epic poetry
1
6.3
- noun
- /ˈɛpɪk ˈpoʊətri/
- Literature
:
poesía épica
- In her literature class, she discovered that epic poetry often features heroic figures completing great quests.
- oral epic poetry
- traditions of epic poetry
Don't just read a bunch of other sci-fi authors, read Shakespeare, read epic poetry, read, read humanistic literature.
- Don't just read a bunch of other sci-fi authors, read Shakespeare, read epic poetry, read, read humanistic literature.
- He's channeling poetry, epic poetry from an alien intelligence.
Examples
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The study of epic poetry allows readers to explore the cultural values and historical contexts of ancient civilizations.
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Study of this question goes back as far as the later nineteenth century, when the epic poetry of this region first began to appear in modern printed editions.
Academic text (2016) -
There is other good news to be kept in mind as well: living traditions of oral epic poetry are never static.
Academic text (2016) -
The epic poetry of Homer still had it all combined: history, religion, and a primitive philosophy and science.
Academic text (1991) -
While it is hard for anyone at all to grasp the magnitude of the whole body of inner Asian epic poetry and to gain a competent knowledge of even one tradition, it is a particular challenge for English speakers to do so.
Academic text (2016) -
Recorded sometime in the eighth century B.C., the Iliad represents the culmination of several centuries of oral epic poetry that wove a complex story of the relationship between mortals and gods.
Academic text (2004) -
As is typical of oral epic poetry in general, heroic adventures and supernormal adventures are constantly interwoven in these songs, with all such episodes serving to magnify the stature of the hero and, through him, the Kyrgyz people.
Academic text (2016) -
Given that democratic republican idealism has been America’s major aspiration, it was inevitable that the very nature of the epic poem in America would challenge the traditional and almost wholly European norms of epic poetry.
Academic text (1996) -
Homer's epic poetry has influenced countless generations with its grand tales of heroism and adventure.
Synonyms
1
7.6
Poems that tell the brave deeds of heroes from old stories
A long poem that tells the stories of heroes and shows a society's values
Antonyms
How Poetic
- Literature
1
6.3
- Literature
541
4.1
- Literature
77
3.9
- Literature
1
7.1
46
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'epic' (grand, heroic) with 'poetry' (verse), yielding a genre of grand, heroic verse. This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition found across languages and follows normal English word-building, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand it.
Etymology
Epic poetry may come from an old word for a long, heroic 'song' or 'story'. Imagine a storyteller singing a long tale about brave heroes by the fire; that image explains why epic, a long heroic tale, and poetry, song or verse, together now mean long, grand poems celebrating great deeds.