Literary notes about EPIC (AI summary)
In literature the term “epic” signifies not only an extensive narrative form that recounts the deeds of heroic figures but also a style imbued with grandeur and mythic resonance. Writers and critics alike have applied the adjective to works that carry the weight of cultural history and the sweep of timeless adventure—Beowulf, for instance, is hailed as the archetypal epic poem [1]. At the same time, the concept of the epic extends to narratives that frame a civilization’s ideals, as seen in great traditions like the Mahabharata and the Ramayana [2], while its formal qualities, such as distinctive metre and a unified narrative flow, have been discussed since antiquity [3][4]. Thus, “epic” in literary discourse encapsulates both a celebrated body of work and an approach to storytelling that aspires to the highest artistic and moral dimensions [5].
- Here is the story of Beowulf, the earliest and the greatest epic, or heroic poem, in our literature.
— from English Literature by William J. Long - The smritis or "remembered" lore was finally written down in a remote past as the world's longest epic poems, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana .
— from Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda - But in the Epic poem the absurdity passes unnoticed.
— from The Poetics of Aristotle by Aristotle - Again, Epic poetry must have as many kinds as Tragedy: it must be simple, or complex, or 'ethical,' or 'pathetic.'
— from The Poetics of Aristotle by Aristotle - [151] Milton (1608-1674), the great English epic poet, author of Paradise Lost.
— from Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Ralph Waldo Emerson
