The Genre of Epic Literature and Poetry

The Genre of Epic Literature and Poetry Epic poetry, related to heroic poetry, is a narrative art form common to many ancient and modern societies. In some traditional circles, the term epic poetry is restricted to the Greek poet Homers works The Iliad and The Odyssey and, sometimes grudgingly, the Roman poet Virgils The Aeneid. However, beginning with the Greek philosopher Aristotle who collected barbarian epic poems, other scholars have recognized that similarly structured forms of poetry occur in many other cultures. Two related forms of narrative poetry are trickster tales that report activities of very clever disrupter beings, human and god-like both; and heroic epics, in which the heroes are ruling class, kings and the like. In epic poetry, the hero is an extraordinary but also an ordinary human being and although he may be flawed, he is always brave and valorous. Characteristics of Epic Poetry The characteristics of the Greek tradition of epic poetry are long-established and summarized below. Almost all of these characteristics can be found in epic poetry from societies well outside of the Greek or Roman world. The content of an epic poem always includes the glorious deeds of heroes (Klea andron in Greek), but not just those types of things- the Iliad included cattle raids as well.   All About the Hero There is always an underlying  ethos  that says that to be a hero is to always be the best person he (or she, but mainly he) can be, pre-eminent beyond all others, primarily physical and displayed in battle. In Greek epic tales, intellect is plain common sense, there are never tactical tricks or strategic ploys, but instead, the hero succeeds because of great valor, and the brave man never retreats. Homers greatest poems are about the heroic age, about the men who fought at Thebes and Troy (a. 1275–1175 BCE), events that took place about 400 years before Homer wrote the Illiad and Odyssey. Other cultures epic poems involve a similarly distant historic/legendary past. The powers of the heroes of epic poetry are human-based: the heroes are normal human beings who are cast on a large scale, and although gods are everywhere, they only act to support or in some cases thwart the hero. The tale has a believed historicity, which is to say the narrator is assumed to be the mouthpiece of the goddesses of poetry, the Muses, with no clear line between history and fantasy. Narrator and Function The tales are told in a mannerly composition: they are often formulaic in structure, with repeated conventions and phrases. Epic poetry is performed, either the bard sings or chants the poem and he is often accompanied by others who act out the scenes. In Greek and Latin epic poetry, the meter is strictly dactylic hexameter; and the normal assumption is that epic poetry is long, taking hours or even days to perform. The narrator has both objectivity and formality, he is seen by the audience as a pure narrator, who speaks in the third person and the past tense. The poet is thus the custodian of the past. In Greek society, the poets were itinerant who traveled throughout the region performing at festivals, rites of passage like funerals or weddings, or other ceremonies. The poem has a social function, to please or entertain an audience. It is both serious and moral in tone but it doesnt preach. Examples of Epic Poetry Mesopotamia: Epic of GilgameshGreek: The Iliad, The OdysseyRoman: The AeneidIndia: Loriki, Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata, RamayanaGerman: The Ring of the Nibelung, RolandOstyak: The Song of the Golden HeroKhirghiz: SemeteyEnglish: Beowulf, Paradise LostAinu: Pon-ya-un-be, Kutune ShirkaGeorgia: The Knight in the PantherEast Africa: Bahima Praise PoemsMali: SundiataUganda: Runyankore Source:Hatto AT, editor. 1980. Traditions of Heroic and Epic Poetry. London: Modern Humanities Research Association.

