Epic Poetry And Its Characteristics

Among all other works of any literature, Epic holds a unique place in the shelf of remarkable books. An Epic is a long narrative poem that always carries a serious subjects which contains some significant event of nation or religion and also some heroic deeds. 

Characteristics of An Epic

1. It has a hero with supernatural talents or a legendary one, widely he is protected or blessed by god. Sometimes the authors structured the hero as a god. 

2. An impossible task by human must be completed by the hero of the epic.

3. The style of the poetry must be very different among other regular poems. 

4. The story should be presented in all the perspective about the core theme.

5. The location the poetry sets must be very vast, for eg: Space, underworld or across oceans

Conventions of epics

1. It starts with the theme or subject of the story.

2. Narrative opens in medias res, or in the middle of things, usually with the hero at his lowest point. Usually flashbacks show earlier portions of the story.

3. Main characters give extended formal speeches.

4. Use of the epic simile.

5. Heavy use of repetition or stock phrases.

Some of the most famous examples of epic poetry include the ancient Indian Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Ancient Greek Iliad andOdyssey, Virgil's Aeneid, Dante's Divine Comedy, John Milton's Paradise Lost, and the Portuguese Lusiads. Well-known people who wrote epics were Homer, Virgil, Ovid, Dante, Edmund Spenser and Milton. William Wordsworth's Prelude plays with epic ideas though the poem is autobiography.