epic
1. a long narrative poem recounting in elevated style the deeds of a legendary hero, esp one originating in oral folk tradition
2. the genre of epic poetry
3. any work of literature, film, etc., having heroic deeds for its subject matter or having other qualities associated with the epic
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Epic
See also Saga.
AeneidVirgil’s epic poem glorifying the origin of the Roman people. [Rom. Lit.: Aeneid]
Old English epic poem of sixth-century Denmark. [Br. Lit.: Beowulf]
Dante’s epic poem in three sections: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. [Ital. Lit.: Divine Comedy]
allegorical epic poem by Edmund Spenser. [Br. Lit.: Faerie Queene]
Esaias Tegner’s poetic version of the Norse Saga of Frithiof the Bold. [Nor. Lit.: Haydn & Fuller, 275]
Babylonian epic of myth and folklore, centered on the king, Gilgamesh. [Babyl. Myth.: Gilgamesh]
Selma Lagerlof’s story of the legendary life of an early nineteenth-century character. [Swed. Lit.: Gosta Berling’s Saga in Benét, 412]
medieval account of the kings of Norway from legendary times to the twelfth century. [Norw. Hist.: Haydn & Fuller, 322]
Homer’s epic detailing a few days near the end of the Trojan War. [Gk. Lit.: Iliad]
Tasso’s celebrated romantic epic written during Renaissance. [Ital. Lit.: Jerusalem Delivered]
alliterative epic poem of Finland. [Finn. Lit.: Kalevala]
medieval account of two Icelandic families and their feud. [Icel. Lit.: Benét, 572]
celebrates Portuguese heroes and wars. [Port. Lit.: Magill II, 608]
Indian epic poem of the struggle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. [Indian Lit.: Mahabharata]
medieval German epic poem of Siegfried and the Nibelung kings. [Ger. Lit.: Nibelungenlied]
greatest of the Icelandic sagas, based on the historical adventures of two families. [Icel. Lit.: Haydn & Fuller, 524]
Homer’s long, narrative poem centered on Odysseus. [Gk. Lit.: Odyssey]
encompasses the sweep of Latin American history. [Lat. Am. Lit.: Gabriel Garcia Marquez One Hundred Years of Solitude in Weiss, 336]
Ariosto’s romantic epic; actually a continuation of Boiardo’s plot. [Ital. Lit.: Orlando Furioso]
Boiardo’s epic combining Carolingian chivalry and Arthurian motifs. [Ital. Lit.: Orlando Innamorato]
Milton’s epic poem of man’s first disobedience. [Br. Lit.: Paradise Lost]
epic poem of ancient India. [Indian Lit.: Ramayana]
Old Russian epic poem of 12th-century Prince Igor. [Russ. Lit.: Song of Igor’s Campaign]
chanson de geste of Roland and Charlemagne. [Fr. Lit.: Song of Roland]
epic poem of Spain by an anonymous author. [Span. Lit.: Song of the Cid]
combines the myths and history of twenty centuries of Western civilization. [Lat. Am. Lit.: Carlos Fuentes Terra Nostra in Weiss, 458]
cycle of Scandinavian legends, major source of Niebelungenlied. [Scand. Lit.: Benét, 1064]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.