics also tend to highlight cultural norms and to define or call into question cultural values, particularly as they pertain to heroism.

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 into use in the nineteenth century. It refers primarily to the erudite, shorter hexameter poems of the Hellenistic period and the similar works composed at Rome from the age of the neoterics; to a lesser degree, the term includes some poems of the English Renaissance, particularly those influenced by Ovid.^{[citation needed]} The most famous example of classical epyllion is perhaps Catullus 64.

Some of the most famous examples of epic poetry include the Ancient Greek Odyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, the ancient Indian Mahabharata, the Old English Beowulf, Dante's Divine Comedy, the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, John Milton's Paradise Lost, Camões' Os Lusíadas, the French Song of Roland, the Finnish Kalevala, and the German Nibelungenlied.

Etymology

The English word Epic comes from the Latin epicus, which itself comes from the Ancient Greek adjective ἐπικός (epikos), from ἔπος (epos),^[2] "word, story, poem"^[3].

The English "epos" is likewise from the Latin epos, from Greek ἔπος, epos^[4]

The word "epopee" is from French épopée, from neo-Latin epopoeia, from Ancient Greek ἐποποιία (epopoiia).^[5]

Oral epics or world folk epics

The first epics were products of preliterate societies and oral history poetic traditions.^{[citation needed]} 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 contend that the most likely source for written texts of the epics of Homer was dictation from an oral performance.

Poets in literate societies have sometimes copied the epic format. The earliest surviving European examples 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.

Composition and conventions

In his work Poetics, Aristotle defines an epic as one of the forms of poetry, contrasted with lyric poetry and with drama in the form of tragedy and comedy.^[6]

In A Handbook to Literature (1999), Harmon and Holman define an epic:

Epic: a long narrative poem in elevated style 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. (Harmon and Holman)^[7]

An attempt to delineate ten main characteristics of an epic:^[7]

Begins in medias res.
The setting is vast, covering many nations, the world or the universe.
Begins with an invocation to a muse (epic invocation).
Begins with a statement of the theme.
Includes the use of epithets.
Contains long lists, called an epic catalogue.
Features long and formal speeches.
Shows divine intervention on human affairs.
Features heroes that embody the values of the civilization.
Often features the tragic hero's descent into the Underworld or hell.

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 the epic originates from. Many epic heroes are recurring characters in the legends of their native culture.

Conventions of epics:^{[citation needed]}

Preposition: 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, which Homer initiates by asking a Muse to sing of Achilles' anger); or of a situation (as in the Song of Roland, with Charlemagne in Spain).^{[citation needed]}
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 restricted to cultures influenced by European Classical culture. The Epic of Gilgamesh, for example, or the Bhagavata Purana do 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".

Form

Many verse forms have been used in epic poems through the ages, but each language's literature typically gravitates to one form, or at least to a very limited set. Ancient Greek and Latin poems were written in dactylic hexameter.^[8] Old English, German and Norse poems were written in alliterative verse,^[9] usually without rhyme. Italian, Spanish and Portuguese long poems were usually written in terza rima ^[10] or especially ottava rima.^[11] From the 14th century English epic poems were written in heroic couplets,^[12] and rhyme royal,^[13] though in the 16th century the Spenserian stanza^[14] and blank verse^[15] were also introduced. The French alexandrine is currently the heroic line in French literature, though in earlier periods the decasyllable took precedence. In Polish literature, couplets of Polish alexandrines (syllabic lines of 7+6 syllables) prevail.^[16] In Russian, iambic tetrameter verse is the most popular.^[17] In Serbian poetry, the decasyllable is the only form employed.^[18]^[19]

