Overview
Epic Literature is a lengthy narrative, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Milman Parry and Albert Lord have argued that the Homeric epics, the earliest works of Western literature, were fundamentally an oral poetic form. These works form the basis of the epic genre in Western literature. Nearly all Western epic (including Virgil's Aeneid and Dante's Divine Comedy) self-consciously presents itself as a continuation of the tradition begun by these poems. Classical epic employs dactylic hexameter and recounts a journey, either physical (as typified by Odysseus in the Odyssey) or mental (as typified by Achilles in the Iliad) or both. Epics also tend to highlight cultural norms and to define or call into question cultural values, particularly as they pertain to heroism. This book discusses the literary genre of the epic.
- | Author: Paul F. Kisak
- | Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
- | Publication Date: May 19, 2016
- | Number of Pages: 432 pages
- | Language: English
- | Binding: Paperback
- | ISBN-10: 1533354456
- | ISBN-13: 9781533354457
