The English word epic comes from Latin epicus, which itself comes from the Ancient Greek adjective ἐπικός (epikos), … See more

Originating before the invention of writing, primary epics, such as those of Homer, were composed by bards who used complex rhetorical and metrical schemes by which they could memorize the epic as received in … See more

The first epics were products of preliterate societies and oral history poetic traditions. Oral tradition was used alongside written scriptures to communicate and facilitate the spread of culture. In these traditions, poetry is transmitt… See more

In his work Poetics, Aristotle defines an epic as one of the forms of poetry, contrasted with lyric poetry and drama (in the form of tragedy and comedy).
Epic poetry agrees with Tragedy in so far as it is an i… See more

The primary form of epic, especially as discussed in this article, is the heroic epic, including such works as the Iliad and Mahabharata. Ancient sources also recognized didactic epic as a category, represente… See more

• Poetry portal
• alliterative verse
• Albanian epic poetry
• Arabic epic literature
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• de Vries, Jan (1978). Heroic Song and Heroic Legend. ISBN 0-405-10566-5.
• Hashmi, Alamgir (2011). "Eponymous écriture and the poetics of reading a transnational epic". Dublin Quarterly. Vol. 15.… See more