The epic is arguably the ultimate achievement in literature. Its grand scope and its demands on knowledge and language mastery set it singularly apart from other genres. Authors throughout the history of the written tradition have attempted to master the imposing scale and complexities of an epic work. Creating an epic, however, is no light task and requires compliance with general epic conventions.
The epic tradition began with the ancient Greeks. A poet called Homer is credited with The Odyssey and The Iliad, which set the standards for epics ever since. Roman authors followed many of the same devices, and the more modern examples have held with these precedents.
[...] One Thousand Years of the English Epic The epic is arguably the ultimate achievement in literature. Its grand scope and its demands on knowledge and language mastery set it singularly apart from other genres. Authors throughout the history of the written tradition have attempted to master the imposing scale and complexities of an epic work. Creating an epic, however, is no light task and requires compliance with general epic conventions. The epic tradition began with the ancient Greeks. A poet called Homer is credited with The Odyssey and The Iliad, which set the standards for epics ever since. [...]
[...] Another typical feature in the epic form is the cataloguing of characters or itemizing of objects. In Beowulf, there are extensive lists of ancestry. In Morte Darthur the fourteen knights who confront Lancelot and Guinevere are listed all at once. The catalog of angels in Paradise Lost is a prime example of this device. A list of the fallen angels includes Baalim, Ashtaroth, Thammuz, Dagon, Azotus, Rimmon, Osiris, Isis, and Orus- gods from non-Christian religions. Cataloguing like this showcases Milton's knowledge of the classical world. [...]
[...] For example, the first epic in the English language, Beowulf, is about a Danish king who goes to battle for his own fame and displays the values of his own country and other tribal societies of the time. Lancelot in the Morte Darthur is a preternatural warrior with strength and skills far superior to his ordinary companions. He and Arthur, the other hero of the work, represent the tension between the traditional ideal of valor against developing Christian values. In the ultimate symbol, Adam in Paradise Lost is representative of Mankind itself. [...]
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