Characteristics of an EPIC POEM
1) Hero is a figure of national or cosmic
importance.
2) Setting is on a large scale (the world,
universe, etc.)
3) Action involves superhuman deeds and
courage.
4) Supernatural beings are involved in the
action of the story.
5) The Style of the poem is elevated—i.e.,
there’s no overt sex or potty humor.
Conventions of an EPIC POEM
1) Poet opens Epic with his argument
(a.k.a., Epic Theme)
2) Narrative begins in medias res (“in the
middle of things”). In Homer, this gave
birth to the flashback. (The exposition
comes later in story.)
3) Catalogues are used: lists of warriors,
ships, armies, etc.
4) Poetic Features include: allusions,
epithets, and epic similes.
5) Hero undergoes a katabasis*
Epithet: a grand nickname—e.g: “The Sultan
of Swat,” “The Greatest” “Smokin’ Joe”
Frazier, “The goddess of the Flashing Eyes”
(Athena), “The Thunderer” (Zeus).
Hospitality was a sacred duty in Ancient
Greek culture.
Some Famous Epics
Homer(Greek): The Iliad, The Odyssey
Virgil(Roman): The Aeneid
Dante (Italian Renaissance): The Divine
Comedy
John Milton (English Ren.): Paradise Lost
Homer is considered “The Father of
Western Literature” because he wrote the
first two epics—The Illiad and The Odyssey.
Homer lived around 800 B.C., but the
events in the epics took place around 400
years earlier. Very little is known about
Homer, but one legend says he was blind.
The Iliad concerns the closing months of the
Trojan War, climaxing with the victory of
the Achaeans (“Greeks”) over the people of
Troy. The Odyssey, on the other hand, is
about a ten-year voyage home by the hero,
King Odysseus of Ithaca.
Book Nine of The Odyssey includes an
encounter on the Island of the Cyclopes.
The adventure begins when Odysseus and
twelve of his best warriors meet one of these
one-eyed giants—a Cyclops named
Polyphemus.