Free Essays on Religous Beliefs

HEREJIAS Herejà ­a es un error en materia de fe , sostenido con pertinacia . Y hereje es aquel cristiano que en materia de fe se opone con pertinacia a lo que cree y propone la iglesia catà ³lica . ? Se ha modificado algun parametro de la religià ³n catà ³lica romana por algà ºn pensamiento de fuera de ella ? ? Cuando o bajo que circunstancias ocurren las herejà ­as ? La definicià ³n de herejà ­a como un "error" nos parcializa a tomar las herejà ­as de forma negativa y daà ±inas a la fà © cuando incluso como dijo San Pablo son refortificantes al confirmar unas ideas las cuales dado lo subjetivo de la religià ³n han dado lugar a duda. Ademas las herejà ­as siempre han surgido en personas que han profundizado en sus pensamientos acerca de la religion no en personas sumisas o ignorantes , debido a momentos de gran insatisfaccià ³n intelectual o incluso de gran insatisfaccià ³n social . Si algunas de las herejà ­as continuaban y llegaban a tener una autoridad eclesiastica y ciertas reglas teolà ³gicas se hubieran confirmado como otras religiones , entonces ? no fuà © la religià ³n cristiana una religià ³n herà ©tica del judaismo ? ? no era una doctrina religiosa ms dentro de todas las doctrinas religiosas orientales? Como las herejà ­as surgian en momentos de decadencia , eran muy rigurosas moralmente y se regian por sus condiciones locales : en Alejandria eran ms misticas e iban ms a lo divino , en cambio en Antioquà ­a eran ms racionalistas y realistas , apuntaban ms al ser humano . Por ejemplo , Arrio en Egipto no aceptaba la naturaleza divina de Cristo . De hecho , quà © dificil conciliar la naturaleza divina y humana de Cristo , hasta San Agustin estuvo seducido por la doctrina de la dualidad de materia-espiritu del gnosticismo . La palabra Gnosis se emplea como alusià ³n a un conocimiento esotà ©rico , aprendido no por aprendizaje sino por revelacià ³n divina ., por una iluminacià ³n que era regeneracià ³n y divinizacià ³n , ... Free Essays on Religous Beliefs Free Essays on Religous Beliefs HEREJIAS Herejà ­a es un error en materia de fe , sostenido con pertinacia . Y hereje es aquel cristiano que en materia de fe se opone con pertinacia a lo que cree y propone la iglesia catà ³lica . ? Se ha modificado algun parametro de la religià ³n catà ³lica romana por algà ºn pensamiento de fuera de ella ? ? Cuando o bajo que circunstancias ocurren las herejà ­as ? La definicià ³n de herejà ­a como un "error" nos parcializa a tomar las herejà ­as de forma negativa y daà ±inas a la fà © cuando incluso como dijo San Pablo son refortificantes al confirmar unas ideas las cuales dado lo subjetivo de la religià ³n han dado lugar a duda. Ademas las herejà ­as siempre han surgido en personas que han profundizado en sus pensamientos acerca de la religion no en personas sumisas o ignorantes , debido a momentos de gran insatisfaccià ³n intelectual o incluso de gran insatisfaccià ³n social . Si algunas de las herejà ­as continuaban y llegaban a tener una autoridad eclesiastica y ciertas reglas teolà ³gicas se hubieran confirmado como otras religiones , entonces ? no fuà © la religià ³n cristiana una religià ³n herà ©tica del judaismo ? ? no era una doctrina religiosa ms dentro de todas las doctrinas religiosas orientales? Como las herejà ­as surgian en momentos de decadencia , eran muy rigurosas moralmente y se regian por sus condiciones locales : en Alejandria eran ms misticas e iban ms a lo divino , en cambio en Antioquà ­a eran ms racionalistas y realistas , apuntaban ms al ser humano . Por ejemplo , Arrio en Egipto no aceptaba la naturaleza divina de Cristo . De hecho , quà © dificil conciliar la naturaleza divina y humana de Cristo , hasta San Agustin estuvo seducido por la doctrina de la dualidad de materia-espiritu del gnosticismo . La palabra Gnosis se emplea como alusià ³n a un conocimiento esotà ©rico , aprendido no por aprendizaje sino por revelacià ³n divina ., por una iluminacià ³n que era regeneracià ³n y divinizacià ³n , ...

Communication field study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Communication field study - Assignment Example The staffs of the two colleges need to use a language which is utilized by the majority of people. Any problem can be sorted out if the right guidance is given by CEO rather than directions. It is essential that the faculty members come up with their own creative ideas and lead the meetings in order to achieve the combined goal of the two schools. Every school essentially has formal and informal lines of communication channel which need to be exploited best for the good will of the schools. When working for solutions to problems, it is required for the language to be objective because judgmental and factual thinking can work against the goal of the school. When it comes to communication, there can arise many barriers like ineffective listening, vague conversation, inappropriate language, use of jargons and differences in perceptions. This is because different people have different ideas and perceptions and in order for strategies to work there should be ample interaction among the administrative staff. People from different culture think differently and act differently and when these factors are acknowledged by the CEO objectives of both the schools can be worked out