favorite epic?

[mike401]

I picked up a copy of Seamus Heaney's "Beowulf" translation the other day, and it got me thinking about what my favorite epic of all time is. While its tempting to say Beowulf, I think I'd have to go with The Odyssey. Why? I dunno, I suppose I love all the adventures Odysseus has on the way home, and it definitely beats The Aeneid (which, while brilliantly written, seems like it just stole all its components from Homer).

Anyway, I'm wondering what epic everyone else likes more than the rest...what do you think?

[tommytucker]

lord of the rings is good for holding the door open. other than that, im not sure why he wrote it. no, that must be the only reason. holding doors open. hes a very kind fellow is tolkein, thinking about our doors wanting to close all the time.
tommy.

[Edzabeen]

I'm soory but my English isn't so good to understand what you mean, Tommytucker. What do you mean by "holding the door open"?

[tommytucker]

it means im not a big fan of.
tommy.

[Edzabeen]

Thanks a lot. I definitely like Tolkien and I'm amazed by the work he has put in those books but it's certainly not my favorite epic. I think the first place will go to Homer closely followed by an author from my country (I'm keen on Latvian literature)

[Raison]

Albeit emending inaccurate statements I oft have found disinclining, I might have to adress the fact that it is an error to include Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" in this particular discussion because it cannot be considered an epic (or else I have either misinterpreted all definitions that I have searched for and found, or they are all wrong). An epic is in the form of poetry. If we compare, for example, Homer's Illiad with Tolkien's trilogy we find that the first is written in hexameter whereas, on the contrary, the latter - Tolkien - wrote his work in the form of prose.

[tommytucker]

to me, epic just means big. ie, have you read an epic? have you read something big?
on the subject of poetry, i know i am in a vast vast minority, but i cant accept, i wont accept that poetry doesnt have to rhyme. if i wrote a poem which doesnt rhyme i call it a short story. if it has verse, then it could be a song. i wouldnt call it a poem. i just enjoy things which rhyme (like fezzik in the princess bride). i think it takes greater skill and is more entertaining to make things rhyme than to make things not rhyme.
tommy.

[crisaor]

It all depends on the definition. My own definition is fairly broad, so I include the Lord of the Rings in the epic cathegorie. That being said, my vote goes to Homer's Iliad.

[JediFonger]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345388186/qid=1089229372/sr=8-10/ref=pd_ka_10/002-0195821-5516078?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

^now that is an 'epic poem'. in regards to epic, modern dictionaries have moved away from that being the sole definition:

1. ep·ic ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pk)
n.
1. An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero.
2. A literary or dramatic composition that resembles an extended narrative poem celebrating heroic feats.
3. A series of events considered appropriate to an epic: the epic of the Old West.

-from dictionary.com

meanwhile, LOTR does contain numerous poems, epic or epic-less. i think LOTR is beyond 'epic' because of the world it has created. it contains epic within its world. i like to use Tolkien's term "subcreation".

[emily655321]

I agree about Tolkien. And I think it's appropriate to modify the definition of "epic" for our times, because no one writes epic poems anymore. Years ago, everything was written in the form of a poem because most of them had been passed down orally, and it's easier to remember something if you put it to rhyme or rhythm. But nowadays everything's prose, so do you mean to say no more epics can be written because no one writes narratives in verse anymore?

That said, there have been epics I've liked okay, but I've never gotten hugely into any of them (unless you count LOTR). We read "The Song of Roland" in school when I was 14, and it cracked us all up -- the battles come off as a bit absurd to modern ears; splitting a dwarf soldier in half from head to foot?? -- enough for me to remember it, so I guess I'll choose that. "Child Harold's Pilgrimage" I liked too, but mostly just because I enjoy Byron's writing style.

[nothingman87]

The Divine Comedy by Dante Aligheri certainly trumps any other "epic" I've read.

[tommytucker]

i want to read the divine comedy but i am so afraid i will hate it. i want to read it because i LOVE the band of the same name. neil hannon is an absolute master at songwriting, in my opinion and one or two others. he came up with the name of the band from a book he saw on a shelf. several years later he got around to reading it. i want to believe that the book and band are similar in style. but now im sure, neil just liked the name.
could lord of the rings be written entirely in verse style? it would require a bit more paper to display the work, like each sentence was a line and each paragraphgh was a verse. a silly notion, which shouldnt be considered. but what else defines 'verse' other than the way the work is displayed?
i just had a go at the divine comedy on this website. i had to stop as i didnt know what was going on. that really is some difficult reading.
tommy.

[emily655321]

\Verse\, n. [OE. vers, AS. fers, L. versus a line in writing, and, in poetry, a verse, from vertere, versum, to turn, to turn round; akin to E. worth to become: cf. F. vers.] 1. A line consisting of a certain number of metrical feet disposed according to metrical rules. 2. Metrical arrangement and language; that which is composed in metrical form; versification; poetry.

It is not rhyming and versing that maketh a poet. --Sir P. Sidney.

:banana:

[mike401]

anyone can rhyme- writing a memorable line of poetry that is free verse or sticks to some meter that doesn't rhyme is harder and in my opinion more satisfying to read.

i did mean epic poem when i asked the question, too- lord of the rings is "epic" in the sprawling scope of its narrative, but its in a different category than the epic poems.