EPIC-LY

SPEAKING
A brief introduction to the
Characteristics & Conventions of Epics
What is an Epic?
 Is one of the main types of poetry
 Itis a long, formal narrative poem usually
dealing with exploits of a hero

 Epic poetry has been and continues to be used

by peoples all over the world to transmit their
traditions from one generation to another,
without the aid of writing.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EPIC
1. Characters are beings of national importance and historical ,
cultural or legendary significance.

 Odysseus takes on a larger-than-life quality in the story. These

are not the deeds of a normal man.

2. The setting is vast in scope, covering nations, the world, or

even the universe.

 The Odyssey is a journey that involves a large number of places

and nations. Odysseus, himself a prince, must concern himself
with the suitors of other great houses once he returns home.
3. Action consists of deeds of great valor , superhuman
strength and courage.

 For example, Odysseus must again and again prove his ability
to fight his way out of trouble, to cunningly use words, and
to bravely face extreme odds. Both his wanderings and his
return home to face the suitors are deeds of valor and
courage.

4. Style is sustained in elevated tone and language.

 Read the initial conversation between Zeus and Athena. The

conversation has a high tone and depth of detail that give it
a gravity even when involving petty matters.
 “ Across the lands and waters he was battered
Beneath the violence of High Ones,
For the savage Juno’s unforgiving anger;
And many sufferings were his in war—
Until he brought a city into being
And carried in his gods to Latium;
From this have come the Latin race,
The lords of Alba, and the ramparts of high Rome.”

Book I, “The Aeneid” of Virgil

5. Supernatural forces insert themselves in the
story and often intervene directly by using
human form.

 Several of the gods are involved in Odysseus'

wanderings: Hera and Poseidon keep Odysseus from
returning home for several years, Circe and Calypso
both tried to keep Odysseus for themselves; Zeus and
Hermes at points come to Odysseus' rescue, and
Athena especially interests herself in every stage of
Odysseus' journey home.
6. The author speaks with a detached objective narration of the events.
 The narrative focused on the exploits of a hero or demigod who
represents the cultural values of a race, nation, or religious group.

“Romulus shall call that people Romans, after his own name.
I set no limit to their fortunes and no time;
I give them empire without end.
Then even bitter Juno shall be change; or she ,
Who is now harasses lands and heavens with terror,
Then shall hold the Romans dear together with me,
Cherishing the masters of all things,
And the race that wears the toga.
That is what I decree.
CONVENTIONS OF AN EPIC
1. An invocation to the Muse for inspiration in the telling of a story, a
prayer to a Muse for approval and blessing.
The following examples shows us a poet who requests divine help in
portraying the epic story he has to tell:
 Iliad (A) – 1.1-9
 Odyssey (A) –1.1-31
 Aeneid (A) –1.1-16
 Paradise Lost (C) –1.1-25 (Note this Christian example. Here, Milton's
invocation is to the Holy Spirit.)

Exemptions to these are Epics not created in the Classical style such as
Gilgamesh, the Bhagava Puruna in the Mahabharata, etc.
2. Epics tend to start in medias res. "In the middle of the action."
Usually with the hero at his lowest point. Usually flashbacks show
earlier portions of the story.
 The Odyssey begins near the end of Odysseus' journey, which began
with his ships' flight from the shores of Troy. The events that set his
wanderings in motion become clear as the story progresses.

3. Epic catalogues/list warriors, armies, and genealogies

achievements, etc.
 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.
 Example: The Old Testament—Book of Genesis; Aeneid of Virgil
“ An age shall come along the way when the House of Assaracus
shall hold both Phthia and illustrious Mycenae
And rule defeated Argos.
Then a Trojan Caesar shall rise out of that splendid line.
His empire’s boundary shall be the Ocean;
The only border to his fame , the stars.
His name shall be derived from great Iülus,
And shall be Julius. In time to come; no longer troubled,
You shall welcome him to heaven,
Weighed with the Orient’s wealth;
he too, shall be invoked with prayers.”
4. Dialogues of the main character tend to be extended, formal speeches.
 Its diction in elevated in style. It employs a formal, dignified, objective
tone and many figures of speech.

“ Juno, holding fast within herself the everlasting insult,

asked herself:
‘Am I defeated, simply to stop trying,
unable to turn back the Trojan king from Italy?
I, the Queen of God, who stride along as both the sister and wife
Of Jove, have warred so many years against a single nation.
For this, will anyone adore the majesty of Juno or,
Before her altars, pay her honour, pray to her?’
5. Epic similes are frequent.
 epic simile: "a long, grand comparison which is so vivid that it temporarily displaces
the object to which it is compared. It is used at appropriate spots of the story, and a
traditional scene of extended description in which the hero arms himself.

“ You Aeolus—to whom the king of men and father of the gods have given
this: to pacify the waves or, with the wind, to incite them—
Over the Tyrrhenian now sails my enemy, a race that carries the beaten
household gods of Ilium to Italy. Hammer your winds to fury and ruin their
swamped ships, or scatter them and fling their crews piecemeal across the
seas.”
He turned his lance head, struck the hollow mountain on its side.
The winds, as in a column, hurry through the breach;
they blow across the earth in a tornado.
Together Eurus, Notus, and with Tempest on tempest attack the sea.”
Examples of Epics
 GILGAMESH – Mesopotamian [ 20-10 BC]
 AKKADIAN ENUMA ELISH - Babylonian
 MAHABHARATA - Indian
 ILLIAD - Greek
 ODYSSEY - Greek
 AENEID – Roman
 DIVINA COMEDIA [The Divine Comedy – Inferno, Purgatory, Paradiso] –
Dante Alighieri
 BEOWULF – Anglo-Saxon
 EL CID CAMPEADOR - Spanish
 CHANSON DE ROLAND - French
 THE FAERIE QUEENE – British [ Edmund Spenser 15th century ]
 HIAWATHA – Native American [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ]