EPIC CONVENTIONS

Homer, Vergil and Milton

Epic
Long narrative poem
Adventures of
legendary hero
The heros
accomplishments
reflect the values of
his/her culture
Homer
Oral tradition
Verse
Highest form of
literature
Epic Hero
Larger-than-life
Typically Noble
Courageous, Skilled
Great Events
Historical/Mythological events as
Backdrop for Epic
E.g.: The Iliad, Trojan War
1. The heros adventure
Qualities of
heroism
Embodies values
of civilisation
Warrior code
Flawed but
invincible
The Iliad
Achilles
Anger
Swift-footed
Son of a
goddess
Refined &
cultured
Odyssey
Odysseus
Wily
Favourite of
Athene
Xenia as a
cultural value
(quick aside) arete v. hubristhe battle!
Hubrisoverweening pridethe surest way
to a downfall

Aretepersonal excellencebeing the best
that you can bethe surest way to glory
2. Invocation to the muse Calliope
Asking for inspiration from the muse

States epics subject and theme

The poet is the conduit through which the
muse sings
Invocations
Iliad
Sing, O goddess, the rage
of Achilles son of Peleus,
that brought countless ills
upon the Achaeans.
Odyssey
Tell me, O muse, of that
ingenious hero who
travelled far and wide after
he had sacked the famous
town of Troy.

3. In medias res
Starts in the middle of the action

Only refers to the first book of an epic

Necessitates flashback
Analepses
Iliad
The story begins in the tenth
year of the Trojan war.
Many prior events are
referred to in passing.
Odyssey
The story begins in the tenth
year of Odysseus
wanderings. Odysseus
himself tells the narrative of
his events in Books 9-12.
4. Stock epithets
A descriptive adjective or phrase that is
repeatedly used withor in place of a noun
or proper name Andromache of the ivory-
white arms.

Allowed for audience to get a sense of the
many characters
Recurrent Epithets
Iliad
Swift-footed Achilles
Rosy-fingered dawn
Wide-ruling
Agamemnon

Odyssey
Wily Odysseus
Bright-eyed Athene
Wise Penelope
5. Epic simile
Extended comparison using like or as

Usually from nature

Designed to let us picture what is happening
by comparing heroic events to simple,
everyday ones
Similes
Iliad
As he spoke he drew the
keen blade that hung so
great and strong by his side,
and gathering himself
together be sprang on
Achilles like a soaring eagle
which swoops down from
the clouds on to some lamb
or timid hare - even so did
Hector brandish his sword
and spring upon Achilles.
Odyssey
She found Ulysses among
the corpses bespattered
with blood and filth like a
lion that has just been
devouring an ox, and his
breast and both his cheeks
are all bloody, so that he is
a fearful sight; even so was
Ulysses besmirched from
head to foot with gore.
6. Extensive use of monologues
Allows for flashback

Allows for character development
7. Intervention of the gods
The war is fought on two levels: on earth and
in the heavens

This reveals a cultural perspectivewhat
type of deities did the Greeks have?
8. Catalogues
There are long lists of heroes and armies

May seem boring to the modern reader but of
vital importance to the audience
Literary Epics
Written by individual authors
Self-consciously epic
Aeneid by Virgil
Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
Paradise Lost by John Milton
The end of epic poetry
Gutenberg
The novel
Kant
Freud
Life of Galileo
Happy the land that
has no heroes.
Happy the land that
needs no heroes.