What is an epic? Its features and varieties

The word "epic" came to us from antiquity. Since ancient Greek this term is translated as "narrative". What is an epic? The word has several meanings. We will focus only on two. Literary works created over the centuries by different peoples can be attributed to one of the three existing kinds of literature: lyrics, drama and epos. In the latter, there is a narrative of an act or event in the past, various phenomena and characters are described, an integral picture of the public life of the people is contained.

The main genres of the epic :

• novel;
• Epic;
• poem;
• A story;
• story;
• poem;
• feature article;
• Epic;
• fairy tale;
• Historical song.

Epos as a literary genre

The second meaning of the word under consideration is a special genre of literature - "heroic". Today, scientists know perfectly well what an epic is. But disputes about exactly how and where it originated, still do not subside. Many literary scholars believe that the epic is a genre that could have arisen in such cultures as Chinese and Hebrew. Others are convinced that this is simply impossible.

It is only known that this is the oldest genre (or genres) created by our distant ancestors. In the Middle Ages, these tales, songs, poems, epics were performed by wandering musicians and wandering storytellers. Since its inception, epic works have always been sung to the music of a violin or harp. In them everything is told in such a way that the listeners did not have a reason to doubt the authenticity of the described events. This is the same story, only slightly embellished with fantastic or mystical facts.

Eposs of the countries of the world

Every epic work is considered a unique heritage of the country in which it was written. Of all that is known in this genre, the best preserved French literary monuments. The most famous French epic is the "Song of Roland" mentioned above, which, according to various sources, was written around the 12th century. In the German literature, you can also find examples of the genre in question. The most famous epic of Germany is "The Song of the Nibelungs". It reflects mystical events that occurred against the backdrop of the great migration of peoples. In England, the greatest epic is Beowulf. It deals with a fearless knight who challenged the monster that threatened the whole kingdom. The longest epic - "Manas" - belongs to the Kyrgyz people. In size, it is twice as large as the "Mahabharata" and Tibetan epic about Geser.

What is the epic of the Russian people?

In Russian folk art, the epic, telling about the exploits of heroes, is called epic. In the epic, the heroes most often act, endowed with enormous physical strength and impressive mental abilities. The most famous epic works tell about the exploits of three famous heroes: Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich and Dobryni Nikitich.

Conclusion

What is the epic, as not the root of literature, the significance of which only increases every year? This is an important legacy left to us by our ancestors. At the beginning of the 20th century it was believed that every self-respecting people should have their own epic, their hero, who will be ready to put life in the struggle for the Motherland.