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Epic Poetry: Playlist and Prompt

By Heather Eure 9 Comments

Epic_playlist_and_prompt
Every great epic deserves a spectacular soundtrack and we think this month’s playlist is destined to pull you along on a fabulous journey. You’ll find songs inspired by many grand epics and songs that simply sound epic. Listen along and perhaps they’ll spur you to be bold, to take a risk, to dare… Are you ready to click ‘play?’

An epic, specifically, is a genre of classical poetry which originated in Greece. The word comes from the ancient Greek word epos, which means “poetic utterance.”

As an extended narrative in verse form, the epic retells and explains the heroic journey of one person, or a group. Blending highly stylized, lyrical language with superhuman feats and fantastic adventures, the elements of the epic are formed. If you were to examine some of the oldest written narratives, you’d find many of them to be written in epic form. Some examples include: Gilgamesh,  Mahâbhârata, Iliad, Odyssey, Beowulf, and Aeneid.

The epic carried important cultural truths but, as M. I. Finley puts it,

“Whatever else the epic may have been, it was not history. It was narrative, detailed and precise, with minute description of fighting and sailing, and feasting and burials and sacrifices, all very real and vivid; it may even contain, buried away, some kernels of historical fact—but it was not history.”

Try It

Write a poem introducing a hero from one of the epic poems listed above (or one you’ve created). Your hero does not lack derring-do or superhuman abilities. What is their name? Describe the exploits of your lion-hearted warrior.  What makes this larger-than-life person brave and worthy of an adventure?

Featured Poem

Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here’s a poem from Andrew we enjoyed:

The Elephants that are Real

I know the elephants upon the wheel aren’t real,
Just stick out cut outs on the floor,
But looking down – oh, on looking down –
My child saw them, and he believed
And something deep inside me thought them real.

Cotton candy stretched in a line – “pink froth
From some old rainbow stream
Which tumbles over rocks and acrobatic lines, ”
I told my son –
He looked, and how his eyes did dream!

Bright colours, silly wigs of twisted yarn
And we go on, oh ever on
‘Neath twirling figures, suspended men –
“You know they’re catching stars up there,
To help the ever coming dawn?”

He laughed. I did not think the elephants real
But looking through his eyes, they are.
Why not, why no magic for all of us?
See how they roll and tumble in our minds!
The best diversion, glowing circus star!

―Andrew H

Photo by Enrique Dans. Creative Commons via Flickr.


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  • Author
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Heather Eure
Heather Eure
Heather Eure has served as the Poetry Editor for the late Burnside Collective and Special Projects Editor for us at Tweetspeak Poetry. Her poems have appeared at Every Day Poems. Her wit has appeared just about everywhere she's ever showed up, and if you're lucky you were there to hear it.
Heather Eure
Latest posts by Heather Eure (see all)
  • Poetry Prompt: Misunderstood Lion - March 19, 2018
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  • Poetry Prompt: Behind the Velvet Rope - February 26, 2018

Filed Under: Blog, Epic Poetry, Playlist, poetry prompt, poetry teaching resources, Themed Writing Projects, writer's group resources, writing prompts

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Comments

  1. Robbie Pruitt says

    September 7, 2015 at 9:38 pm

    Inadvertent Heroes
    2 Kings 7

    Four chance heroes,
    leprous and gray,
    wondered if they would sit and die
    or press on to live another day.
    They stood at the city gates
    of the famine ravished land,
    under death’s shadow,
    their time was at hand.
    “If we stay here, our life will draw nigh,
    but if go into the city, we will also surly die.
    We will walk into our enemy’s land,
    and put our lives into our enemy’s hand.
    If they receive us, we shall live,
    and if they do not, it is our lives we will give.”
    So, off they went, journeying to the Syrian camp.
    They searched for life and hope from their enemy’s hand,
    leaving the safety of a sure death for an unknown land.
    The four travelers arrived at a deserted place.
    No one was found, not one life, not one trace.
    The spoils of war were left, as the terror struck Syrians did flee,
    running from the four lepers, and the fierce army they thought them to be.
    Four inadvertent heroes had stumbled upon victory!
    Salvation and riches were gained, and they feasted and drank cheerfully.
    The city was spared and the people did eat,
    thanks to these four lepers and their accidental heroic feat.

    © September 7, 2015, Robbie Pruitt

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 8, 2015 at 9:34 am

      “Four chance heroes, leprous and gray…” Wow! What an opener!! Thanks, Robbie.

      Reply
      • Robbie Pruitt says

        September 10, 2015 at 11:39 am

        Thanks for reading and for your comment. This was a fun one to write!

        Reply
  2. Rick Maxson says

    September 7, 2015 at 10:58 pm

    Beast

    —for Godzilla

    Under the dark tree
    trimmed with death masks
    of locusts, we played:
    crushing the anthills,
    descending from black root mountains,
    rising from curb lagoons or seas,
    to feed upon the villagers.

    I have changed my ways:
    I ride the uptown bus or
    watch your mirrored eyes shift,
    from my old Subaru.

    I am still feared,
    seated and gray, in the isle floor,
    reading between Bellow and Camus,
    not quite your dream,
    stark and serpentine,
    from closets or your empty rooms,
    touching you in sleep.

    Yet, look at me,
    when you pass, last row
    as the credits roll,
    who ascended once on scaled wings
    head drawn bellowing back.

    Understand why I am last to go
    (the achievement is the least),
    nor because New York was spared,
    but because I loved the beast.

    Reply
    • Heather Eure says

      September 8, 2015 at 9:45 am

      This is so much fun to read, Rick. It has the darkened mood and masculinity that reminds me of Beowulf.

      Reply
  3. Monica Sharman says

    September 9, 2015 at 9:31 am

    Based on one of my favorite Looney Tunes scenes:
    https://youtu.be/b0FViwZmsGQ

    The Monster Gossamer is the Hero

    Don’t let me intimidate you. I only pretend I’m a monster,
    big, mean, hairy and scary. But actually
    I’m the one who’s scared. And anyway, the sneakers
    give me away: I’m just a little kid
    after all, not knowing what to say,
    how to draw you out, what to talk about, unsure
    about looking you in the eye, forgetting
    that one day soon I’ll be calling you
    friend. When I yell “People!” and turn tail,
    terrified, the good thing is
    at least I’m breaking through
    all those walls.

    Reply
  4. Glynn says

    September 10, 2015 at 7:32 am

    Went off in a different direction…

    Epic

    We started from a quiet place
    a place of dusty streets and market stalls
    noise on market days, noise of animals
    and children playing

    the world beckoned, its soul yearning

    no armies did we lead
    no armies did we need
    no horses did we ride

    an army of two, with sandals
    an army of two, without swords

    the wind went before us smoothing
    our way to the towns and languages
    to fields and sentinel farm houses

    cities, and temples
    cities, and rulers
    cities, and governors
    cities, and nobles and slaves and merchants
    cities, and noise

    we conquered with words and spirit
    even our deaths conquered provinces
    and kingdoms, hearts

    from two on a road we found ourselves
    leading hundreds and more, thousands
    and more until the empire itself
    fit within our hands, the greatest empire
    before or since

    we destroyed it, some say
    we saved it, some say
    we saved its soul, we say,
    its souls, we say

    Reply
    • Robbie Pruitt says

      September 10, 2015 at 7:54 am

      This is excellent Glynn!! Heroes, Indeed!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Epic Poetry: Invocation of the Muse Prompt - says:
    September 14, 2015 at 8:01 am

    […] to everyone who participated in last week’s poetry prompt. Here’s a poem from Glynn we […]

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