Epic Poem Parody

An epic is a long narrative poem about the adventures of a hero. Beowulf, for example, is an Anglo-Saxon epic that was written down around the year 1000 A.D. It takes place in Denmark and Geatland, which is present-day Sweden. Another form of an epic is “Rikki-tikki-tavi,” a short story written by a British writer named Rudyard Kipling. It is about a mongoose who needs to stop three deadly snakes from eating other animals in a garden and a family in a house. Beowulf and “Rikki-tikki-tavi” both contain similar characteristics of an epic: there is a struggle of good versus evil, the fate of the people rests on the hero’s shoulders, and the hero possesses superhuman strength.

An epic poem is a long, narrative poem that is usually about heroic deeds and events that are significant to the culture of the poet. These poems tell tales of intense adventures and heroic feats. They often include cultural references to the time it was written and was a way for the people to spread their ideas and beliefs. Epic poems are very important when a person is trying to learn more about a certain culture or era in which the poem was written. Two of the most famous epic poems are Beowulf and The Odyssey. Although no two poems are exactly them same, Beowulf and The Odyssey do share a few similarities. Between Beowulf and The Odyssey, the most salient similarity they share is the way the monsters from the epics are symbolic and challenge

An epic is an extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero.   The main characteristics of an epic as a literary genre is that it is a long poem that tells a story, it contains an epic hero, its hero searches for immortality (but doesn't find it physically, only through fame), gods or other supernatural beings are interested and involved, and it delivers an historical message.  The Epic of Gilgamesh is classified as an epic because it fits all the characteristics of an epic as a literary genre.

HW MONDAY night, 3/19.  INTRODUCTION: Read + take 1-page of Test-Review Notes on lined paper (or type them) for pages 641-646; copy definitions/lists as found on pages: EPIC POEM, EPIC HERO, CONCEPTS/top/p.643.

“The whole earth is the tomb of heroic men and their story is not given only on stone over their clay but abides everywhere without visible symbol woven into the stuff of other men’s lives,” said Perculus (PR). You’re born, you live a little, and then you die. There is no simpler way to sum up life. Often times this is done through oral tales, paintings, and various other ways. For those whose lives were truly something great, something memorable, their stories are transcripted into writings. Whether these are simple biographies or symbolic fictional works, stories are often based on someone greater than the writer. These “epic heros” are protagonists that fulfill their potential of greatness through using their bravery, strength and

Often through great literature, there is an epic hero. In the Odyssey, Homer tells the journey of one man’s journey home from the Trojan War. The protagonist of the epic poem Odysseus is often regarded as a great hero. However, Odysseus is not quite the glorious soldier that people often see him as. Odysseus disproves his title of a hero through his pride, his disloyalty, and his bloodthirstiness.

Thus muses Achilles, one of epic poetry's greatest heroes. Epic poetry, one of the earliest forms of literature, began as an oral narration describing a series of mythical or historic events. Eventually, these stories were written down and read aloud to an audience. Although the Epic of Gilgamesh was composed approximately fifteen hundred years prior to the Iliad, the heroes of both epics possess strikingly similar characteristics. Indeed,

An epic is a long narrative poem or story about a hero who belongs to a noble or royal family. In many epics, there is something supernatural or magical about the hero’s birth and death. The hero’s central motivation is to perform brave deeds that will protect his people. Many of these brave deeds involve quests, or long difficult journeys hunting for a rare treasure, a magical sword, or a kidnapped princess.

An epic is a long, narrative poem that encompasses a hero or a heroine who is usually involved in an amazing battle between two forces. It includes forces that are not of the human world such as demons, angels, gods, and spirits. The epic of Beowulf is about a hero with superhuman strength that defeats the demon who torments the soldiers of the kingdom. In The Rape of the Lock, the heroine Belinda has a piece of her hair cut and stolen from her and the major battle is trying to get her lock of hair

Influenced by the progressing technology and the Industrial Revolution which drove people to urban life, modern art brought an emphasis on originality, innovation and looking at things with a different perspective. One of the major themes of Modernism was to abandon old ideas and produce new ways of creating art. Postmodernism movement developed between the later 1960s and the 1990s that revived earlier styles that artists could sample, adopt and recycle in order to create new, contemporary pieces and ideas. In the lecture for Modernism, the piece that made me think the most was Rene Magritte’s The Rape. This piece shows a women's portrait with her face missing and a female body shown as the face. Rene Magritte created this piece in reaction

The heroes in The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, and Oedipus are all men that share many traits, but are not the typical heroes that 21st century readers today may relate to. Instead, they are flawed men who must overcome great challenges. However, heroes play a vital role in the ancient epic texts that are still enjoyed today. Without the hero, there would be no tale to tell, and the stories of Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Oedipus, would be unknown to us. Understanding the role of the hero, and the differences between heroes is useful to better understand the literary masterpieces within the context of the times they were written in as well.

This short essay will identify five traditional epic characteristics that are evident in both the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Aristotle presents the argument that tragedies are superior to epics. While tragedies and epics are characterized in similar ways they also have their differences. “A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in language with pleasurable accessories, each kind brought in separately in the parts of the work; in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.” (Aristotle, 6) A Tragedy is better at arousing emotion in an audience than en epic through the plot, characters, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle.

Alexander Pope's mock heroic epic The Rape of the Lock appears to be a light subject addressed with a satiric tone and structure. Pope often regards the unwanted cutting of a woman's hair as a trivial thing, but the fashionable world takes it seriously. Upon closer examination Pope has, perhaps unwittingly, broached issues worthy of earnest consideration. The Rape of the Lock at first glance is a commentary on human vanity and the ritual of courtship. The poem also discusses the relationship between men and women, which is the more substantial matter in particular. Pope examines the oppressed position of women. Infringement on a woman's personal space, her person and her pride by an aggressive male (the Baron)

The word “epic” ignites a multitude of reactions in the minds of literature lovers and passive readers alike. Some people may think of the slang version of this term while other may fondly remember the theater. However, when one is conscious of literary analysis and literature, they can always fall back to the genre of an epic poem. In literary terms, an epic poem is considered to be a lengthy, narrative poem that has a focus on the exploits of a hero and is full of immense amounts of style and figurative language. Normally, by following this hero throughout the poem, the readers are introduced to the alignment between the poem with a specific nation or national identity. Several characteristics of epic poetry lend to this concept, especially those found in both The Faerie Queene and Paradise Lost. Both epic poems focus on historical context and on the characteristics of a heroic journey, the scale of the setting, and divine intervention in order to establish a trend of English nationalistic and religious identity.