The epic poem
The word “epic”
come from the Greek noun épos, which means “the poets’ oral exposition”. The
two major epic poems in the Western tradition are The Iliad and The Odyssey,
attributed to the Greek poet Homer. Later examples of epic poems are Virgil’s
Aeneid and the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf.
- The main features of an epic
poem are:
- Long narrative
- Elevated style
- Celebration of the deeds of a
hero
- Presence of supernatural events and characters
- Description of an aristocratic,
military society
- Typical scenes: the banquet,
the battle, the voyage, the funeral
Beowulf
It is a poem
of 3, 182 lines. It is the longest
surviving poem in Old English, the name given to the language of the
Anglo-Saxons. It is also the first important example of poetry in a European
language that is not Latin or Greek.
There are a
couple of references in Beowulf to historical events in Denmark from the 6th
century, but almost all the poem is based on legends, not history.
The version of
the poem we have now was probably composed between 700 and 750. It was composed
in England, but the story takes place in Sweden and Denmark. This means the Anglo-Saxons
went on telling traditional stories from the Germanic world even after they had
invaded England.
Like other early
poetry in other cultures, Beowulf was first transmitted orally, for centuries,
before finally being written down. In Anglo-Saxon times only very few people
could read or write, and there were very few books, which all had to be written
by hand. Printing books in Europe was only invented in the 15th century.
