Classical Epic

The classical Epic is an exhaustive narration of a great events in history, told not only in an omniscient narrator voice but also in the words of its characters. The classical epic writers are Homer in Greek and Virgil in Roman. These are long stories in verse with famous heroes as principle characters. They are based on the legends of their exploits handed down from generation to generation orally. There is a mixing of actual history and the poets imagination in them. Gods form a separate group of characters in almost every classical epic. They preside over the destinies of human beings.
The language of classical epics is noble and exalted. The theme is stated in the first few lines accompanied by a prayer to the Muse. The protagonist of a classical epic are larger-than- life men who are capable of great deeds of strength and courage. The style is marked by repetition, a pronounced use of epithets and using a variety of names for the main characters. Fully developed  similes are used to give reader or audience a sense of great size, number and intensity.
It is usually divided into twelve books but Homer's epic "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" have twenty-four books each. Virgil's "The Aeneid", Vyasa's "Mahabharata", Dante's "The Divine Comedy" are some of the classical epics.

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