The Epic: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) - Softcover

Welch, Anthony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198795122 ISBN 13: 9780198795124

Verlag: Oxford University Press, 2025

Inhaltsangabe

Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring

The epic is an ancient and universal form of artistic expression. Storytellers around the globe have long told of heroes who are touched by greatness and win lasting fame. These sprawling heroic tales convey the grandeur and pain of human life. They have been preserved for millennia in Sumerian clay tablets, Egyptian papyrus rolls, fragmentary manuscripts salvaged from European monasteries, oral traditions in Africa and Central Asia, and contemporary poetry and film.

In this Very Short Introduction, Anthony Welch places the Western epic canon alongside traditional heroic poetry from Asia, Africa, and the Near East. Tracing shared themes and practices that unite the world's epic literature, the author asks what roles epic poets serve in society and how do they differ from other narrative forms. Welch argues that the epic confronts key aspects of the human condition - heroism, community, sacrifice, death - with special force and urgency. Ranging widely from Gilgamesh to Derek Walcott's Omeros, this book acquaints readers with some of the world's greatest literary works and asks why the epic holds such power over our imaginations.



ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Anthony Welch, Associate Professor of English,, University of Tennessee

Anthony Welch is Associate Professor of English at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His publications include The Renaissance Epic and the Oral Past (2012) as well as essays on Milton, Spenser, Dryden, and the European epic tradition in English Literary Renaissance, Milton Studies, MLN: Modern Language Notes, Modern Philology, Spenser Studies, and several edited collections.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Oxford University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2025
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0198795122
• ISBN 13: 9780198795124
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 160
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: ORIGINAL KAISER; https://corp.oup.com/; ; Via Liguria 4; San Giuliano Milanese ; MI; 20098; Italien