Epic poetry:
An epic
poem, epic (from Latin epicus, from the Ancient Greek adjective ἐπικός, epikos, from ἔπος, epos,[1] "word,
story, poem"[2]), epos (from Latin epos, from Greek ἔπος, epos[3]), or epopee (from French épopée,
from neo-Latin epopoeia,
from Ancient Greek ἐποποιία, epopoiia)[4] is
a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a
serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a
culture or nation.[5] 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.
