*What is an EPIC POEM??
A long, narrative poem that tells about the adventures of a
hero who reflects the ideals and/or values of a nation or
race
Elements of Epic Poems
 The main character or protagonist is heroically larger
than life, often the source and subject of legend or a
national hero.
 The fate of his people depend on the hero.
 There is a course of action in which the hero performs
great and difficult deeds.
*Elements of Epic Poems
• The deeds of the hero are presented without
favoritism, revealing his failings (weaknesses) as
well as his virtues (strengths).
• The action, often in battle, reveals the more-thanhuman strength of the heroes as they engage in
acts of heroism and courage.
• They cover great distances and/or time.
Epic Poem Elements (Con’t.)
• The episodes, even though they may be fictional, provide
an explanation for some of the circumstances or events
in the history of a nation or people.
• The gods play an active role in the outcome of actions.
• There is a concern with eternal human problems.
• It is written in a dignified, elaborate poetic style.
• All of the various adventures form a” whole,” where each
event relates in some way to the central theme.
*Similes, Epithets, and Heroes,
Oh My!
• The simile (a directly stated comparison using
words like or as) helps the audience—then and
now—picture how helpless and unwilling the
men are.
• Homer uses extended similes so masterfully that
such comparisons now bear his name. A Homeric
simile is an elaborate comparison, developed
over several lines, between something strange or
unfamiliar to the audience and something more
familiar to them.
*Examples of Homeric Similes
1. What’s
None would attack—oh, it was
familiar?
strange, I tell you—
What do
but switching their long tails they
you know?
faced our men
like hounds, who look up when their 2. What’s
master comes
unfamiliar?
with tidbits for them—as he will—
What do
from table.
you NOT
Humbly those wolves and lions with
know?
mighty paws
3. So what are the 2
fawned on our men…
-- lines 543-547
:
objects being compared?
*Epi-whats?
Epithets are brief, descriptive
phrases that helped to
characterize a person or thing.
Odysseus is referred to as “master
mariner” or “old contender”
How would YOU be described??!Achilles
is “swift-footed.”
The ocean becomes the
“wine-dark sea.”
*Why do we need
epi-thingies?
Characterizes a person, place
or thing
Gives story-teller
a“breather”
Helps with rhyming and
rhythm
In Review:
• Epic poems are long stories about a hero who must achieve
his goal, which takes a long journey &/or a long time, and
the fate of his people relies on him to succeed.
• The larger than life hero wants to reach his goal, but he
comes across obstacles and monsters that stop him, so the
gods help him and he succeeds, which puts him back where
he started. It’s a vicious circle, I mean, cycle!
• Homeric similes are comparisons using like or as that take a
few lines to figure out because you have to see what you
know to figure out what you don’t.
In Review (Con’t)
• Epithets are short, descriptive phrases that
characterize a person or thing.
• Heroes, who are the model citizens, are almost godlike in that they are braver, stronger, and smarter
than the average human, but their faults are
displayed throughout the epic, and they change as a
result of the journey.