 Epic
 Epic Hero
 Epic Simile
 Epithet
 An epic is a long narrative poem
that tells about the adventures of a
hero who reflects the ideals and
values of a nation or race.
 The epic portrays the past, but it is
an imaginary past.
 An epic hero is a larger-than-life figure, usually male,
who embodies the ideals of a nation or race.
 Epic heroes take part in long, dangerous adventures
and accomplish great deeds that require courage and
superhuman strength.
 A simile is a comparison of two things using like or as.
 An EPIC SIMILE is a longer, more detailed simile that
can go on for several lines.
 Example: “And Odysseus let the bright molten tears run
down his cheeks, weeping [like] the way a wife mourns for
her lord on the lost field where he has gone down fighting
the day of wrath that came upon his children . . .”
 An epithet is a brief descriptive phrase that helps to
characterize a person or thing.
 Example: “Son of Laertes and the gods of old,
Odysseus, master mariner and soldier. . .”
 Epithets were used to give story telling a musical
effect.
 History has been stored throughout time.
 Artifacts
 Drawings
 Writings
 Oral Tellings
 When stories or information are passed down orally they
are called folk tales or myths or fables.
 Homer: Scholars conjecture from scraps of evidence that Homer
was a blind poet who may have been born on the island of Chios
in the Aegean Sea.
 Homer’s most famous works are:
 Illiad
 Odyssy
 They have influenced writers throughout the ages for the beauty and
power of their imagery, for their character development, for the
universality of their themes, and for their extraordinary stories
 Homer probably composed his works between 700 and 800 BC.
 When Homer composed The Iliad and The Odyssey, the events
in both stories were already at least 600 years old. Thus, the plots
unfold in an age when recorded history was in its infancy, about
3,200 years ago.
Epic Poems
 It is a long narrative poem.
 The speaker is a narrator telling a
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story.
The theme or subject of the tale is
important.
There is an epic hero.
The action includes extraordinary or
superhuman deeds.
The purpose is to entertain, teach,
and inspire people how to strive and
succeed against great odds.
Epic Narration
 There is an invocation where the
poet-narrator starts the poem by
stating the subject and asking the
muse, one of the nine goddesses, for
inspiration.
 The narrator begins telling the tale
in the middle of things, in medias
res, describing what is happening
after certain important events have
already occurred .
 The narrative includes speeches by
principal characters.
 The narrative’s tone and style are
formal.
 The use of figurative language
makes the narrative vivid and
exciting for listeners.
 Invocation-the beginning of an epic poem where the
poet- narrator states the tale’s subject and asks for
poetic inspiration from a muse.
 Muse-one of the nine goddesses who gave poets
inspiration.
 Homeric epithets-Many characters in the Odyssey
have “stock names.” The same words are continually
used to describe them (“Wily Odysseus,” “gray-eyed
Athena” ). Homer isn’t being repetitive-these
descriptions, called Homeric epithets, originated in
the day when the Odyssey was recited aloud.
 Dramatic irony-occurs when the reader knows
something that a character does not know.
 Epic similes-These are stock descriptions of places or
actions also make the poem easier to remember;
“…they stamped around the hall, like a herd of cattle
set upon and driven wild by the darting horse fly…”
 Archetypes-An original model or type after which
other similar things are patterned.
Get ready to enjoy Homer’s The
Odyssey!