Few have better expressed the tumultuous rise and fall of civilizations better than the great Epic poets
of ancient and modern times. By combining elevated language with war, betrayal, romance, adventure,
and a whole lot of reflection, these twenty lengthy tomes have captured the essence of whole peoples
in single (albeit gigantic) works, ranging from semi-fictional accounts of war to satirical mockeries of
misguided heroism.
Epic poetryor heroic poetry, as some of the medieval poets have called itfollows a certain time-tested
formula to portray such grand representations of heroes and their followers. Here are a few recurring
patterns to keep in mind when considering these texts:
The invocation of a muse. These poets plea to the gods at the very beginning to grant them the power to
tell these stories with a certain forcefulness, though some admittedly pretend to do so to claim they are
divinely empowered.
Many of these begin in medias res, in the middle of the story, and may digress into the past later on in
the poem.
There are many journeys into the underworld.
There are grand battle-scenes punctuated by extended similes, ambitious analogies that stretch the
imagination but strive for literary glory.
Many will feature the might of armies in long digressions featuring weaponry and war games.
Here is a list of 20 of the greatest Epic poems in the tradition:
invisibility cloak to defeat enemies. 19th century composer Richard Wagner would later use material
from this poem to produce his masterpiece The Ring-Cycle, though later German National Socialists
would use it to propagate erroneous assertions about a Teutonic race.
verse form is so enshrouded in ambiguity that fewincluding Spenser himselfhave given clear answers
to its more cryptic passages.
16. John Milton Paradise Lost (1667)
Colloquially known as the great Protestant Epic, Milton retells both the story of the fall of Lucifer (Satan)
in heaven and The fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The onset of blindness didnt stop him
from justifying the ways of God to men in this work, depicting Satan as an immensely-complex figure
in the midst of a brutal war with God in the heavens. However, Milton successfully employs many of the
Epic devices first introduced by Homer, including the invocation of the muse, an extensive amount of
similes and a series of descriptions of heavenly war games.
17. Alexander Pope The Rape of the Lock (1714)
The Rape of the Lock is perhaps one of the most hilarious poetic satires in English literature. Pope,
however, uses the many of the aforementioned devices of Epic poetry to inflate the pointless uproar
caused by an actual quarrel between two London families in this tale about a cut lock of hair.
Considering the breadth of his cataloguing, the extravagant descriptions of card-playing, as well as the
ridiculous journey into the Cave of Spleen (his own underworld), it is difficult to argue that it doesnt
belong with the more serious works in this list.
18. Epic of Manas (Published in 1792 Actual Date Unknown)
The small Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan may not be well-known on the International stage for
their literature, but the sheer immensity of this Epic poem is staggering. Considered one of the longest
works of poetry in the world, it tells the story of the hero Manas, a kind of figurehead for the warring
Kyrgyzs of yesteryear. Recited by traditional manaschi poets, Manas is a cultural icon that has lent its
name to many of the countrys most significant institutions.
19. Lord Byron Don Juan (1819)
Popes mock-epic wasnt the only work to satirize the elevated stature of heroic verse. Byron, who
always had a taste for extravagant presentation, uses the elements of Epic Poetry to retell the story of
the infamous womanizer with with a particular reversal: instead of being the seducer, he actually gets
seduced by the women he is interested in. At first derided by critics as smutty, public opinion soon
changed when readers realized that the 16,000 line poem included the masterful use of Byrons
signature ottava rima.
And The Moon And The Stars And The World by Charles Bukowski