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Add to your interactive notebook…. Table of Contents 9-10 The Epic Tradition Words Worth Knowing Epic : a long narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society.

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  1. Add to your interactive notebook… • Table of Contents • 9-10 The Epic Tradition • Words Worth Knowing • Epic: a long narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular society. • Archetype: a pattern that appears in literature across cultures and is repeated through the ages. Can be a character, a plot, an image, or a setting.

  2. Cornell Notes

  3. The Epic Tradition Characteristics of an Epic:  KEY POINT • Incredible plot, involving large-scale events • Mix of myth, legend, and history that often includes gods and goddesses as characters • Long narrative poem about a quest, told in formal, elevated language • Larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a particular culture

  4. The Epic Tradition Characteristics of an Epic Epics from all times and places help connect the past to the future. • An epic—or long narrative poem—is about the exploits of a national hero. • Epics carry a culture’s history, values and traditions from one generation to the next.

  5. The Epic Tradition Characteristics of an Epic Epics may vary across different cultures or times. • The epic tradition, however, remains a constant social feature. • Where there are people, there are epics, retelling the triumphs and trials of life.

  6. The Epic Tradition The Epic Hero  KEY POINT Myths and religious stories, which explain the origins and deeds of gods, differ from epics. • The epic tradition reflects the human need • to understand ourselves • to bridge the gap between what’s human and what’s divine

  7. The Epic Tradition The Epic Hero Epic heroes—such as Anglo-Saxon Beowulf, Greek Achilles, and Mesopotamian Gilgamesh—are special, godlike human beings • who carry the status and power of gods within themselves • who remain subject to the joys and hardships of the human condition

  8. The Epic Tradition The Epic Hero Beowulf, Achilles, and Gilgamesh embody the particular values of their cultures. These values can be found distilled in a single figure: the heroic archetype. • The archetype is the model that is somehow familiar to all people and times. • The archetypal hero expresses the universal human quest for knowledge and understanding.

  9. The Epic Tradition The Epic Hero As in our own journey through life, there are often trials and obstacles that stand between the hero and his or her goals. • Like Beowulf facing Grendel, we must fight our own dragons—our inner and outer demons. • The epic hero’s belief in himself, in his own powers, and in certain values makes success possible.

  10. The Epic Tradition The Epic Lives On  KEY POINT Today, the epic tradition thrives in our own popular culture, where a diverse array of larger-than-life characters appear . . . • in movies • in television shows • in fantasy novels • in video games • in comic books These characters, both male and female, are often superhuman and easily recognizable as descendants of the ancient heroes.

  11. The Epic Tradition The Epic Lives On Epics are a dramatic record of the personal and collective human quest, as in • Beowulf’s journey from a self-seeking adventurer to a heroic but humble death • Gilgamesh’s transition fromarrogant king to returning pilgrim • Achilles’ passage from pouting adolescent to experienced warrior

  12. The Epic Tradition The Epic Lives On The archetype endures: • The epic continues to be a universal and relevant symbol. • Epics express some of the most deeply held values of humankind.

  13. BeowulfIntroducing the Epic  KEY POINT Beowulf is • one of the most important epics of Western literature • a long narrative with monsters, gory battles, and a brave hero— Beowulf

  14. Beowulf Background The epic poem Beowulf takes place in the Anglo-Saxon period following the fall of the Roman Empire. Reconstructed Anglo-Saxon village in West Stow, England, with communal hall on the left.

  15. Beowulf Background The story concerns a brave and strong hero who hears tales of a fearsome beast that has laid waste to a kingdom of Danes. The ancestry of each character is emphasized throughout the epic. Beowulf rips off the monster Grendel’s arm. [End of Section]

  16. BeowulfIntroducing the Epic Time 500 Beowulf describes the world of the early sixth century. The story of Beowulf is first told. 600 However, the epic was not written down until some time between 600 and 750. The epic is written down in 3,200 lines. 750

  17. BeowulfIntroducing the Epic Sources Beowulf is based on early Celtic and Scandinavian folk legends. Christian elements and geographic details suggest the epic was written down by a Northumbrian monk. [End of Section]

  18. Research… • http://www.thewritersjourney.com/hero's_journey.htm

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