史诗 Epic 学习材料.doc

An Introduction to the Epic1. Questions:1. What is an epic? Do we have epics in the Chinese language?2. What are the characteristics and conventions of the epic?3. Give a brief account of the famous English epics please.2. A brief Introduction to the EpicAn epic (from Greek: or word, story, poem) is a lengthy narrative poem in elevated stature, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Michael Meyer, The Bedford Introduction to Literature, Bedford/St. Martins, 2005, p2128. An epic often presents characters of high position in adventures forming an organic whole through their relation to a central heroic figure and through their development of episodes important to the history of a nation or race.Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and critics have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form. Nonetheless, epics have been written down at least since Homer, and the works of Virgil, Dante Alighieri and John Milton would be unlikely to have survived without being written down. The first epics are known as primary, or original, epics. Epics that attempt to imitate these like Virgils Aeneid and Miltons Paradise Lost are known as literary, or secondary, epics. The “traditional epics” (also called “primary epics” or “folk epics”) were shaped by a literary artist from historical and legendary materials which had developed in the oral traditions of his nation during a period of expansion and warfare. To this group are ascribed the Iliad and Odyssey of the Greek Homer, and the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf.The “literary” or “secondary” epics were composed by sophisticated craftsmen in deliberate imitation of the traditional form. Of this kind is Virgils Latin poem the Aeneid, which later served as the chief model for Miltons literary epic Paradise Lost; and Paradise Lost in turn became a model for Keats fragmentary epic Hyperion, as well as for Blakes several epics, or “prophetic books” (The Four Zoas, Milton, Jerusalem) which undertook to translate into Blakes own mythic terms the biblical design and materials which had served as Miltons subject matter.Another type of epic poetry is epyllion (plural: epyllia) which is a brief narrative poem with a romantic or mythological theme. The term, which means little epic, came in use in the nineteenth century. It refers primarily to the type of erotic and mythological long elegy of which Ovid remains the master; to a lesser degree, the term includes some poems of the English Renaissance, particularly those influenced by Ovid. One suggested example of classical epyllion may be seen in the story of Nisus and Euryalus in Book IX of Aeneid.Epic characteristicsThe epic was ranked by Aristotle (in his Poetics) as second only to tragedy, and by Renaissance critics as the highest genre of all. The literary epic is certainly the most ambitious of poetic types, making immense demands on a poets knowledge, invention, and skill to sustain the scope, grandeur, and variety of a poem that tends to encompass the world of its day and a large portion of its learning. Despite numerous attempts over nearly three-thousand years, we possess no more than a half dozen epic poems of indubitable greatness. Literary epics are highly conventional poems which commonly share the following features, derived ultimately from the traditional epics of Homer.The hero generally participates in a cyclical journey or quest, faces adversaries that try to defeat him in his journey and returns home significantly transformed by his journey. The epic hero illustrates traits, performs deeds, and exemplifies certain morals that are valued by the society from which the epic originates. Many epic heroes are recurring characters in the legends of their native culture.The hero is a figure of great national or even cosmic importance, and represents a cultures heroic ideal. In the Iliad, he is the Greek warrior Achilles, who is the son of a Neried, Thetis; and Virgils Aeneas is the son of the goddess Venus. In Paradise Lost, Adam represents the entire human race, or if we regard Christ as the hero, he is both God and man. Blakes primal figure is the “universal man” Albion who incorporates, before his fall, man and god and the cosmos as well.The setting of the poem is ample in scale, and may be worldwide, or even larger. Odysseus wanders over the Mediterranean basin (the whole of the world known to the author), and in Book 9 of the Odyssey, he descends into the underworld (as does Virgils Aeneas). The scope of Paradise Lost is cosmic, for it takes place on earth, heaven, and in hell.The action involves superhuman deeds in battle, such as Achilles feats in the Trojan War, or a long and arduous journey intrepidly accomplished, such as the wanderings of Odysseus on his way back to his homeland, despite the opposition of some of the gods. Paradise Lost includes the war in heaven, the journey of Satan through chaos to discover the newly created world, and his desperately audacious attempt to outwit God by corrupting humanity, in which his success is ultimately frustrated by the sacrificial enterprise of Christ. And Gilgamesh portrays the eponymous heros search for a fountain of youth after the death of his friend, Enkidu.In these great actions, the gods and other supernatural beings take an interest or an active part the Olympian gods in Homer, and Jehovah, Christ, and the angels in Paradise Lost. These supernatural agents were in the neoclassic age called the machinery, in the sense that they were a part of the literary contrivances of the epic.An epic poem is a ceremonial performance and is narrated in a ceremonial style which is deliberately distanced from ordinary speech and proportioned to the grandeur and formality of the heroic subject matter and the epic architecture. Hence Miltons “grand style” his Latinate diction and stylized syntax, his sonorous lists of names and wide-ranging