P4+Epic+Tradition


 * Epic traditions group one**

History and background-Mary arriaga Homer wrote the oldest surviving epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, from around the eight century B.C. To be precise, change wrote to composed: Homer, even if there was a single individual called Homer, was probably illiterate, and probably composed orally. (There's a huge literature on this; you'll find a swell overview in Bernard Knox's introductory material in Robert Fagles's translation of the Iliad.) Virgil, although thoroughly literate, consciously imitated many of Homer's techniques, and produced the most famous epic poem of Augustan Rome, the Aeneid. Many of the characteristics of later epic derive from the quirks of oral composition.

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The history of the epic is worth studying in some detail. The Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid are the most famous epics of antiquity but not the only ones; Statius' Thebaid, for instance, is worth reading. In the middle ages, the dominant long narrative form is the Romance which is epic's kissin' cousin. Exactly what to call Beowulf is unclear, but Dante's Divine Comedy is probably best described as an epic a s you get into the renaissance the familiar pattern of the classical epic becomes more visible: Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1516) mixes romance with epic, but Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata(1575) is clearly modeled on the epics of Homer and Virgil. Camoens's Lusiads are the great Portuguese epic. The first great English epic of the Renaissance is Spenser's Faerie Queene (1590-96), followed by Milton's Paradise Lost (1667-74).======

http://pages.towson.edu/legault/myth/mythhdtepic.html (theempictraditionp1)
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Terms/epic.html(epicp1)

Epic Traditions Group 1:

1. 2 . Epic Tradition (Audience) 3. Yoslin Herrera 4. Completed 1321 Dante's Inferno was written in a time referred to as the " literary and artistic rot" in Europe. Where in a typical village illiteracy, starvation, and disease where of the normal(Johnston). Therefore Alighieri's intended audience would make no sense to have been those of the peasants of European countries. In Dr. Dianne Tilotson's The Practice of Writing in the Middle Ages she stated, " Merchants, educated townspeople and the country gentry extended their pragmatic writing skills into areas for their own edification and enjoyment"(3). Being educated and/or a merchant was not common in the 1300's yet the common people taught their children the basics of reading(women) and the basics of writing(men), but the townspeople were to busy working to live to have time to read. So the upper-class was well-educated and had the money to buy books and read them with their leisure time/ Therefore the intend audience in Dante's Inferno was well-educated people and philosophers. Europe had yet to grow out of the feudal system so time would have to pass before towns flock were given the chance to read books such as Dante's Inferno. Overall the main audience was those of the upper-class with money and/or education.

Citations:

Johnston, Ruth A. "disease during the MIddle Ages." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras.

ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 30 Aug. 2012.

Tilotson's, Dianne. "The Practice of Writing in the Middle Ages." Medieval Writing. 3. Web. 30 August 2006.

Cultural- Sophia Phillips Throughout Dante Alighieri's epic poem, //Inferno//, epic tradition is displayed, from the characters to the plot, with a system that has been developed over centuries. One of the most basic definitions of epic tradition is that they are "a large work about heroes who are capable of larger deeds than ordinary mortal characters" ("Epic Traditions: The Hero"). With Homer's creation of the __Odyssey__ and the __Iliad__, and later Virgil's __Aeneid__, a common plot sequence came about called the "hero cycle". Generally, the main character, or hero, goes on an epic adventure to do something no other has done with the help of a greater being, realizes their fatal flaw, and completes the task anyways. It is also suggested that "the content unites the culture and spirit of the Middle Ages and expresses a religious faith in a universe built and run by a God's will" ("Italian Literature"). Dante wrote a poem that addressed life, language, and important ideals at the time. Religion was very important not only for the follower's own spiritual self, but how they were perceived and accepted by everybody else. In //Inferno,// Dante must go through Hell and make his own decisions about God, who gives cruel and unusual punishments to those who have sinned. In the 13th century, religion and government were hard to separate, and they in part dictated what was acceptable or right. Therefore, epic tradition is shown in Dante's //Inferno// and how it reflects back on life and culture in the 13th century.

"Epic Traditions: The Hero." //Faculty Goucher.// n.p., n.d. Web. 30 Aug. 2012. "Italian Literature." //Italian Language//. n.p., n.d. Web. 30 Aug. 2012.
 * Works Cited:**

1. 2. Epic Tradition (Aim) 3. Alexis Roether 4. In the epic, __Dante's Inferno__ the book goes through the epic traditional sequence of events like any other typical epic. However, what is the real aim of writing an epic? No one is ever specifically informed on why several authors love to write epics. There are two types of epics: literary and authentic. "Authentic epic is meant to be recited, literary epic is meant to be read" (Tracy 78). __Dante's Inferno__ is described as a authentic epic which "emphasizes the prowess of a strong man --- the kind of man who's initiative and directness and physical powers would leave such a group through it's perils" (Tracy 78). The author's aim was to initially develop a certain character that leaves a mark on the reader's life as the reader goes through the journey's the hero embarks. One can assume that authors loved to write epics because of their "style of sustained elevation and grand simplicity ; and the //epic// poet recounts the deeds of his heroes with objectivity" ("Epic Basics"). This is why epics were such an easy format of which author's aimed to get reader's attention with the grave detail within any epic. Epics have such a simple person to just pull in the reader and get them to think about the hardships the character gets involved in and try to relate to their own life. To make connections with the text is the main goal of epics, to appreciate what one has in life and also to be entertained. __Dante's Inferno__ seems that it will do a great job at doing the main aim of epic tradition.

__Citations:__

Tracy, H.L.. "The Epic Tradition." //The Classical Journal.// Sacramento: The Classical Association of the Middle West and South, 1946. 78. Print.

"Epic Basics." //Auburn University.// N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Sept. 2012. .