What is epic literature?
Epic Literature and Western Civilization
What is an epic?
It is a long narrative about a serious or worthy subject, it can be seen as the progenitor of tradition and legend.
Its diction is in elevated in style. It employs a formal, dignified, objective tone and many figures of speech.
It opens with a Preposition: by stating the theme or cause of the epic. This may take the form of a purpose (as in Milton, who proposed "to justify the ways of God to men"); of a question (as in the Iliad, which Homer initiates by asking a Muse to sing of Achilles' anger); or of a situation (as in the Song of Roland, with Charlemagne in Spain).
We also have an Invocation: Writer invokes a Muse, one of the nine daughters of Zeus. The poet prays to the Muses to provide him with divine inspiration to tell the story of a great hero. This convention is restricted to cultures influenced by European Classical culture.
The narrative is focused on the exploits of a hero or demigod who represents the cultural values of his race, people group, or religious group.
The hero's success or failure will determine the fate of that people or nation.
The action takes place in a vast setting, and covers a wide geographic area. The setting is most often some time in the remote past that has been lost to mists of time and history.
The action contains superhuman feats of strength and exceptional feats of bravery. Gods, demi gods, supernatural beings, fate and destiny are often manifest and affect the outcome.
The narrative typically starts in medias res, that is in the middle of the action. Subsequently, the earlier events leading up to the start of the story will be recounted in the characters' narratives or in flashbacks. The epic typically contains long catalogs of heroes and other important characters, the focus is on the high born, kings and great warriors, not peasants and commoners. These long lists of objects, places, and people are used to place the finite action of the epic within a broader, universal context. Often, the poet is also paying homage to the ancestors of the intended audience.
The epic Often features the tragic hero's descent into the Underworld or hell. The hero generally participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries that try to defeat him in his journey and returns home significantly transformed by his journey.
Epics can be national, pan national, religious, or even folklorish.
A national epic is a literary work of epic scope which captures and expresses the essence and spirit of a particular nation, by nation we mean a unique people group having distinct ethnic and linguistic characteristics. National epics frequently recount the origin of a nation, a part of its history, or a crucial event in the development of national identity and character. It often includes the nation’s national symbols.
The pan-national epic is different, it is taken as representative of a larger cultural, ethnic, linguistic, or kinship group. The pan-national epic is also a lengthy work of poetry or prose in that it is widely taken to be representative of the pan-national character of a large cultural grouping that exceeds the bounds of a single nation or nation-state or even a specific language or language group.
A nation can have its own distinct national epic in addition to a supranational epic. In the West our great Pan National epics are the illiad, odyssey and Aeneid.
Some Examples of national epics would be
Song of Roland – French
Song of El Cid – Spainish / Castilan
Kosovo Cycle – Serbian
Niebelungenlied – Germanic
The Ulster Cycle – Irish
Kalevala – Finish
Pan National Epics provide Westernkind with a shared sense of the sacred. What people collectively hold as sacred, what they bow down to tells us who they are, who we are, who we used to be, who we want to be. The West has been demythologized and lost its power to preserve its past as well as create its future. It is evident that its myths are what animates a culture. And it is the myth makers are the makers of culture and the makers of men.
A new mythic epic for out time, for one people of many countries is Prometheus Rising, by Jason Kohne. "Prometheus Rising" is a moving story of the victimization and persecution of a special, brilliant people who because of societal and political envy are hated. Prometheus Rising chronologizes the story of traditional European people and their descendants, their journey of recovery from the violent hatred inflicted on them by the rulers of their time. This is their story, of learning that they have a creative, brilliant and unique biospirit. Ultimately, the people rise up in love of their people. " Prometheus Rising" takes the reader on this journey of awakening. A hero’s journey through oppression and loss into ultimate victory.
With the exception of Prometheus Rising most of the epics of Westernkind can be downloaded for free from project Gutenberg or other open libraries. A google search on the title with epub will usually return a downloadable file in multiple formats.
