Read complete books and articles on: Epic Literature

Epic - long, exalted narrative poem, usually on a serious subject, centered on a heroic figure. The earliest epics, known as primary, or original, epics, were shaped from the legends of an age when a nation was conquering and expanding; such is the foundation of the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, of the Iliad and the Odyssey of the Greek Homer, and of the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf. Literary, or secondary, epics, written in conscious imitation of earlier forms, are most notably represented by Vergil's Aeneid and Milton's Paradise Lost. The epic, which makes great demands on a poet's knowledge and skill, has been deemed the most ambitious of poetic forms. Some of its conventions, followed by epic writers in varying degrees, include a hero who embodies national, cultural, or religious ideals and upon whose actions depends to some degree the fate of his people; a course of action in which the hero performs great and difficult deeds; a whole era in the history of civilization; the intervention and recognition of divine or supernatural powers; the concern with eternal human problems; and a dignified and elaborate poetic style. Other works classified as epics are the Indian Mahabharata and Ramayana, the French Song of Roland, the Spanish Song of the Cid, the Germanic Niebelungenlied, Dante's Divine Comedy, Tasso's Gerusaleme Liberta, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, Spenser's Faerie Queene, and Camões's Lusiads. A mock epic is a form of satire in which trivial characters and events are treated with all the exalted epic conventions and are made to look ridiculous by the incongruity. The plot of Pope's Rape of the Lock, one of the most famous mock epics, is based on a quarrel over the theft of a lady's curl.

See studies by Sir C. M. Bowra (1961), H. V. Routh (2 vol., 1927; repr. 1968), C. A. Yu (1973), J. Ingalls (1984), and J. K. Newman (1986).

Show Excerpt Only

13 of the Best Books and Articles on: Epic Literature

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Reading Epic: An Introduction to the Ancient Narratives » Read Now
by Peter Toohey. 252 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

Readers new to ancient epic are hampered in two ways: they do not know the ancient languages, and they are unfamiliar with the ancient world. This survey addresses the needs of these readers by offering guidance through the major classical writers of epic: it begins with Homer and concludes with an...
Read More

Readers new to ancient epic are hampered in two ways: they do not know the ancient languages, and they are unfamiliar with the ancient world. This survey addresses the needs of these readers by offering guidance through the major classical writers of epic: it begins with Homer and concludes with an overview of the development of late ancient epic and of the interface between the epic and the novel.
Show less
2.

The Book of the Epic: The World's Great Epics Told in Story » Read Now
by H. A. Guerber. 632 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library
3.

Heroic Epic and Saga: An Introduction to the World's Great Folk Epics » Read Now
by Felix J. Oinas. 373 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library
4.

Epic in Republican Rome » Read Now
by Sander M. Goldberg. 196 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

This book is a major new study of the epic poetry of Republican Rome. Goldberg treats the creators of these now-fragmentary works not simply as predecessors of Vergil, but as pioneers and poets in their own right. But Goldberg goes beyond practical criticism, exploring in the literary experiments of...
Read More

This book is a major new study of the epic poetry of Republican Rome. Goldberg treats the creators of these now-fragmentary works not simply as predecessors of Vergil, but as pioneers and poets in their own right. But Goldberg goes beyond practical criticism, exploring in the literary experiments of Andronicus, Naevius, Ennius, and Cicero issues of poetry and patronage, cultural assimilation and national ideology, modeling and originality that both come to characterize Roman literature of all periods and continue to shape modern responses to that literature. What emerges from Goldberg's study is both a fresh perspective on Vergil's achievement and new insights into the cultural dynamics of second-century Rome.
Show less
5.

Epic Traditions of Africa » Read Now
by Stephen Paterson Belcher. 276 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

Epic Traditions of Africa crosses boundaries of language, distance, and time to gather material from diverse African sources. Stephen Belcher explores the rich past and poetic force of African epics and places them in historical and social, as well as artistic, contexts. Colorful narratives from...
Read More

Epic Traditions of Africa crosses boundaries of language, distance, and time to gather material from diverse African sources. Stephen Belcher explores the rich past and poetic force of African epics and places them in historical and social, as well as artistic, contexts. Colorful narratives from Central and West African traditions are illuminated along with texts that are more widely available to Western readers -- the Mande Sunjata and the Bamana Segou. Belcher also takes up questions about European influences on African epic poetry and the possibilities of mutual influences throughout the genre. This lively and informative volume will inspire an appreciation for the distinctive qualities of a uniquely African form of verbal art.
Show less
6.

