Epic Poem

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Epic Poem

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narrative poems

SHOPPER'S DELIGHT

The epic is a broadly defined Genre of Poetry , and one of the major forms of Narrative Literature . It retells in a continuous narrative the life and works of a Hero ic or Mythological person or group of persons. In the West, the '' Iliad '', '' Odyssey '', and the '' Nibelungenlied ''; and in the East, the '' Mahabharata '', '' Ramayana , '' and '' Shahnama '' are often cited as examples of the epic genre. The composition of epic poetry, or of long poems in general, has become uncommon in the Western world since the early 20th century. The term "epic" however has been recycled to refer to prose works, films, and similar works which are characterized by great length, multiple settings, large numbers of characters, or long span of time involved. As a result of this change in the use of the word, many prose works of the past may be called "epics" which were not composed or originally understood as such.

ORAL EPICS OR WORLD FOLK EPICS

The first epics are associated strongly with Preliterate Societies and Oral Poetic Traditions . In these traditions, poetry is transmitted to the audience and from performer to performer by purely oral means. ''World folk epics'' are those epics which are not just Literary Masterpiece s but also an integral part of the World View of a people. They were originally oral Literature s, which were later written down by either single author or several writers.

Studies 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 memorisation, as the poet is recalling each episode and using them to recreate the entire epic as they perform 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.

See also List Of World Folk-epics .

EPICS IN LITERATE SOCIETIES

Literate societies have often copied the epic format; the earliest known European example is Virgil's '' Aeneid '', which follows both the style and subject matter of Homer . Other obvious examples are Tulsidas ' Sri Ramacharit Manas , following the style and subject matter of Valmiki 's Ramayana ,. and the Persian epic Shahnama by Ferdowsi .

Classical epic conventions include:

Invocatio (prayer to the muse the epic ), Prepositio (introduction of the epic's theme), Enumeratio (counting the fighting armys / heroes), In Medias Res (start from the middle of an event), Deus Ex Machina (interruption / miracle from a god), Anticipatio (prediction), and Ephiteton Ornans (permanent attributes of the hero[es]).

NOTABLE EPIC POEMS

Ancient epics (to 500)

'' ( Sumerian Mythology )

'' ( Hindu Mythology )

'' ( Hindu Mythology ).

8th Century BCE :

--- The '' Iliad '' by Homer ( Greek Mythology )

---The '' Odyssey '' by Homer ( Greek Mythology )

Epic Cycle (dates uncertain):

--- '' Titanomachy ''

--- '' Theban Cycle ''

-- '' Oedipodea '' by Cinaethon

-- '' Thebaid ''

-- '' Epigoni '' by Antimachus of Colophon

-- '' Alcmeonis ''

--- '' Cypria ''

--- '' Aethiopis '' by Arctinus Of Miletus

--- '' Little Iliad '' by Lesches

--- '' Iliupersis '' or '' Sack Of Ilium ''

--- '' Nostoi ''

--- '' Telegony ''

Non-cyclic Epic

--- '' Batrachomyomachia '' (Battle of the Frogs and Mice)

3rd Century BCE :

---'' Argonautica '' by Apollonius Of Rhodes

2nd Century BCE :

---'' Annales '' by Ennius

1st Century BCE :

---'' Aeneid '' by Virgil

---'' Metamorphoses '' by Ovid

1st Century CE :

---'' Pharsalia '' (''Bellum Civile'' or Civil War ) by Lucan

---''Punica'' (''Bellum Punicum'' or Punic War ) by Silius Italicus

---'' Argonautica '' by Gaius Valerius Flaccus

---''Thebaid'' by Statius

2nd Century :

---''Buddhacarita'' by Aśvaghoṣa

---'' Cilappatikaram '', a South India n epic written by Prince Ilango Adigal

3rd Century :

---''Posthomerica'' by Quintus Of Smyrna

5th Century :

---'' Dionysiaca '' by Nonnus

Medieval Epics (500-1500)

6th Century :

---'' Manimekalai ''

8th to 10th Century :

---'' Beowulf '' ( Anglo-Saxon Mythology )

10th Century :

---'' Shahnama '' by Firdowsi

---'' Bhagavata Purana '' ( Sanskrit "Stories of the Lord")

11th Century :

---'' Poetic Edda '' ( Norse Mythology ) (collection of poems of Norse Mythology from various sources; dates of composition vary within the collection, but the majority of poems existed before the 12th century based on the excerpts in the Prose Edda )

---'' Digenis Akritas '' ('' Byzantine epic poem'')

---'' La Chanson De Roland '' ('' The Song Of Roland '')

---'' Epic Of King Gesar '' (Tibetan; compiled in 11th century from earlier sources)

12th Century :

---'' The Knight In The Panther Skin '' by Shota Rustaveli

13th Century :