All can be found at Project Gutenberg
Epic Literature and Western Civilization
What is an epic?
It is a long narrative about a serious or worthy subject, it can be seen as the progenitor of tradition and legend.
Its diction is in elevated in style. It employs a formal, dignified, objective tone and many figures of speech.
It opens with a Preposition: by stating the theme or cause of the epic. This may take the form of a purpose (as in Milton, who proposed "to justify the ways of God to men"); of a question (as in the Iliad, which Homer initiates by asking a Muse to sing of Achilles' anger); or of a situation (as in the Song of Roland, with Charlemagne in Spain).
We also have an Invocation: Writer invokes a Muse, one of the nine daughters of Zeus. The poet prays to the Muses to provide him with divine inspiration to tell the story of a great hero. This convention is restricted to cultures influenced by European Classical culture.
The narrative is focused on the exploits of a hero or demigod who represents the cultural values of his race, people group, or religious group.
The hero's success or failure will determine the fate of that people or nation.
The action takes place in a vast setting, and covers a wide geographic area. The setting is most often some time in the remote past that has been lost to mists of time and history.
The action contains superhuman feats of strength and exceptional feats of bravery. Gods, demi gods, supernatural beings, fate and destiny are often manifest and affect the outcome.
The narrative typically starts in medias res, that is in the middle of the action. Subsequently, the earlier events leading up to the start of the story will be recounted in the characters' narratives or in flashbacks. The epic typically contains long catalogs of heroes and other important characters, the focus is on the high born, kings and great warriors, not peasants and commoners. These long lists of objects, places, and people are used to place the finite action of the epic within a broader, universal context. Often, the poet is also paying homage to the ancestors of the intended audience.
The epic Often features the tragic hero's descent into the Underworld or hell. The hero generally participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries that try to defeat him in his journey and returns home significantly transformed by his journey.
Epics can be national, pan national, religious, or even folklorish.
A national epic is a literary work of epic scope which captures and expresses the essence and spirit of a particular nation, by nation we mean a unique people group having distinct ethnic and linguistic characteristics. National epics frequently recount the origin of a nation, a part of its history, or a crucial event in the development of national identity and character. It often includes the nation’s national symbols.
The pan-national epic is different, it is taken as representative of a larger cultural, ethnic, linguistic, or kinship group. The pan-national epic is also a lengthy work of poetry or prose in that it is widely taken to be representative of the pan-national character of a large cultural grouping that exceeds the bounds of a single nation or nation-state or even a specific language or language group.
A nation can have its own distinct national epic in addition to a supranational epic. In the West our great Pan National epics are the illiad, odyssey and Aeneid.
Some Examples of national epics would be
Song of Roland – French
Song of El Cid – Spainish / Castilan
Kosovo Cycle – Serbian
Niebelungenlied – Germanic
The Ulster Cycle – Irish
Kalevala – Finish
Pan National Epics provide Westernkind with a shared sense of the sacred. What people collectively hold as sacred, what they bow down to tells us who they are, who we are, who we used to be, who we want to be. The West has been demythologized and lost its power to preserve its past as well as create its future. It is evident that its myths are what animates a culture. And it is the myth makers are the makers of culture and the makers of men.
A new mythic epic for out time, for one people of many countries is Prometheus Rising, by Jason Kohne. "Prometheus Rising" is a moving story of the victimization and persecution of a special, brilliant people who because of societal and political envy are hated. Prometheus Rising chronologizes the story of traditional European people and their descendants, their journey of recovery from the violent hatred inflicted on them by the rulers of their time. This is their story, of learning that they have a creative, brilliant and unique biospirit. Ultimately, the people rise up in love of their people. " Prometheus Rising" takes the reader on this journey of awakening. A hero’s journey through oppression and loss into ultimate victory.
With the exception of Prometheus Rising most of the epics of Westernkind can be downloaded for free from project Gutenberg or other open libraries. A google search on the title with epub will usually return a downloadable file in multiple formats.
All can be found at Project Gutenberg