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How to Write an Epic Poem: Infographic

By Will Willingham 11 Comments

Write an Epic Poem!

Somewhere in medias res between Iliad and Odyssey, betwixt Gilgamesh and Beowulf, a lonely hero (of noble character) trods a path constructed of dactylic hexameter. Clothed with epic simile (selected from a lengthy catalog), he fights good and evil, with angels and demons, and after a harrowing descent into the underworld, with superhuman feats (fueled, no doubt, by a wee bit of supernatural intervention) rescues the great people from otherwise certain doom.

That, in a nutshell, is epic poetry. To illustrate, we’ve created this fun, colorful Epic Infographic you can share with your friends, your classroom, or your teacher. (Be the first to use the word brobdingnagian—which has no particular relation to the epic except in its own prodigious size—in a sentence,  and you might get bonus points on your next epic poetry exam.)

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Post and infographic by Will Willingham

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How to Write a Poem 283 highHow to Write a Poem uses images like the buzz, the switch, the wave—from the Billy Collins poem “Introduction to Poetry”—to guide writers into new ways of writing poems. Excellent teaching tool. Anthology and prompts included.

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Will Willingham
Will Willingham
Director of Many Things; Senior Editor, Designer and Illustrator at Tweetspeak Poetry
I used to be a claims adjuster, helping people and insurance companies make sense of loss. Now, I train other folks with ladders and tape measures to go and do likewise. Sometimes, when I’m not scaling small buildings or crunching numbers with my bare hands, I read Keats upside down. My first novel is Adjustments.
Will Willingham
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Filed Under: Blog, Epic Poetry, Infographics, poetry, poetry teaching resources

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About Will Willingham

I used to be a claims adjuster, helping people and insurance companies make sense of loss. Now, I train other folks with ladders and tape measures to go and do likewise. Sometimes, when I’m not scaling small buildings or crunching numbers with my bare hands, I read Keats upside down. My first novel is Adjustments.

Comments

  1. Maureen says

    September 30, 2015 at 8:56 am

    So good, LW!

    Reply
  2. Monica Sharman says

    September 30, 2015 at 10:52 am

    Standing ovation!

    Reply
  3. L. L. Barkat says

    September 30, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    Love it.

    And the “somewhere in medias res, between… betwixt…” totally made me smile. A veritable thesaurus of middling words, right there 😉

    Reply
  4. KITTY KILIAN says

    October 1, 2015 at 2:15 am

    Do not feed the dactyl! Very witty – will keep it in mind.

    Reply
  5. Megan Willome says

    October 12, 2015 at 12:25 pm

    Fabulous!

    Reply
  6. Herb says

    June 4, 2018 at 7:25 pm

    Epic stuff!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Best in Poetry: This Month's Top 10 Poetic Picks - says:
    November 5, 2015 at 10:11 am

    […] is not iambic pentameter, nor dactylic hexameter. But maybe you can see in it the circular winding of the villanelle. (Or, you can see it for just […]

    Reply
  2. Our Partners: What You Did for Poetry in 2015 - says:
    November 23, 2015 at 10:35 am

    […] gazelles writing ghazals to phantoms writing pantoums, to heroes writing epic poems, you’ve helped Tweetspeak regularly bring amusing and informative infographics for use in the […]

    Reply
  3. A Poem in Every Heart: John Borling, John McCain and the Hanoi Hilton - says:
    September 12, 2018 at 8:00 am

    […] and holidays in “The Holidays and Hollow Days.” He also wrote a 123-stanza (twelve lines each) epic poem called “Southeast Asia Story.” He wrote odes and sonnets and a ballad and other poems whose […]

    Reply
  4. Poets and Poems: Donna Hilbert and "Threnody" - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    January 25, 2022 at 10:49 am

    […] poetry itself, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, developing alongside the oral tradition of heroic poetry. And it’s found in most […]

    Reply
  5. Poetry Prompt: Beginning "Ab Ovo" or "From the Egg" - Tweetspeak Poetry says:
    October 16, 2023 at 5:01 am

    […] you begin a story ab ovo, you start it at the very start. Concerning epic poetry, Homer was praised by Horace for not beginning ab ovo in his tale of Troy. For Homer to begin ab ovo […]

    Reply

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