Epic poetry

Old English sometime between the eighth and eleventh centuries, is an epic poem that reflects the early medieval warrior culture of Europe and is written by an unknown author. It is the oldest surviving important piece of literature and exists in only one manuscript known as British Library Cotton Vitellius A. 15 (Lazzari, 44). It is written in an unrhymed, four beat alliterative meter that was common for Old English poetry. Even though it was written in Britain, the action is set in…

I will be summarizing the argument of “Jupiter’s Aeneid: Fama and Imperium” by Julia Hejduk. I will do so by first deciding what exactly she’s arguing, cataloguing her evidence, fitting the argument and the evidence, then discussing her intellectual influences. Given that Hejduk uses The Aeneid more than any other source, it’s clear that scholars look to primary sources rather than relying on each others’ work. Hejduk argues that Jupiter has a complete dismissal for human life, and only cares…

In ancient Roman history, Virgil a great poet wrote two of the most epic poems in The Iliad and The Aeneid. Both poems contained main characters that were meant to showcase the greatness that was to be a standard for being a great Roman hero in respect to Achilles and Aeneas through respect to Gods, duty to their country and loyalty to family. Although these characters were similar in their own respect, Virgil made a clear distention in the two using their personalities and different motivations…

stanza 4; “Content I live, this is my stay/ I see no more than may suffice/ I press to bear no haughty sway/ Look what I lack my mind supplies/ Lo, thus I triumph like a king / Contented with that my mind doth bring”. Genre The genre of the poem is poetry and sub-genre is lyrical poem as when we can see the speaker is talking of his feelings in the text. Literary…

Kleos in the Odyssey and Iliad During the Homeric age, stories of heroes trying to find, protect, and grow their kleos to the point of being considered immortal in the hearts and minds of those who heard of their epic journeys and adventures. The Iliad and Odyssey are two examples of the very foundation of the meaning of kleos; The Iliad is more or less the rage of Achilles and his struggles with his own kleos, and the Odyssey is basically Odysseus struggling to accomplish more great deeds on…

quintessential hero narrative, one need not look further than the depicted deeds of the eternally glorious Germanic hero Beowulf. The 3,182 lines of Old English poetry containing Beowulf’s tale are not just filled with bloody battles with evil incarnate—and his mother—but rather the sociological concerns of the culture at that time. As an epic, Beowulf communicates these concerns through Beowulf’s ideal behaviors of immense generosity and undeniable loyalty to his brethren. Such behaviors result…

being highly patriarchal with their Kings and Heroes, the women in this poem are however not depicted as classic marginalised and inferior beings. Instead, we are presented the power and effect of female influence in a predominantly male world of the Epic. According to Robert Harris, “The most common of female…

uses of symbolism throughout this oral art. As the story was told by different people the addition of symbolism may have occurred. It is believed Beowulf was recorded by a monk about 700 c. This also added a whole new set of symbolic ideas to this epic poem. Beowulf is an Anglo-Saxon tale that mixes Christian ideals…

The Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf, describes a man with formidable strength and exceptional quality as a leader. As we see Beowulf become the epitome of an idealistic leader, he provided values and morals that most yearned to have in civilization. However, when constructing the idealistic leader in the story of Beowulf, the contrasting relationship between humans and nature plays a pivotal role in the development of Beowulf. Throughout the entirety of this story, we’re presented this binary…

Paradise Lost was a controversial poem that appeared in the 17th century by the author John Milton. This epic poem mostly occurred during the beginning of time introducing God, Satan, Adam and Eve. Although Milton’s intention was to educate Christians on God’s reasoning, readers were opposed of the poem. Unlike traditional ways that most people were taught, this poem was an eye opener. Most people were offended and also calling Milton a Satanist. Others on the other hand took insight on what…