allusions, and his imitation of Homers epic similes and epithets. Also the great catalogs of heroes, weaponry, spoils, etc.Epic ConventionsThere are also some commonly adopted conventions in the structure and in the choice of episodes of the epic narrative; prominent among them are these elements:1. Praepositio: Opens by stating the theme or cause of the epic. The narrator begins by stating his argument, or theme, invokes a muse or guiding spirit to inspire him in his great undertaking, then address to the muse the epic question, the answer to which inaugurates the narrative proper (cf. Paradise Lost I.1-49).This may take the form of a purpose (as in Milton, who proposed to justify the ways of God to men); of a question (as in the Iliad, where Homer asks the Muse which god it was who caused the war); or of a situation (as in the Song of Roland, with Charlemagne in Spain).2. Invocation: Writer invokes a Muse, one of the nine daughters of Zeus. The poet prays to the Muses to provide him with divine inspiration to tell the story of a great hero. (This convention is obviously restricted to cultures which were influenced by European Classical culture: the Epic of Gilgamesh, for example)3. In medias res: narrative opens in the middle of things, with the hero at his lowest point. Usually flashbacks show earlier portions of the story. Paradise Lost opens with the fallen angels in hell gathering their forces and planning their revenge. Not until Books V-VII does the angel Raphael relate to Adam the events in heaven which led to his situation; while in Books XI-XII, after the fall, Michael foretells to Adam future events up until Christs second coming. Thus Miltons epic, although its action focuses on the temptation and the fall of man, encompasses all time from the creation to the end of the world. In the Iliad, Homer begins with the contention between the Greek champion Achilles and his leader Agamemnon: it is this formal challenge of Agamemnons right that precipitates the critical actions in Homers epic of war.4. Enumeratio: Catalogues and genealogies are given. These long lists of objects, places, and people place the finite action of the epic within a broader, universal context. Often, the poet is also paying homage to the ancestors of audience members.5. Epithet: Heavy use of repetition or stock phrases: e.g., Homers rosy-fingered dawn and wine-dark sea.Primary EpicThe primary epic comes from an oral literary tradition as a possible accumulation of lays or episodes. They are shaped by a literary artist from historical and legendary materials which had developed in the oral traditions of his nation during a period of expansion and warfare. These epics were composed without the aid of writing, sung or chanted to a musical accompaniment. Thus the composition of the oral epics is looser because it was composed for recitation. They are also more episodic in structure the episodes can be detached from the whole and may be enjoyed as separate poems or stories. The heroic ideal suggests that the epic heroes in the oral epic are more concerned with their own personal self-fulfillment. The work focuses on the personal concept of heroism, and the self-fulfillment and identity of the individual hero. The national concept is secondary. The language in the oral epics is formulaic: repetitious use of stock phrases and descriptions to aid in oral recitation. Tends toward pleasing the ear rather than the eye. Focus on the spoken word. The movement tends to be cyclical, the theme of the return. The primary epics were developed in cultures that have not yet attained a national identity or unity. Greek city-states, etc. Examples of the primary epic include: the Iliad, the Odyssey, Beowulf, Gilgamesh.Secondary EpicSecondary epics are also called literary epics and were composed by sophisticated craftsmen in a deliberate imitation of the traditional form. Their efforts are attempt to use again in new circumstances what has already been a complete and satisfactory form of literature. The literary epics are composed more for readers in their structure and language. The concern is with the perfection of the word; sentences are carefully fashioned; words and phrases are more carefully chosen. There is less use of formulaic repetition. The heroic ideal: the hero is more concerned with national or universal duty than with personal happiness or self-fulfillment (e.g., Aeneas leaves Dido to continue his nations destiny). In a highly organized society, the unfettered individual has no place. The hero is inspired by service to his nation, world, or cosmos, not by individual prowess. Social ideal replaces personal identity. The hero becomes a symbol for the nation or world as a whole. The language suggests a written ceremony a deliberate distancing from ordinary speech and proportioned to the grandeur and formality of the heroic subject matter and epic architecture. The “grand,” “ornate,” and “elevated” style. The epics movement is toward rebirth. Aeneas leaves old Troy to found new Troy (Rome). The secondary epic is a product of highly structured cultures and societies, like Rome. Examples: the Aeneid, Paradise Lost, The Divine Comedy.Mock EpicA mock epic, or mock heroic, poem imitates the elaborate form and ceremonious style of the epic genre, and applies it to a commonplace or trivial subject matter; the high brought low. In a masterpiece of this form, The Rape of the Lock, Alexander Pope views through grandiose epic perspective a quarrel between the beaux and belles of his day over the theft of Belindas curl. The story includes such elements of epic protocol as supernatural machinery, a voyage, a visit to the underworld, the arming of the hero, epic lists, and a heroically scaled battle between the sexes although with hatpins, snuff, and abusive language for weapons. The term mock heroic is often applied to other dignified poetic forms which are purposefully mismatched to a lowly