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Table of Contents
65-66 The Epic Tradition
Words Worth Knowing
Epic: a long narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society.
Archetype: a pattern that appears in literature across cultures and is repeated through the ages. Can be a character, a plot, an image, or a setting.

2. The Epic Tradition [IN 66]
Key Point
Notes
Characteristics of an Epic
The Epic Hero
The Epic Lives On
Beowulf

3. The Epic Tradition Characteristics of an Epic:
 KEY POINT
Incredible plot, involving large-scale events
Mix of myth, legend, and history that often includes gods and goddesses as characters
Long narrative poem about a quest, told in formal, elevated language
Larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular culture

4. The Epic Tradition Characteristics of an Epic
Epics from all times and places help connect the past to the future.
An epic—or long narrative poem—is about the exploits of a national hero.
Epics carry a culture’s history, values and traditions from one generation to the next.

5. The Epic Tradition Characteristics of an Epic
Epics may vary across different cultures or times.
The epic tradition, however, remains a constant social feature.
Where there are people, there are epics, retelling the triumphs and trials of life.

6. The Epic Tradition The Epic Hero
 KEY POINT
Myths and religious stories, which explain the origins and deeds of gods, differ from epics.
The epic tradition reflects the human need
to understand ourselves
to bridge the gap between what’s human and what’s divine

7. The Epic Tradition The Epic Hero
Epic heroes—such as Anglo-Saxon Beowulf, Greek Achilles, and Mesopotamian Gilgamesh—are special, godlike human beings
who carry the status and power of gods within themselves
who remain subject to the joys and hardships of the human condition

8. The Epic Tradition The Epic Hero
Beowulf, Achilles, and Gilgamesh embody the particular values of their cultures.
These values can be found distilled in a single figure: the heroic archetype.
The archetype is the model that is somehow familiar to all people and times.
The archetypal hero expresses the universal human quest for knowledge and understanding.

9. The Epic Tradition The Epic Hero
As in our own journey through life, there are often trials and obstacles that stand between the hero and his or her goals.
Like Beowulf facing Grendel, we must fight our own dragons—our inner and outer demons.
The epic hero’s belief in himself, in his own powers, and in certain values makes success possible.

10. The Epic Tradition The Epic Lives On
 KEY POINT
Today, the epic tradition thrives in our own popular culture, where a diverse array of larger-than-life characters appear . . .
in movies
in television shows
in fantasy novels
in video games
in comic books
These characters, both male and female, are often superhuman and easily recognizable as descendants of the ancient heroes.

11. The Epic Tradition The Epic Lives On
Epics are a dramatic record of the personal and collective human quest, as in
Beowulf’s journey from a self-seeking adventurer to a heroic but humble death
Gilgamesh’s transition from arrogant king to returning pilgrim
Achilles’ passage from pouting adolescent to experienced warrior

12. The Epic Tradition The Epic Lives On The archetype endures:
The epic continues to be a universal and relevant symbol.
Epics express some of the most deeply held values of humankind.

13. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
 KEY POINT
Beowulf is
one of the most important epics of Western literature
a long narrative with monsters, gory battles, and a brave hero— Beowulf

14. Beowulf
Background
The epic poem Beowulf takes place in the Anglo-Saxon period following the fall of the Roman Empire.
Reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village in West Stow, England, with communal hall on the left.

15. Beowulf
Background
The story concerns a brave and strong hero who hears tales of a fearsome beast that has laid waste to a kingdom of Danes.
The ancestry of each character is emphasized throughout the epic.
Beowulf rips off the monster Grendel’s arm.
[End of Section]

16. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Time
500
Beowulf describes the world of the early sixth century.
The story of Beowulf is first told.
600
However, the epic was not written down until some time between 600 and 750.
The epic is written down in 3,200 lines.
750

17. Beowulf Introducing the Epic
Sources
Beowulf is based on early Celtic and Scandinavian folk legends.
Christian elements and geographic details suggest the epic was written down by a Northumbrian monk.
[End of Section]

18. The Epic Tradition [IN 65]
The Hero’s Journey Diagram TED Talk – Epic Hero