Epic and Romance: Essays on Medieval Literature » Read Now
by W. P. Ker. 398 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library
7.

The Old French Epic » Read Now
by Jessie Crosland. 306 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library
8.

The Madness of Epic: Reading Insanity from Homer to Statius » Read Now
by Debra Hershkowitz. 346 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Psychology, Entire Library

Madness features in many ancient epics: not only do characters go mad, but madness often plays an important thematic role. This book examines the representation and poetic function of madness in epic poetry (including the work of Homer, Virgil, and Ovid), addresses the difficulty of defining...
Read More

Madness features in many ancient epics: not only do characters go mad, but madness often plays an important thematic role. This book examines the representation and poetic function of madness in epic poetry (including the work of Homer, Virgil, and Ovid), addresses the difficulty of defining madness, and discusses how each epic explores the theme in a unique way.
Show less
9.

Brides and Doom: Gender, Property, and Power in Medieval German Women's Epic » Read Now
by Jerold C. Frakes. 298 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library
10.

Engendering Rome: Women in Latin Epic » Read Now
by A. M. Keith. 149 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

This study examines the role of female characters in the Roman epic poetry of Virgil, Ovid and other writers. Its five chapters argue that the feminized landscapes, militaristic women, and beautiful female corpses of the Roman epic tradition should be interpreted in conjunction with the use of the...
Read More

This study examines the role of female characters in the Roman epic poetry of Virgil, Ovid and other writers. Its five chapters argue that the feminized landscapes, militaristic women, and beautiful female corpses of the Roman epic tradition should be interpreted in conjunction with the use of the genre by ancient educators as a means of inculcating Roman codes of masculinity and femininity in their pupils. The issues addressed are of interest not just to classicists but also to students of later poetic traditions and to those pursuing gender studies.
Show less
11.

Roman Epic: An Interpretive Introduction » Read Now
by Michael Von Albrecht. 286 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...The author's approach to Roman epic is interpretative; the reader is invited to study a choice of typical texts, from the beginnings to the end of Antiquity. Famous poets...
12.

Roman Epic » Read Now
by A. J. Boyle. 336 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

Roman epic is both index and critique of the foundational culture of the western world. It is one of Europe's most persistent and determinant poetic modes. In this book distinguished Latinists examine the formation and evolution of Roman epic from its beginnings in the third century BC to the high...
Read More

Roman epic is both index and critique of the foundational culture of the western world. It is one of Europe's most persistent and determinant poetic modes. In this book distinguished Latinists examine the formation and evolution of Roman epic from its beginnings in the third century BC to the high Italian Renaissance. Featuring a variety of methodologies and approaches, it clarifies the literary importance and political and moral meaning of Roman epic.
Show less
13.

Memory in Oral Traditions: The Cognitive Psychology of Epic, Ballads, and Counting-Out Rhymes (Chap. 9 "Epic and Formulaic Theory") » Read Now
by David C. Rubin. 388 pgs.

Collections: Education, Literature, Psychology, Entire Library

This book applies the methods and theories of cognitive psychology to the study of oral traditions. Rubin elaborates on three structural devices that appear in oral traditions: those consisting of meaning, those using imagery, and those in which sound pattern is predominant. Next, the way in which...
Read More

This book applies the methods and theories of cognitive psychology to the study of oral traditions. Rubin elaborates on three structural devices that appear in oral traditions: those consisting of meaning, those using imagery, and those in which sound pattern is predominant. Next, the way in which these and other constraints fit together is examined. The processes of transmission and recall are then considered. Three genres are considered as different applications of the principles outlined in the book. For two of these -- counting-out rhymes and ballads -- original studies are reported. For the third -- epic -- new analyses of existing data are reported.
Show less