THE EPIC & TRAGEDYDr. Gerald R. Lucas
THE EPIC
Is a long narrative poem
Relates a great and serious subject
Is related in an elevated style
Centers around a heroic or quasi-divine figure
Concerns the fate of a tribe, nation, or humanity
Started as an oral literary form
CHARACTERISTICS
Ranked by Aristotle as second only to tragedy
Expansive - the most ambitious literary type
Concerned with nation building
Where heroes come from - heroic ideal
Cosmic importance - gods take notice
Ceremonial
CONVENTIONS
In media res
Argument
Invocation
Epic question
Catalogs
Formal - aristoi
ACTIONS
Heroic deeds in battle
Facing great odds
Voyages
Great enterprises
Performing of exploits
Admirable actions
TRAGEDYA drama that illustrates the sudden and catastrophic fall
of a great person from fortune to misfortune.
TRAGEDY
Arouses a catharsis from the audience
Dramatizes a casual relationship between character and fate
Illustrates a universe that is not perfectly ordered
Suggests a great waste, like something great and noble has ended
TRAGIC HERO
Is not eminently good or noble
Possesses a hamartia
Makes important choices
Undergoes a peripeteia
Achieves a degree of anagnorisis
Dies bravely
Top Related