EPICS AND MOCK EPICS

A Presentation byAvani Dwivedi

Debopama Debnath

Nikhil Goyal

Harshdeep Singh Hora

What is an Epic?

A long narrative poem ordinarily concerning a serious subject

Contains details of heroic deeds Describes events significant to a culture or

nation The action consists of deeds of great value or

superhuman strength and/or courage Is of great legendary significance Centred on a heroic/quasi-divine figure on

whose actions depends the fate of a tribe, a nation, or the human race

Characteristics of Epics Features long and formal speeches Shows divine intervention on human affairs Features heroes that embody the values of the

civilisation Often features the tragic hero’s descent into the

underworld Setting is vast in scope, covering nations, the

world, or universe Presence of supernatural forces

The Epic Hero The hero is a figure of great national or

even cosmic importance Usually the ideal man of his culture Often has superhuman or divine traits Has an imposing physical stature

and is greater in all ways

than the common man

Mock Epics

Also known as mock-heroic or heroi-comic Typically satires or parodies Mock common classical stereotypes of heroes

and heroic literature Typically, mock-heroic works either put a fool in

the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic qualities to such a point that they become absurd

Accept same metre, vocabulary & rhetoric of epics

History of Mock Epics

Became popular in the post-restoration & Augustan periods in England

In the 17th century, epics and pastoral genres had become exhausted

Epic genre was heavily criticised, because it expressed traditional values of feudal society

Among new genres, satirical literature was particularly effective in criticising old habits and values

John Dryden

Responsible for dominance among satirical genres of the mock-heroic in the later Restoration era

Dryden’s MacFlecknoe is the locus classicus of the mock heroic

His prosody is identical to the regular heroic verse : iambic pentameter closed couplets

The parody is not formal, merely contextual and ironic

AENEID

Beowulf Oldest surviving epic poem in English literature Out of the 30,000 lines of literature left from the

Anglo-Saxon period, almost 4,000 lines are preserved in this epic poem

Story of the supernatural, as well as a record of Anglo-Saxon history

The First Battle : Grendel

Story begins with the description of King Hrothgar, who constructed the great hall Hereot for his people for celebrations

Grendel, a troll-like monster, pained by the noise attacks the hall and devours many of the warriors while they’re asleep

Beowulf, a young warrior from Geatland leaves his homeland to help Hrothgar

Beowulf battles Grendel and ultimately kills him by tearing Grendel’s arm from his body

The Second Battle : Grendel’s Mother Grendel’s mother angered by her son’s death

attacks the hall Hrothgar and Beowulf track Grendel’s mother to

her lair under a lake Beowulf dives into the lake and engages in a

fierce battle with Grendel’s mother Beowulf ultimately beheads her

Third Battle : The Dragon

Beowulf returns home and becomes king of his people

One day, a slave steals a golden cup from the lair of a dragon

Furious, the dragon leaves its lair and attacks Beowulf’s kingdom

Beowulf battles the dragon, kills it, but is himself mortally wounded

An Analysis of Beowulf An epic poem in which the hero travels great

distances to prove his strength at impossible odds against supernatural forces

The Anglo-Saxon period had two types of poetry – heroic ( achievements of warriors ) & elegiac (the loss of loved ones ) – Beowulf has both

Heroic because of the feats of Beowulf, elegiac because of the lament at his loss at the end of the poem

MOCK EPIC : BATRACHOMYOM

ACHIA

Battle of the Frogs and Mice

Battle of Frogs and Mice Tackles grave subjects of war and revenge Plenty of bathos Divine intervention by Zeus Extremely satirical and humorous –

civilised animals, as violent as the Iliad – just with frogs & mice in the plot

Similarity – war, revenge, divine retribution

EPICS AND MOCK-EPICS

A COMPARISON

Epic and Mock Epic – A ComparisonEpic Mock Epic

Oral & poetic language Public & remarkable

deeds Legendary hero Collective enterprise Generalised setting in

time & place Fable & action are grave

& solemn Sentiments & diction

preserve the sublime

Written & referential language Private, daily experiencer Humanized, “ordinary”

characters Individual enterprise Particularized setting in time &

place Fable & action – light &

ridiculous Sentiments & diction preserve

the ludicrous

Significance of Epic Poetry To arouse the spirit of warriors to heroic

actions Praised their exploits Supplied warriors models of ideal heroic

behaviour Assured a long & glorious recollection of

their deeds Heroic songs were often sung before

battles – boosted morale of combatants

Importance of Mock-Epic Poetry in 18th Century 18th century – exaltation of wit & reason came to

forefront of literature Exposed superficial follies & moral corruption of

society during neoclassical period Society embraced an obsession with “decorum”,

a facade of established traditions & vanities

Satires during this period aimed to point out shortcomings of society through ridiculing accepted standards of thought

Chastised hypocrisy in Britain at that time Poets like Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift

inspired to nudge British society into new era of enlightenment with regards to social & political morality