EPICS AND MOCK EPICS A Presentation by Avani Dwivedi Debopama Debnath Nikhil Goyal Harshdeep Singh Hora
May 15, 2015
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