Epic poetry An epic (from the Greek adjective (epikos), from (epos) "word, story, poem" ) is a lengthy narrative

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poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.[2] Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parryhave argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form. Nonetheless, epics have been written down at least since the works of Virgil, Dante Alighieri, and John Milton. Many probably would not have survived if not written down. The first epics are known as primary, or original, epics. One such epic is the Old English story Beowulf.
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Epics that attempt to

imitate these like Milton's Paradise Lost are known as literary, or secondary, epics. Another type ofepic poetry is epyllion (plural: epyllia), which is a brief narrative poem with a romantic or mythological theme. The term, which means 'little epic', came into use in the nineteenth century. It refers primarily to the erudite, shorter hexameter poems of the Hellenistic period and the similar works composed at Rome from the age of the neoterics; to a lesser degree, the term includes some poems of the English Renaissance, particularly those influenced byOvid.
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The most famous example of classical epyllion is perhaps Catullus 64.

In the East, the most famous works of epic poetry are the Ramayana and Mahabharata, with the Iliad and the Odyssey, which form part of the Western canon, fulfilling the same function in the Western world. An attempt to deliminate nine main characteristics of an epic: 1. It opens in medias res. 2. The setting is vast, covering many nations, the world or the universe. 3. Begins with an invocation to a muse (epic invocation). 4. It starts with a statement of the theme.
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5. Includes the use of epithets.[citation needed] 6. Contains long lists (epic catalogue).
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7. Features long and formal speeches.

8. Shows divine intervention on human affairs.

9. "Star" heroes that embody the values of the civilization.