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The epic is a broadly defined genre of poetry, which retells in a continuous narrative the life and works of a heroic or mythological person or group of
persons. In the West, the Iliad, Odyssey and Nibelungenlied; and in the
East, the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the Shahnama are often cited as examples
of the epic genre.
Epic versus narrative
One factor that distinguishes epics from other forms of narrative poetry is scale: epic poems tend to be too long to be read
or performed in a single sitting. A second distinguishing factor is stylistic: epic poems are written in what might be termed
high style, avoiding popular metres and verse patterns. For example, an epic written in English
would not use the ballad form.
Thirdly, epic poems always deal with persons and events that are considered to be historically real by the poet and their
audience. Epics are, essentially, the tale of the tribe. In oral cultures, the learning and performance of epic
poems frequently formed an integral part of the education of the poet and, by extension, the audience. This assumed historicity
is important for distinguishing epic from other long narrative forms such as allegory.
The fourth distinguishing factor in the definition of an epic is what is termed the Epic Hero Cycle. The hero in an epic poem
tends to follow a predictable cycle of events that is repeated in epics from every sort of culture. Although the cycle may repeat
upon itself and vary slightly in order from epic to epic, the general points of the cycle include a charge (e.g. from a god to
complete a quest); a test (to test worthiness to complete said quest), various mythical, human, or animal helpers; a main
antagonist, often supernatural; a magical/unreal world, unable to be visited by a normal human, that the hero visits (e.g. the
underworld or the world of the gods); an escape from the quest/low point (the hero questions the validity of his quest and seeks
to escape from his responsibility); a resurrection (either from being dead or from a dead-like state of mind, such as an
unwillingness to complete the quest, and may also be a hero who was thought to be dead who was rediscovered); and a restoration (
e.g. a king restored to his throne). George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy, in
particular, follows this cycle exactly, and some have cited it as the reason for its mass appeal.
Early epics
The first recorded epic is the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh. The
longest epic (and, in general, work of literature) of all time is the Tibetan Epic of King Gesar, which has been collected as a work composed of
roughly 120 volumes, with more than 1 million verses, totalling over 20 million words, making it 25 times the size of the ancient
Greek epic, the Illiad. The Mahabharata. whose 100,000 verses make it four times the size of the Bible and seven times the combined size of the Iliad and the Odyssey, is considered the
second-largest literary work.
Oral transmission of 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. 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.
Epics in literate societies
Literate societies have often copied the epic format, and the earliest known European example is Virgil's Aeneid, which follows both the style and subject matter of Homer. Another obvious example is Tulsidas' Ramacharitamanas, following the style and subject matter of Valmiki's Ramayana.
Epic non-poetry
By extension, the word "epic" is used in reference to any fictional work that
follows the broad stylistic and thematic conventions of epic poetry, namely high language, historical or pseudo-historical
settings, and hero-worship. Examples of non-poetic epics are Beau Geste, The Great Indian Novel and Star
Wars.
Notable epic poems
See also
External links
References
- Heroic Song and Heroic Legend by Jan de Vries ISBN
0405105665
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