What is an epic?

1. What is an epic? Genre of classical poetry originating in Greece

2. Six Elementsof the epic • 1) Plot centers around a Hero of Unbelievable Stature.  • The epic hero completes what everyone only attempts.  In ancient epics, the hero often is either partially divine or at least protected by a god or God. • 2) Involves deeds of superhuman strength and valor. Accomplish feats no real human could. • 3) Vast Setting. The action spans not only geographical but also often cosmological space: across land, sea, into the underworld, or thru space or time etc.

3. Six Elements of an epic • 4) Involves supernatural and-or otherworldly forces. Gods, demons, angels, time/space travel, cheating death etc. • 5) Sustained elevation of style. Overwritten. Overly formal, highly stylized (poetry, lyricism (singing), exaggeration) • 6) Poet remains objective and omniscient.  The narrator sees and knows all and presents all perspectives.

4. Epic Origins • Generally, epics are also mythologized histories. • 1) A conglomeration of pre-existing stories and characters. • 2) Often of oral origin. • 3) At least loosely based around historical or quasi-historical characters or events or characters. • 4) Set in a mythologized distant time, traditionally in the past.

5. Epics as moral codes • 1) Represents moral ideals and taboos in the behavior of the hero and antagonist.  • The hero's behavior and the lessons he learns along the way represent the culture's ideals; what the hero does, all men should strive toward.  • The Other (monster or antagonist) is shown as essentially/inherently inferior to the hero; the Other represents either those who break moral taboos or the inferiority of Other cultures/peoples/nations etc.

6. Moral codes • Taken as a whole, we find that moral codes deal with, and all people in all stories are obsessed with: • 
a) Sex.  Who gets to be with whom?  How are these rules divided/differentiated between the sexes?  How are these rules divided/differentiated between social class or birth rank • b) War and Violence.  When are or aren't we justified killing one another? • c) The Distribution of Wealth. How is property treated within the culture and between the culture and the Other? • d) Food and Alcohol. How is the treatment of both ritualized, usually in a religious context, and why?  What does this tell us about the origin of religious belief and law?

7. Moral Codes • History itself is given moral significance and the people feel divinely guided toward their fate, especially if not always in relationship to the Other.  • As a representative of the people, the hero proves the people/tribe/nation's will and actions are uniquely divinely justified. • The economic root causes of human relations -- between warring nations, between master and slave, between men and women -- are entirely hidden beneath an exciting, mythological, action adventure pitting good against evil.

8. Models of development • Beginning with Gilgamesh and continuing on thru Achilles, Odysseus, Beowulf and Sir Gawain -- not to mention Spiderman and Batman or Ricky Bobby -- the epic also culminates around the hero's journey of self discovery and emotional/psychological/spiritual maturation. • Again, all epics seem to start with Gilgamesh's journey to involve the hero: • a) Confronting the reality of death and thus realizing heroism is a spiritual or psychological quality, not just a physical one.  This often involves a journey beneath the earth, to the underworld, where death itself abides • .b) Learning that love is more valuable than material wealth or life itself.

9. Examples of an Epic • The Epic of Gilgamesh
Both The Hebrew Scriptures and The New Testament
The Iliad and The Odyssey
Beowulf
King Arthur and the Knights of Round Table
Dante'sInferno
The Lord of the Rings
Most Superhero Series (Superman, Batman...)
The James Bond Series
Star Wars, Star Trek, BattlestarGalactica
The historical narratives of the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, WWI, WWII, Fox News coverage of the War In Iraq, any coverage of the Kennedy family.
 

10. Write your own! • Based on what we learned, write an epic about your life story! • Check out mine for an example!

11. An epic in the life of gredys • At 7:00 AM on September 26th 1991, something incredible took place. In a city far far away in the state of Virginia, a bald little creature was brought into this earth. His name wasn’t fancy or even clever, but the legacy he would leave behind was far greater than having a last name rhyming with a vegetable. This bald creature slowly changed over time and not only grew hair but also giant front teeth and a bad overbite, not to mention poor eyesight. From a young age he learned that life was all about rhythm and dancing to the beat of his own drum. His parents went with the rythym of life’s obstacles by solving problems one beat at a time. For the problem of big teeth Josh got braces, to the problem of poor eyesight Josh received glasses and contacts………

12. An Epic in the life of gredys • No problem was to big or small to go with flow and dance to the beat. This boy then grew up and developed lovely locks of hair with a Bieber-like flow. He discovered powers he never knew he had while growing up in Omaha, Nebraska. These powers involved making the heavens roar and the earth shake with the incredible rythmic beats from his feet stomping, his fingers tapping, and his hands clapping. Controlling these powers was a problem. He didn’t know when and where was the proper time to use them and he used them to benefit himself and not others. However, after many struggles, he still seemed to get through every one of life’s problems by drumming his way through them. This energy was released into the universe and was hard to ignore by the students of Burke High School’s Focus program.

13. An epic in the life of gredys • Gredys drummed his way through life but came to an insurmountable obstacle. He pursued the career of teaching, but not just any students. This was an odd, peculiar, crazy and wild bunch…HIGH SCHOOLERS. The problems they created for teachers were as follows: mood swings, falling asleep in class, not turning homework in on time, incredibly talkative and annoying at times, and LAZY. Gredys wanted to use his powers of positive energy and fun new rythms to spice up the life of High Schoolers and help teachers reach their goal in life, getting their students to learn and be successful. Gredys found two people with similar powers as him and they came up with a Plan.

14. An epic in the life of gredys • They decided to form a team united in using their powers to reach the common goal of being successful in such a problem filled world. They called themselves FOCUS. They had a different beat for every instructional lesson of everyday and the students couldn’t help but bob their heads and groove to the beat. These beats were so funky and groovy that many problems of laziness and carelessness began to fade away from the high school students. Gredys and the gang made an oath to always use their powers for good and to better the lives of all High School students teaching them different beats to drum their way to success. THE END.