Page 27 - DENG405_BRITISH_POETRY

British Poetry

Notes 7. Features long and formal speeches.
8. Shows divine intervention on human affairs.
9. “Star” heroes that embody the values of the civilization.
The hero generally participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries that try to defeat
him in his journey and returns home significantly transformed by his journey.
The epic hero illustrates traits, performs deeds, and exemplifies certain morals that are valued by
the society the epic originates from. Many epic heroes are recurring characters in the legends of
their native culture.

2.7.2 Conventions of Epics

1. Praepositio: Opens by stating the theme or cause of the epic. This may take the form of a
purpose (as in Milton, who proposed “to justify the ways of God to men”); of a question
(as in the Iliad, which Homer initiates by asking a Muse to sing of Achilles’ anger); or of
a situation (as in the Song of Roland, with Charlemagne in Spain).
2. Invocation: Writer invokes a Muse, one of the nine daughters of Zeus. The poet prays to
the Muses to provide him with divine inspiration to tell the story of a great hero. (This
convention is obviously restricted to cultures influenced by European Classical culture.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, for example, or the Bhagavata Purana would obviously not contain
this element).
3. In medias res: narrative opens “in the middle of things”, with the hero at his lowest
point. Usually flashbacks show earlier portions of the story.
4. Enumeratio: Catalogues and genealogies are given. These long lists of objects, places,
and people place the finite action of the epic within a broader, universal context. Often,
the poet is also paying homage to the ancestors of audience members.
5. Epithet: Heavy use of repetition or stock phrases: e.g., Homer’s “rosy-fingered dawn”
and “wine-dark sea.”

2.8 Summary

• Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts,
literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the “classical” art and
culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome.
• Romanticism was more widespread both in its origins and influence.
• In literature, Romanticism found recurrent themes in the evocation or criticism of the past,
the cult of “sensibility” with its emphasis on women and children, the heroic isolation of the
artist or narrator, and respect for a new, wilder, untrammeled and “pure” nature.
• The subject of the relationship of Romanticism to nature is a vast one which can only be
touched on here.
• In literature, a conceit is an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic
passage or entire poem.

2.9 Keywords

Impetus : The force or energy with which a body moves.
Usurping : Illegally or by force.
Conceit : An elaborate metaphor or artistic effect.

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