subject; for example, to Thomas Grays comic “Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat.”Epic SpiritIn addition to its strict use, the term epic is often applied to works which differ in many respects form this model, but manifest, suggests critic E.M.W. Tillyard in his study The English Epic and Its Background, the epic spirit in the scale, the scope, and the profound human importance of their subjects; Tillyard suggests these four characteristics of the modern epic: high quality and seriousness, inclusiveness or amplitude, control and exactitude commensurate with exuberance, and an expression of the feelings of a large group of people. Similarly, Brian Wilkie has remarked in Romantic Poets and Epic Tradition, that epics constitute a family, with variable physiognomatic similarities, rather than a strictly definable genre. In this broad sense, Dantes Divine Comedy and Spencers Faerie Queene are often called epics, as are works of prose fiction such as Melvilles Moby Dick, and Tolstoys War and Peace; Northrop Frye has described Joyces Finnegans Wake as the “chief ironic epic of our time” (Anatomy of Criticism 323). Some critics have even look to the genre of science fiction in prose and film, like Carl Sagans Contact for the twentieth centurys continuing sense of the epic spirit.3. The Song of BeowulfBeowulf beiwulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of unknown authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th and the early 11th century, set in Denmark and Sweden. Commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature, Beowulf has been the subject of much scholarly study, theory, speculation, discourse, and, at 3182 lines, has been noted for its length.Beowulf is considered an epic poem in that the main character is a hero who travels great distances to prove his strength at impossible odds against supernatural demons and beasts. The poet who composed Beowulf, while objective in telling the tale, nonetheless utilizes a certain style to maintain excitement and adventure within the story. An elaborate history of characters and their lineages are spoken of, as well as their interactions with each other, debts owed and repaid, and deeds of valor.Only a single manuscript of Beowulf survived the Anglo-Saxon era. For many centuries, the manuscript was all but forgotten, and, in the 1700s, it was nearly destroyed in a fire. It was not until the nineteenth century that widespread interest in the document emerged among scholars and translators of Old English. For the first hundred years of Beowulfs prominence, interest in the poem was primarily historicalthe text was viewed as a source of information about the Anglo-Saxon era. It was not until 1936, when the Oxford scholar J. R. R. Tolkien (who later wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, works heavily influenced by Beowulf) published a groundbreaking paper entitled “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” that the manuscript gained recognition as a serious work of art.Beowulf is now widely taught and is often presented as the first important work of English literature, creating the impression that Beowulf is in some way the source of the English canon. But because it was not widely read until the 1800s and not widely regarded as an important artwork until the 1900s, Beowulf has had little direct impact on the development of English poetry. In fact, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Pope, Shelley, Keats, and most other important English writers before the 1930s had little or no knowledge of the epic. It was not until the mid-to-late twentieth century that Beowulf began to influence writers, and, since then, it has had a marked impact on the work of many important novelists and poets, including W. H. Auden, Geoffrey Hill, Ted Hughes, and Seamus Heaney, the 1995 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature.Old English PoetryBeowulf is often referred to as the first important work of literature in English, even though it was written in Old English, an ancient form of the language that slowly evolved into the English now spoken. Compared to modern English, Old English is heavily Germanic, with little influence from Latin or French. As English history developed, after the French Normans conquered the Anglo-Saxons in 1066, Old English was gradually broadened by offerings from those languages. Thus modern English is derived from a number of sources. As a result, its vocabulary is rich with synonyms. The word kingly, for instance, descends from the Anglo-Saxon word cyning, meaning “king,” while the synonym royal comes from a French word and the synonymregal from a Latin word.Fortunately, most students encountering Beowulf read it in a form translated into modern English. Still, a familiarity with the rudiments of Anglo-Saxon poetry enables a deeper understanding of the Beowulf text. Old English poetry is highly formal, but its form is quite unlike anything in modern English. Each line of Old English poetry is divided into two halves, separated by a caesura, or pause, and is often represented by a gap on the page, as the following example demonstrates:Setton him to heafdon hilde-randas. . . .Because Anglo-Saxon poetry existed in oral tradition long before it was written down, the verse form contains complicated rules for alliteration designed to help scops, or poets, remember the many thousands of lines they were required to know by heart. Each of the two halves of an Anglo-Saxon line contains two stressed syllables, and an alliterative pattern must be carried over across the caesura. Any of the stressed syllables may alliterate except the last syllable; so the first and second syllables may alliterate with the third together, or the first and third may alliterate alone, or the second and third may alliterate alone. For instance:Lade ne letton. Leoht eastan com.Lade, letton, leoht, and eastan are the four stressed