1. The Epic
and the Epic Hero

2. epic? What is an The epic is a narrative poem or extended
narrative which
tells the story
of a national hero.

3. Characteristics Originally intended to be sung
Deities and other supernatural agencies are part of story.
Often has a national interest.

4. Characteristics Generated by periods of upheaval.
Principal character is
larger than life.
Single combat is often in
the plot.
Subject is often in opening
lines.
It is generally long.

5. Homer was the blind Greek poet who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey, two of the most famous epics ever written.

6. The Epic Style
Epic simile is a comparison beginning with “like” or “as”; the figure, loaded with description, often holds up the act at a crucial time.

7. An epic simile from the Odyssey
During his meditation, a heavy surge was taking him, in fact, straight on the rocks. He had been flayed there, and his bones broken, had not grey-eyed Athena instructed him: he gripped a rock-ledge with both hands in passing and held on, groaning as the surge went by, to keep clear of its breaking. Then the backwash hit him, ripping him under and far out. An octopus, when you drag one from his chamber, comes up with suckers full of tiny stones: Odysseus left the skin of his great hands torn on the rock-ledge as the wave submerged him. And now at last Odysseus would have perished, battered inhumanly, but he had the gift of self-possession from grey-eyed Athena.
An epic
simile
from the
Odyssey

8. Other Elements of Style
Long, formal speeches
Elevated literary language
Begins in “in media res”
(in the middle of things)
Often deal with aristocrats

9. The Epic Hero

10. Introduced in the midst of peril
Not only a warrior but a leader
Possesses weapons of great size and power
Must undertake a long, perilous journey
Undertakes a task no one else can take
Establishes nobility in single combat
Epic hero and adversary meet at climax.
Has an auspicious birth

11. The End