Epic poetry
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| In [[ancient Greek]], 'epic' could refer to all poetry in [[dactylic hexameter]] (''epea''), which included not only Homer but also the wisdom poetry of [[Hesiod]], the utterances of the [[Delphic oracle]], and the strange theological verses attributed to [[Orpheus]]. Later tradition, however, has restricted the term 'epic' to ''heroic epic''. | In [[ancient Greek]], 'epic' could refer to all poetry in [[dactylic hexameter]] (''epea''), which included not only Homer but also the wisdom poetry of [[Hesiod]], the utterances of the [[Delphic oracle]], and the strange theological verses attributed to [[Orpheus]]. Later tradition, however, has restricted the term 'epic' to ''heroic epic''. | ||
| - | Famous examples of epic poetry include the Sumerian ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'', the ancient Indian ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and ''[[Rāmāyaṇa]]'' in Sanskrit and ''[[Silappatikaram]]'' in Tamil, the Persian ''[[Shahnameh]]'', the Ancient Greek ''[[Odyssey]]'' and ''[[Iliad]]'', [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'', the Old English ''[[Beowulf]]'', [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s ''[[Divine Comedy]]'', the Finnish ''[[Kalevala]]'', the Estonian ''[[Kalevipoeg]]'', the German ''[[Nibelungenlied]]'', the French ''[[Song of Roland]]'', the Spanish ''[[Cantar de mio Cid]]'', the Portuguese ''[[Os Lusíadas]]'', the Armenian ''[[Daredevils of Sassoun]]'', and [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]].'' Epic poems of the modern era include [[Derek Walcott]]’s ''[[Omeros]]'', [[Mircea Cărtărescu]]'s [[The Levant (poem)|The Levant]] and [[Adam Mickiewicz]]'s ''[[Pan Tadeusz]]''. ''[[Paterson (poem)|Paterson]]'' by [[William Carlos Williams]] published in five volumes from 1946 to 1958, was inspired in part by another modern epic, ''[[The Cantos]]'' by [[Ezra Pound]]. | + | 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]]'', ''[[Nibelungenlied; and in the East, the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', ''[[Ramayana]]'', ''[[Shahnama]]'' are often cited as examples of the epic genre. -- |
| ==See also== | ==See also== | ||
| * [[Arabic epic literature]] | * [[Arabic epic literature]] | ||
Revision as of 21:42, 19 August 2022
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In ancient Greek, 'epic' could refer to all poetry in dactylic hexameter (epea), which included not only Homer but also the wisdom poetry of Hesiod, the utterances of the Delphic oracle, and the strange theological verses attributed to Orpheus. Later tradition, however, has restricted the term 'epic' to heroic epic.
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, [[Nibelungenlied; and in the East, the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Shahnama are often cited as examples of the epic genre. --
See also
- Arabic epic literature
- Alpamysh
- Calliope (Greek muse of epic poetry)
- Caribbean epic poetry
- Chanson de geste
- Epic fiction
- History painting
- Mock epic
- Monomyth
- Narrative poetry
- National epic
- National poet
