THE CANTERBURY TALES (YouTUBE)

EPIC (https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_E.html)

EPIC: An epic in its most specific sense is a genre of classical poetry. It is a poem that is (a) a long narrative about a serious subject, (b)told in an elevated style of language, (c) focused on the exploits of a hero or demi-god who represents the cultural values of a race, nation, or religious group (d) in which the hero's success or failure will determine the fate of that people or nation. Usually, the epic has (e) a vast setting, and covers a wide geographic area, (f) it contains superhuman feats of strength or military prowess, and gods or supernatural beings frequently take part in the action. The poem begins with (g) the invocation of a muse to inspire the poet and, (h) the narrative startsin medias res (see above). (i) The epic contains long catalogs of heroes or important characters, focusing on highborn kings and great warriors rather than peasants and commoners. J. A. Cuddon notes that the term primary epic refers to folk epics, i.e., versions of an epic narrative that were transmitted orally in pre-literate cultures; the term secondary epic refers to literary epics, i.e., versions that are actually written down rather than chanted or sung (284). Often, these secondary epics retain elements of oral-formulaic transmission, such as staggered intervals in which the poet summarizes earlier events, standardized epithets and phrases originally used by singers to fill out dactylic hexameters during extemporaneous performance, and so on. The term epic applies most accurately to classical Greek texts like the Iliad and the Odyssey. However, some critics have applied the term more loosely. The Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf has also been called an epic of Anglo-Saxon culture, Milton's Paradise Lost has been seen as an epic of Christian culture, and Shakespeare's various History Plays have been collectively called an epic of Renaissance Britain. Other examples include Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered and the anonymous Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the oldest example known. Contrast withmock epic. See epic simile below. Click here to a download a PDF handout discussing the epic's conventional traits. EPIC HERO: The main character in an epic poem--typically one who embodies the values of his or her culture. For instance, Odysseus is the epic hero in the Greek epic called The Odyssey--in which he embodies the cleverness and fast-thinking Greek culture admired. Aeneas is the epic hero in the Roman epic The Aeneid--in which he embodies the pietas, patriotism, and the four cardinal virtues the Romans admired. If we stretch the term epic more broadly beyond the strict confines of the Greco-Roman tradition, we might read Beowulf as loosely as an epic hero of Beowulf and Moses as the epic hero of Exodus. See epic above, and avoid confusing the epic hero with thetragic hero. See also the Russian equivalent, the bogatyr.

Elegy

https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_E.html

ELEGY: In classical Greco-Roman literature, "elegy" refers to any poem written in elegiac meter (alternating hexameter and pentameter lines). More broadly, elegy came to mean any poem dealing with the subject-matter common to the early Greco-Roman elegies--complaints about love, sustained formal lamentation, or somber meditations. Typically, elegies are marked by several conventions ofgenre: (1) The elegy, much like the classical epic, typically begins with an invocation of the muse, and then continues with allusionsto classical mythology. (2) The poem usually contains a poetic speaker who uses the first person. (3) The speaker raises questions about justice, fate, or providence. (4) The poet digresses about the conditions of his own time or his own situation. (5) The digression allows the speaker to move beyond his original emotion or thinking to a higher level of understanding. (6) The conclusion of the poem provides consolation or insight into the speaker's situation. In Christian elegies, the lyric reversal often moves from despair and grief to joy when the speaker realizes that death or misfortune is but a temporary barrier separating one from the bliss of eternity. (7) The poem tends to be longer than a lyric but not as long as an epic. (8) The poem is not plot-driven. In the case of pastoral elegies in the 1600s, 1700s, and early 1800s, there are several other common conventions: (1) The speaker mourns the death of a close friend; the friend is eulogized in the highest possible terms, but represented as if he were a shepherd. (2) The mourner charges with negligence the nymphs or guardians of the shepherd who failed to preserve him from death. (3) Appropriate mourners appear to lament the shepherd's death. (4) Post-Renaissance poets often include an elaborate passage in which flowers appear to deck the hearse or grave, with various flowers having symbolic meaning appropriate to the scene.