The epic poem
The world "epic" comes from the Greek "èpos" which means "the poets" oral exposition. The two major epic poems in the Western tradition are The Iliad [E5] [F5] [I5] [S5] and The Odyssey [E6] [S6] [I6][F6] by the Greek poet Homer. Later examples are The Aeneid [E7] [I7] [S7] [F7] by Virgil and the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf.
The epic poem is a long narrative poetical composition dealing with the recollection of a glorious past in the national history of a country and of its brave heroes. There are a lot of historical references but history is enreached thanks to references to supernatural folktales and mythological events.
The society described is the aristocratic and military one.
The most used type-scenes are: the banquet, the battle, the voyage and the funeral.
Another specific feature of the epic poem is an objective narration [E8] [I8] [F8] [S8] ; neither the poet nor his characters criticise the ideals and the customs of the country they belong to.
the main theme is the nature of heroic life and how these heroes have the function of leadership in heroic society.
The style is elevated and the vocabulary very rich.
The pagan elegy
The elegy is a lyrical poem, generally in the form of dramatic monologue, where an isolated speaker expresses his loss of friendship and favour, and past splendour.
There are elements of personal experience and philosophic reflection offering a moving view of the human condition.
One of the favourite themes is the exile or " wracca" which haunts the Anglo-SAxon imagination with its constant fear of a possible dissolution of the clan due to internal conflict or external attack. Outside the clan there's a hostile world in which even the best man aren't able to establish new relationships.
So the main character of the elegy is the lone wanderer who is outside his natural context so that he becomes vulnerable.
In the elegy there's a melancholic mood given by a vivid and descriptive language while the oral aspect is underlined by the frequent use of allitteration.
