Epic poetry

Epic poetry is long-form narrative verse recounting heroic deeds, legendary events, or stories foundational to a community. It often combines elevated style, large-scale action, and supernatural forces.

Epic simile: An extended comparison in poetry that develops at length beyond the immediate point of resemblance. Its expansive comparisons are a signature device of many classical epics.
Epic of Gilgamesh: An ancient Mesopotamian epic about Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and his quest after the death of Enkidu. It is among the earliest surviving works commonly called an epic.
Homer: The ancient Greek poet to whom the Iliad and Odyssey are traditionally attributed. The Homeric poems are central early examples of Greek epic poetry.
Verse novel: A novel-length narrative whose primary form is poetry rather than prose. It shares long narrative verse with epic but often centers private or modern experience.
Invocation of the Muse: A poetic appeal to a Muse or other source of inspiration for assistance in composition. Many epics open by asking for inspiration before recounting immense events.
Iliad: An ancient Greek epic attributed to Homer, focused on a brief episode in the Trojan War and the anger of Achilles. Its concentrated conflict became a defining model of heroic epic.
Homeric Question: The debate over the authorship, composition, and transmission of the Iliad and Odyssey. It asks how oral tradition and individual authorship shaped the earliest Greek epics.
Romance (heroic literature): A narrative form featuring extraordinary adventures, quests, and idealized heroes, especially in medieval literature. Romance shares marvelous exploits with epic but follows different conventions and historical traditions.
In medias res: A narrative technique that begins a story in the middle of its events. The Iliad and other epics begin amid action, supplying earlier events later.
Mahabharata: An ancient Sanskrit epic centered on a dynastic conflict between the Pandavas and Kauravas. Its immense narrative joins heroic warfare with religious and ethical teaching.

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