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Narrator: We use the word “epic” a lot these days, generally as an adjective to describe
something huge, massive, or spectacular, like “That concert was epic” ...
… or “The atomic bomb left in its wake a disaster of epic proportions.”
Originally, an epic was a long poem telling the deeds and
adventures of heroic or legendary figures,or the history of a nation.
An epic helps people define their values, social systems,and relationships.
Epic poems are really long. The Iliad is over fifteen thousand lines long;
The Odyssey, over twelve thousand lines long;
and Beowulf, the poem you’ll be looking at in this unit,is over three thousand lines long.
Epic poems were told and retold by singing poets called scops or bards or skalds, depending on the period and culture.
Based on the kind of stories told in these ancient poems,
we now use the word “epic” to describe a genre of literature that has certain characteristics.
In this unit, you’ll read excerpts from the epic poem Beowulf.
But before you do that, let’s take a look at the characteristics of an epic and then
focus particularly on the characteristics of the epic hero.
There are certain characteristics that define an epic;
not all epics have all these characteristics, but they all have some of them.
The first one, in media res, is Latin for “into the middle of things.”
Epic stories begin somewhere in the middle, usually at some crucial point in the action.
When the story begins, important events have already taken place,
so flashbacks and extensive exposition are used.
Often the story opens with the storyteller asking for help or guidance from a god or spirit or other inspiration.
This is called an invocation, and it’s more common in ancient epics than in modern ones.
The concerns in an epic are big; the fate of a people or nation is at risk - or a city
or a planet or a world or a galaxy in more modern epic stories.
Often some form of supernatural being or power intervenes.
Sometimes in modern stories, this is represented by super technology of some sort.
Epic stories often include extensive and large-scale battle scenes.
The setting in an epic is usually vast, crossing large areas of land, sea, or outer space.
The primary conflict in an epic is Good versus Evil. Good, and those who support it, will likely win.
What would an epic be without a heroic figure?
The protagonist of an epic is a heroic figure who solves problems in a creative and clever way.
Epic figures vary from culture to culture;
each culture produces heroes that represent its particular beliefs and values.
But all epic heroes have at least some of a certain set of characteristics.
Often little is known about the birth or childhood of the epic hero.
The hero is superhuman, or possesses abilities that common people do not have;
he’s bolder, more daring, more talented.
Nearly always it's known early that he is destined to achieve great accomplishments;
he acquires skill with unusual speed.
In fact, there is an overall feeling of destiny, and a pattern, to the hero’s life.
The hero opposes forces of evil, also of great strength, and triumphs because of his strength,
intelligence, perseverance, courage, idealism, etc.
The battle between good and evil is never-ending, so even after the hero defeats one monster
or enemy, there’s always another to take its place.
The hero undergoes some type of initiation in which he must prove himself.
This often involves a task that he must complete or a quest that he must fulfill.
Almost always, he must make a journey to complete the task or quest.
The journey is often to a far-off and possibly magical land.
Many a hero possesses a talisman, like a sword or a magic object.
Often the object is named, like Excalibur in the story of King Arthur.
The hero enters many contests or battles…
...and at some point, he is almost defeated.
The hero rises up again, though, and conquers or overcomes the obstacles.
In almost every instance he is compensated for succeeding in a difficult quest.
[Music to end]