American Literature / Unit 1 AML 0023 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Epic, Mock Epic, Narrative Poem
Captions available
The idea
An epic is a long narrative poem on a heroic subject, opening in the middle of the action and carrying a nation's values. A mock epic borrows that machinery for a trivial subject, and the gap is the joke. A narrative poem is any poem telling a story.
In practice
Heroic, mock-heroic, and merely narrative.
Where people slip
Longfellow's Hiawatha is the American epic attempt.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
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