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1、AnIntroductiontotheEpic1.Questions:1.Whatisanepic?DowehaveepicsintheChineselanguage?2.Whatarethecharacteristicsandconventionsoftheepic?3.GiveabriefaccountofthefamousEnglishepicsplease.2.AbriefIntroductiontotheEpicAnepic(fromGreek:έποςorεπικό"word,story,poem")isalengthy
2、narrativepoeminelevatedstature,ordinarilyconcerningaserioussubjectcontainingdetailsofheroicdeedsandeventssignificanttoacultureornation.MichaelMeyer,TheBedfordIntroductiontoLiterature,Bedford/St.Martin's,2005,p2128.Anepicoftenpresentscharactersofhighpositioninadventures
3、forminganorganicwholethroughtheirrelationtoacentralheroicfigureandthroughtheirdevelopmentofepisodesimportanttothehistoryofanationorrace.Oralpoetrymayqualifyasanepic,andcriticshavearguedthatclassicalepicswerefundamentallyanoralpoeticform.Nonetheless,epicshavebeenwritten
4、downatleastsinceHomer,andtheworksofVirgil,DanteAlighieriandJohnMiltonwouldbeunlikelytohavesurvivedwithoutbeingwrittendown.Thefirstepicsareknownasprimary,ororiginal,epics.EpicsthatattempttoimitatetheselikeVirgil'sAeneidandMilton'sParadiseLostareknownasliterary,orseconda
5、ry,epics.The“traditionalepics”(alsocalled“primaryepics”or“folkepics”)wereshapedbyaliteraryartistfromhistoricalandlegendarymaterialswhichhaddevelopedintheoraltraditionsofhisnationduringaperiodofexpansionandwarfare.TothisgroupareascribedtheIliadandOdysseyoftheGreekHomer,
6、andtheAnglo-SaxonepicBeowulf.The“literary”or“secondary”epicswerecomposedbysophisticatedcraftsmenindeliberateimitationofthetraditionalform.OfthiskindisVirgil’sLatinpoemtheAeneid,whichlaterservedasthechiefmodelforMilton’sliteraryepicParadiseLost;andParadiseLostinturnbeca
7、meamodelforKeat’sfragmentaryepicHyperion,aswellasforBlake’sseveralepics,or“propheticbooks”(TheFourZoas,Milton,Jerusalem)whichundertooktotranslateintoBlake’sownmythictermsthebiblicaldesignandmaterialswhichhadservedasMilton’ssubjectmatter.Anothertypeofepicpoetryisepyllio
8、n(plural:epyllia)whichisabriefnarrativepoemwitharomanticormythologicaltheme.Theterm,whichmeans'littleepic',cameinusei
