Poem Type: Epic

Beowulf, Edmund Spenser’s The Faery Queene, and Ovid’s Metamophoses are all classic examples of the epic poem. But what exactly is an epic poem?

What is not an epic?

After perusing Mibba’s epic section, it might be easier to start with what is NOT an epic poem.

A epic poem is not necessarily a poem that is 'epic'. If you have written a poem that you think is really great, so great in fact that you might say it’s "Totally epic!" you still shouldn’t label its type as ‘epic.’ A poem has to be much more than ‘really amazing’ to fall under the ‘epic’ type.

Though most epic poems are long, not all long poems are epics. Just because your poem spans on for pages and pages, doesn’t mean it should be labeled as an epic. Many different kinds of poems can be long, but it takes much more than length to make a poem an epic.

Telling any ol' story does not an epic poem make. You can tell lots of stories in poem format but, more likely than not, it should be labeled as a narrative, not an epic. Simply telling a story does not mean your poem is an epic.

So, what is an epic?

An epic poem is a long narrative poem that features the story of a hero or chronicles a significant event over an extended period of time and often spanning over a wide array of locations.

Conventionally, an epic poem will include some (if not all) of the following:

• A major hero who often shares the values of a culture, religion, or race and embarks on a dangerous or difficult quest or journey
• A major antagonistic force
• A conflict or vital mission of which successful completion or failure will hugely impact the world in which the characters live
• A setting that spans over many locations
• Intervention by supernatural beings/elements

What are some famous epics?

The most famous epic poems hail from one of the most important events in Greek mythology. Pieces such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, and Virgil’s Aeneid all feature heroes from the Trojan War. These poems follow the ten year war between the Achaeans and the Trojans, which is said to have begun when King Menelaus’s wife, Helen, was taken away by the Trojan prince Paris, often chronicling the lives of its characters. Like most epic poems, these stories feature many strong heroes, intervention from the gods and other supernatural beings, and span across a wide range of Ancient Greek cities.

Other notable epics include Dante’s Divine Comedy, Edgar Allen Poe’s Tamerlane, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and Lord Byron’s satirical epic poem Don Juan.

And what about Mibba?

If you’re looking to read a fresh new epic, you might just find one in Mibba’s poem section, but do approach with caution. Unfortunately, due to some mislabeling of pieces, there seems to be a lot more non-epics in that section than actual epic poems. A good place to start would be Feralxcarol’s 'Gate of Hell' series which includes Gates of Hell and Bloodlust and Black Hearts.

If you have any questions about whether or not a piece should be labeled as an epic, please don't hesitate to contact one of Mibba's Poem Editors.

Thanks to Fandango and sheepcat; for editing.