2014+SH+P5+Epic+Tradition

=**The Epic Tradition**=

1. 2. Aim 3. Kylie Barela 4. The aim of Epic tradition is to support religious aspects and to explain nature. Epics are long poems that are about a hero doing something heroic in history. The epic tradition is a collection of Greek epics that relate to the Trojan War. In an article it states, “The hero is a figure of great national or even cosmic importance, and represents a culture’s heroic ideal” (Epic Poetry 1). In epic poetry, the poem is usually about a hero’s story, one that typically has something to do with how nature came to be. Most epics somehow end in explaining nature by the story being about how a certain piece of nature was created. Many Greek poems and stories follow this, but epics also add religious aspects, such as supreme beings or mythical creatures. The idea of epics is to explain why people and nature exist by using a heroic persona struggle against something that is intended to do harm.

1. 2. Audience 3. Kylie Barela 4. The audience of the Epic Tradition, and epics in general, is the public. Epics were written for everyone to read. An article states, “...the deferred invocation remains central to Dante's skill, since he returns to the act of invoking the Muse whenever he confronts a particularly daunting task, reminding the audience of his mortal nature and the immortal topic he has chosen to make the subject of his epic” (Epic Traditions 1). For Dante, he wanted to portray his thoughts to his audience, which is the public. These epics, from Dante and from other writers, are written for everyone to read and discuss. The poet does write to express thoughts, but they also wrote epics just for others to enjoy as well. They are also written for people to discuss about, since they bring ideas that some people don’t necessarily agree to those ideas. Poets may have written the poems, but It’s up to the audience to decide if the poems will have an affect on them or not.

1.

2. Historical 3. Kylie Barela 4. Historical events influence the relationship between the author and the audience by the type of writing and the beliefs in the epics. Religion and beliefs have changed since Ancient Greeks, such as Homer or Dante, have written their thoughts and ideas. An article states, “For Dante, the political struggles of Rome or his native Florence are no longer worthy of the effort Virgil put into his poem, and the only fit subject for epic now is the Christian meta-drama of Divine Justice seen in all its forms, the damned in the Inferno, those awaiting purification in the Purgatorio, and the saved in the Paradiso” (Epic Tradition 1). The authors write based on their ideas and beliefs, but not many people agree to certain ideals that they have anymore. People have grown and changed over time, and so have their ideas. A student reading Dante’s Inferno might get a different message that someone from Dante’s time reading the same epic. Epic Tradition is epics based on the Trojan War, so most Greek epics have something heroic happen, but that is based on what they think is heroic, such as fighting or dying in battle. Nowadays people have other ideas on what heroism is. One thing is for sure though, history will always be a part of people’s beliefs and ideas, whether they change overtime or not.

1. 2. Cultural 3. Kylie Barela 4. Epic Tradition has a huge affect on culture both from the past and in culture today. Epics also talk about cultural values, such as religion or what heroism is. An article states, “The primary epics were developed in cultures that have not yet attained a national identity or unity” (Epic Poetry 1). Some poems come from cultures that at the time were still developing, which makes the epic important to the culture’s ideas and growth. When a certain story is written, the story usually explains the culture’s ideas and logic. The same article also states, “The secondary epic is a product of highly structured cultures and societies, like Rome” (1). Other epics come from thriving cultures that have affected the world greatly. These epics also show a part of the society’s culture. Both kinds of epics can still have affect on culture today as well. While culture today might be different, some cultures are still based on the cultures from epics written by Ancient Greeks.

Cite: "Epic Traditions: The Hero." Epic Traditions: The Hero. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2014.

"Epic Poetry." Medium. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2014.