What Are Some Famous Epic Poems?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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  1. The Epic of Gilgamesh (~2000 BCE) …
  2. The Homeric – The Odyssey (~800 BCE) …
  3. The Mahabharata (350 BCE) …
  4. Virgil – The Aeneid The Aeneid (19 BCE) …
  5. Ovid – Metamorphoses (8 AD) …
  6. Firdawsi – The Shahnameh (11th century) …
  7. Beowulf (~8th-11th century CE)

What is the greatest epic poem of all time?


The Mahabharata

was transferred through oral tradition for centuries before it was finally put to text. It is the longest known epic poem ever written consisting of over 200,000 individual verse lines. Roughly, this is ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined.

What are the examples of epic poetry?

  • Perhaps the most widely known

    epic poems

    are Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey, both of which detail the events of the Trojan War and King Odysseus's journey home from Troy. …
  • The Mahābhārata is an ancient Indian

    epic

    composed in Sanskrit.

What are some modern epic poems?

  • Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley.
  • Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson.
  • Brand New Ancients by Kate Tempest.
  • Our Lady of the Ruins by Traci K. Brimhall.
  • The Iovis Trilogy by Anne Waldman.

What is the most famous epic poems?

  1. Anonymous, Epic of Gilgamesh. …
  2. Homer, The Iliad. …
  3. Homer, The Odyssey. …
  4. Apollonius of Rhodes, The Argonautica. …
  5. Virgil, The Aeneid. …
  6. Anonymous, Beowulf. …
  7. Dante, The Divine Comedy. …
  8. Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene.

Is the Bible an epic poem?

The Bible is an “epic“ The epic is one of the earliest literary forms, a long poem that recounts the deeds and heroes of a nation. Within the Bible, the accounts of the Exodus and the life of David can be considered epics. More broadly,

the Bible as a whole can be considered an epic

.

What is the longest epic ever written?


The Mahabharata

is one of the longest epic poems ever written. It has over 200,000 verse lines, 1.8 million words and it is believed that it could have taken over 600 years to write!

What is the most famous epic?

  1. The Epic of Gilgamesh (~2000 BCE) …
  2. The Homeric Poems – The Odyssey (~800 BCE) …
  3. The Mahabharata (350 BCE) …
  4. Virgil – The Aeneid The Aeneid (19 BCE) …
  5. Ovid – Metamorphoses (8 AD) …
  6. Firdawsi – The Shahnameh (11th century) …
  7. Beowulf (~8th-11th century CE)

What is the longest epic poem in English?

  • The long poem is a literary genre including all of considerable length. …
  • With more than 220000 (100000 shloka or couplets) verses and about 1.8 million words in total, the Mahābhārata is the longest epic poem in the world.

What was the first epic poem?

The oldest epic recognized is

the Epic of Gilgamesh

( c. 2500–1300 BCE), which was recorded in ancient Sumer during the Neo-Sumerian Empire. The poem details the exploits of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk.

What is an epic give two examples?

Epics are grand, long compositions about the heroic deeds of men and women. They include stories about gods as well. Example –

Mahabharata and Ramayana

.

What are the 5 elements of an epic poem?


Gods, demons, angels, time/space travel, cheating death, immortality, and other supernatural elements

.

What is an example of epic?

An epic is a

long, narrative poem written about a hero and the hero's feats of bravery

. … Gilgamesh is an Assyrian epic (perhaps the oldest example) about a young Assyrian king who is sent on a quest by the gods. Beowulf is another example of epic poetry, and is considered the national epic for the British.

Who is an epic hero?

An epic hero is

the main character of an epic poem

that tells the story of a grand quest in which they use their extraordinary or superhuman abilities to achieve great things. In literature, a hero is simply the protagonist, or main character.

What are the 4 epics?

  • Characteristics of Epics. The word epic comes from the Greek for word, poem or story. …
  • The Odyssey by Homer. …
  • The Divine Comedy by Dante. …
  • Paradise Lost by John Milton. …
  • Don Juan by Lord Byron. …
  • Metamorphoses by Ovid. …
  • Beowulf by Unknown. …
  • The Cantos by Ezra Pound.

Who is a modern epic hero?

Modern Epic Heroes


Darth Vader from “Star Wars”

is an epic hero because he is a man but has elevated status, both as a ruler and as “the one” destined to bring balance to The Force. He has superior skills, including his mastery over The Force, a power that certain men are able to harness.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.