---'' Nibelungenlied '' ( Germanic Mythology )

---'' Brut '' by Layamon

---'' Epic Of Sundiata ''

14th Century :

---'' Cursor Mundi '' by an Anonymous cleric (c. 1300 )

---'' Divina Commedia '' ('' The Divine Comedy '') by Dante Alighieri

---'' The Canterbury Tales '' by Geoffrey Chaucer

---'' The Tale Of The Heike '' ( Japanese epic war tale)

15th Century :

---'' Alliterative Morte Arthure ''

---'' Orlando Innamorato '' by Matteo Maria Boiardo ( 1495 )

Modern Epics (from 1500)

16th Century :

---'' Orlando Furioso '' by Ludovico Ariosto ( 1516 )

---'' Os Lusíadas '' by Luis De Camões (c. 1555 )

---'' La Gerusalemme Liberata '' by Torquato Tasso ( 1575 )

---'' Ramacharitamanasa '' (based on the Ramayana ) by Goswami Tulsidas ( 1577 )

---'' The Faerie Queene '' by Edmund Spenser ( 1596 )

17th Century :

---'' Obsidio Szigetianae '' ("Szigeti veszedelem"; Hungarian ) by Miklós Zrínyi ( 1651 )

---'' Paradise Lost '' by John Milton ( 1667 )

---'' Paradise Regained '' by John Milton ( 1671 )

---'' Prince Arthur '' by Richard Blackmore ( 1695 )

---'' King Arthur '' by Richard Blackmore ( 1697 )

18th Century :

---'' Eliza '' by Richard Blackmore ( 1705 )

---'' Redemption '' by Richard Blackmore ( 1722 )

---'' Henriade '' by Voltaire ( 1723 )

---'' Alfred '' by Richard Blackmore ( 1723 )

---'' Leonidas '' by Richard Glover ( 1737 )

---'' Epigoniad '' by William Wilkie ( 1757 )

---''The Works of Ossian '' by James MacPherson ( 1765 )

---'' Der Messias '' by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock ( 1773 )

---'' Rossiada '' by Mikhail Matveyevich Kheraskov ( 1771 - 1779 )

---'' Vladimir '' by Mikhail Matveyevich Kheraskov ( 1785 )

---'' Athenaid '' by Richard Glover ( 1787 )

19th Century :

---'' Columbiad '' by Joel Barlow ( 1807 )

---'' Hyperion '' by John Keats ( 1818 )

---'' Don Juan '' by George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron ( 1824 )

---'' Pan Tadeusz '' by Adam Mickiewicz ( 1834 )

---'' Smrt Smail-age Čengića '' by Ivan Mažuranić ( 1846 )

---'' Kalevala '' by Elias Lönnrot ( 1849 Finnish Mythology )

---'' Clarel '' by Herman Melville ( 1876 )

---'' Canigó '' by Jacint Verdaguer ( 1886 )

20th Century :

---'' Lahuta E Malcís '' by Gjergj Fishta ( 1902 - 1937 )

---'' Savitri '' by Aurobindo Ghose ( 1950 )

---'''' by Nikos Kazantzakis

---''The Anathemata'' by David Jones

---''Maximus'' by Charles Olson

---''Paterson'' by William Carlos Williams

---'' The Changing Light At Sandover '' by James Merrill

---'' A Cycle Of The West '' by John Neihardt ( 1949 )

PROSE "EPICS"

'' Táin Bó Cúailnge '' ( Irish Mythology ) (prose and verse)

'' Hervarar Saga '' ( Norse Mythology ) (prose)

'' Völsunga Saga '' ( Norse Mythology ) (prose)

'' Don Quixote '' Parts I & II by Miguel De Cervantes ( Prose 1605 / 1615 )

'' Moby-Dick '' by Herman Melville ( Prose 1851 )

'' Venezuela Heroica '', by Eduardo Blanco ( 1881 ) ( History )

'' Ulysses '' by James Joyce ( Prose 1922 )

'' The Lord Of The Rings '' by J.R.R. Tolkien ( Prose 1954 )

OTHER "EPICS"

'' The Prelude '' by William Wordsworth (long lyric biographical poem)

'' Der Ring Des Nibelungen '' by Richard Wagner (opera)

'' The Waste Land '' by T. S. Eliot

'' The Cantos '' by Ezra Pound

SEE ALSO

Indian Epic Poetry

Hebrew And Jewish Epic Poetry

Duma (Ukrainian epic)

List Of World Folk-epics

National Epic

Byzantine Empire - Digenes Akritas (11th/12th Century C.E.)

REFERENCES

''Heroic Song and Heroic Legend'' by Jan De Vries ISBN 0405105665

EXTERNAL LINKS

WorldChronicle.net