Home   |   TOPIC LIST   |   About   |   Contact

Narrative or epic

Epic poems are long story-telling poems or narratives, usually about a hero and their adventures and experiences. Often epics have strong national history aspects to them and are fictional or at least somewhat mythical. The story of Troy is part of the epic poem The Iliad by the Greek Homer:

And now as Dawn rose from her couch beside Tithonus, harbinger of

light alike to mortals and immortals, Jove sent fierce Discord

with the ensign of war in her hands to the ships of the Achaeans.

She took her stand by the huge black hull of Ulysses' ship which

was middlemost of all, so that her voice might carry farthest on

either side, on the one hand towards the tents of Ajax son of

Telamon, and on the other towards those of Achilles - for these

two heroes, well-assured of their own strength, had valorously

drawn up their ships at the two ends of the line.

This particular poem is very graphic in its descriptions and language, as can be seen from this brief snippet.