Other epics

Gesta Berengarii imperatoris
Epic of Bamana Segu, oral epic of the Bambara people, composed in the 19th century and recorded in the 20th century
Epic of Darkness, tales and legends of primeval China
Epic of Jangar, poem of the Oirat people
Epic of Köroğlu, Turkic oral tradition written down mostly in 18th century
Epic of the Forgotten, Bulgarian poetic saga
Hikayat Seri Rama, Malay versione of the Ramayana
Hinilawod, Filipino epic from the island of Panay
Khun Chang Khun Phaen, a Thai poem
Klei Khan Y Dam San, a Vietnamese poem
Koti and Chennayya and Epic of Siri, Tulu poems
Kutune Shirka, sacred yukar epic of the Ainu people of which several translations exist
Parsifal by Richard Wagner (opera, composed 1880-1882)
Pasyón, Filipino religious epic, of which the 1703 and 1814 versions are popular
Ramakien, Thailand's national epic derived from the Ramayana
Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner (opera, composed 1848-1874)
Siribhoovalaya, a unique work of multi-lingual literature written by Kumudendu Muni, a Jain monk
Sundiata, an epic of Mali
Yadegar-e Zariran (Middle Persian)
Yama Zatdaw, Burmese version of the Ramayana

References

^ Michael Meyer, The Bedford Introduction to Literature (Bedford: St. Martin's, 2005), 2128. ISBN 0-312-41242-8.
^ "epic". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ Epic Online Etymology Dictionary
^ "epos". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ "epopee". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
^ Aristotle: Poetics, translated with an introduction and notes by M. Heath, (Penguin) London 1996
^ ^a ^b Taken from William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman, A Handbook to Literature, 8th ed., Prentice Hall, 1999.
^ Hexameter, poetry at Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ Alliterative verse literature at Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ Terza rima, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ Ottava rima, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ Heroic couplet, poetry at Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ Rhyme royal, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ Spenserian stanza, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ Blank verse, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ See: Trzynastozgłoskowiec, [in:] Wiktor Jarosław Darasz, Mały przewodnik po wierszu polskim, Kraków 2003 (in Polish).
^ [Alexandra Smith, Montaging Pushkin: Pushkin and Visions of Modernity in Russian Twentieth Century Poetry, p. 184.]
^ Meyer, Early Tahitian Poetics.
^ Robert William Seton-Watson, The Spirit of the Serb.

Bibliography

Jan de Vries: Heroic Song and Heroic Legend ISBN 0-405-10566-5.
Hashmi, Alamgir (2011). "Eponymous Écriture and the Poetics of Reading a Transnational Epic". Dublin Quarterly, 15. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
Cornel Heinsdorff: Christus, Nikodemus und die Samaritanerin bei Juvencus. Mit einem Anhang zur lateinischen Evangelienvorlage, Untersuchungen zur antiken Literatur und Geschichte 67, Berlin/New York 2003, ISBN 3-11-017851-6.
Jansen, Jan and J Henk M.J. Maier, eds. 2004. Epic Adventures: Heroic Narrative in the Oral Performance Traditions of Four Continents (Literatur: Forschung und Wissenschaft, 3.) LIT Verlag.

[1] Michael Meyer, The Bedford Introduction to Literature (Bedford: St. Martin's, 2005), 2128. ISBN 0-312-41242-8.

[2] "epic". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[3] Epic Online Etymology Dictionary

[4] "epos". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[5] "epopee". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)

[6] Aristotle: Poetics, translated with an introduction and notes by M. Heath, (Penguin) London 1996

[Harmon_and_Harmon-7] Taken from William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman, A Handbook to Literature, 8th ed., Prentice Hall, 1999.

[8] Hexameter, poetry at Encyclopædia Britannica.

[9] Alliterative verse literature at Encyclopædia Britannica.

[10] Terza rima, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.

[11] Ottava rima, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.

[12] Heroic couplet, poetry at Encyclopædia Britannica.

[13] Rhyme royal, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.

[14] Spenserian stanza, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.

[15] Blank verse, poetic form at Encyclopædia Britannica.

[16] See: Trzynastozgłoskowiec, [in:] Wiktor Jarosław Darasz, Mały przewodnik po wierszu polskim, Kraków 2003 (in Polish).

[17] [Alexandra Smith, Montaging Pushkin: Pushkin and Visions of Modernity in Russian Twentieth Century Poetry, p. 184.]

[18] Meyer, Early Tahitian Poetics.

[19] Robert William Seton-Watson, The Spirit of the Serb.

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