Epic (genre)
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An epic is traditionally a genre of poetry, known as epic poetry.[1] However, in modern terms, epic is often extended to other art forms, such as epic theatre, films, music, novels, plays, television shows, and video games,[1] wherein the story has a theme of grandeur and heroism,[2] just as in epic poetry.
Subgenres
There are many genres of epic (exclusive of epic poetry): epic fantasy describes works of fantasy, such as in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.[3] Epic fantasy has been described as containing three elements: it must be a trilogy or longer, its time-span must encompass years or more, and it must contain a large back-story or universe setting in which the story takes place.[3] Epic fantasy is not limited to the Western tradition: for example, Arabic epic literature includes One Thousand and One Nights; and Indian epic poetry includes Ramayana and Mahabharata.[4]
The epic film genre encompasses historical epics, religious epics, and western epics,[5] although it has split into many other genres and subgenres.[which?][6][7]
There are chivalric epics from the Middle Ages, national epics, and pan-national epics. The real-life stories of heroic figures have also been referred to as being epic; examples include Ernest Shackleton's exploration adventures in Antarctica.[8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Dictionary.com
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Raymond Briggs (1969). Shackleton's Epic Voyage; Lennard Bickel (2001) Shackleton's Forgotten Men: The Untold Tragedy of the Endurance Epic; Frank Arthur Worsley (1931), Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure
Bibliography
- Paul Merchant. The Epic. Routledge Kegan & Paul (June 1971). ISBN 978-0-416-19700-6
