Optimism

An epic is a lengthy narrative poem that is mainly about a meaningful subject. It contains the details of heroic deeds as well as events that are significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry can also be called an epic. Classically, epics were of an oral, poetic form, and it has been after the works of Virgil, Dante Alighieri, and John Milton. Initially the epics were written as primary or earliest epics, and one such epic is the Old English story Beowulf. However, there are also some epics that are an imitation such as that of Milton's Paradise Lost which are literacy or secondary epics.

One more epic poetry is “epyllion”. It is a brief poem with a romantic theme. "Little epic" was introduced in the nineteenth century, and it refers to poems of the Hellenistic period that are shorter. These poems are also similar to that of the Roman works. Moreover, these also include the poems of the English Renaissance, principally the ones that are more influenced by Ovid. A famous example of epyllion is Catullus 64 (Costic, pp. 65).

The most known works of epic poetry in the East are Ramayana and Mahabharata. However, in the western world, the two most famous epics are Iliad and the Odyssey. The main characteristics of an epic are that it starts with “medias res", covers various nations or the world, starts with an invocation to a muse, statement of theme and consists of epithets and lengthy lists. Moreover, it also features formal speeches that are long, shows divine intervention on human affairs and heroes in civilizations are important.

Similarly, there is also some convection of epics that include an opening statement that talks about the main theme of the epic. This is “praepositio”. Invocation is another convention in which the Muse of one of the nine daughters of Zeus. Moreover, prayer for divine inspiration also tells the story of a hero. However, this is absent in the epics of every culture due to restriction to certain cultures influenced by European Classical culture (Cronnion, pp. 25). Therefore, Bhagavata Purana does not have this element. When an epic begins with anything random when the hero is at his lowest point, is medias res. These are mainly the flashbacks that show portions of the story in the initial stages. Catalogues are provided in “enumeration”, and a broader context in the extensive lists. More commonly, the writer of the epic that uses this convection pays homage to the ancestors of the people who are the audience and are called “epithet” (Eldredge, pp. 25).

Epics are being written since the ancient times and some of the ancient epics includes; Epic of Gilgamesh and Atrahasis (Mesopotamian mythology) and Enuma Elish (Babylonian mythology). Similarly, there are also some epics that were written in the medieval times which include Bhattikavya which is a Sanskrit epic and is based mainly on Ramayana and Astadhayi. However, epics by the poets in the modern world were written too. These epics include The Descent of Alette ...