What is Epic poetry?
'''Epic poetry''' tells a dramatic story in a [[poem]]. There are characters in the story. It is usually long, and takes place in different settings. Epic poems started in prehistoric times as part of [[oral tradition]]. The [[Kyrgyzstan|Kyrgyz]] Epic of Manas is one of the longest written epics in history.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://factsanddetails.com/central-asia/Kyrgyzstan/sub8_5c/entry-4772.html | title=MANAS: THE GREAT KYRGYZ EPIC &#124; Facts and Details }}</ref> ''[[Beowulf]]'' is a famous example, written in [[Old English]]. Well-known people who wrote epics were [[Homer]], [[Publius Vergilius Maro|Virgil]], [[Publius Ovidius Naso|Ovid]], [[Dante]], [[Edmund Spenser]] and [[John Milton|Milton]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-05-08|title=Best Epic Poems of All Time - The Top 7 Examples of Epic Poetry|url=https://rewirethewest.com/best-epic-poems/|access-date=2022-06-13|website=Rewire the West|language=en-US}}</ref> [[William Wordsworth]]'s Prelude plays with epic ideas though the poem is [[autobiography]]. ==Characteristics == Epics have seven main characteristics: # The [[hero]] is outstanding. They might be important, and historically or legendarily significant. # The setting is large. It covers many nations, or the known world. # The action is made of deeds of great valor or requiring superhuman [[courage]]. # [[Supernatural]] forces—gods, angels, demons—insert themselves in the action. # It is written in a very special style ([[verse]] as opposed to [[prose]]). # The poet tries to remain objective. # Epic poems are believed to be supernatural and real by the hero and the [[villain]] Conventions of epics: # It starts with the theme or subject of the story. # In epics inspired from [[Western civilization]] the writer invokes a [[Muse]], one of the nine daughters of [[Zeus]]. The poet prays to the Muses to provide divine inspiration to tell the great story. # Narrative opens ''in medias res'', or in the middle of things, usually with the hero at his lowest point. Usually flashbacks show earlier port