HUMA 1100 Lecture 7: _HdoutEpicIliad
Document Summary
Hence the word epic in general usage means broad in scope, all inclusive, all-encompassing, grand or majestic an epic is the most inclusive of forms/genres, including, for instance, lyric poems and dramatic dialogue. It is also all-encompassing because it is encyclopedic: it contains society in all its aspects and it catalogues, for instance, ships, heroes, sports and etiquette. It is grand or majestic because of its elevated form (style, language, rhetoric) and elevated content (heroic themes, national history, etc. ) Elevated style: highly formal, dignified, & ceremonial or ornate language. & rhetoric: vs. colloquial (ordinary everyday language) Elevated content: serious ( big ) themes: war & glory, love & death / heroic deeds, narrates the glorious deeds of heroes & warriors: warrior-heroes. National significance: narrates/embodies the values & history thus it tells the story, aspirations & fundamental myths of a nation, narrates a nation"s founding myth(s) origins.