Monsters, Wars, and Wanderings: Introduction to Epic

Catalog description

This course surveys the epic tradition from its earliest surviving expressions in the ancient Near East to its modern reinventions. Beginning with the Epic of Gilgamesh, we examine how epic poetry emerged as a form through which cultures articulate foundational stories about heroism, mortality, community, and the divine. We then trace the development of the genre through key works of Greek and Roman antiquity-including Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid-before turning to later transformations of epic in European and global traditions. Along the way, we ask how epic constructs ideals of heroism and leadership, how it represents the relationship between human beings and the gods, and how it responds to experiences of war, migration, empire, and cultural memory. Particular attention will be given to questions of genre; of oral vs. written composition; and of the ways later poets reinterpret and challenge earlier epic models. The course concludes with selections from Derek Walcott's Omeros, a modern epic that reimagines Homeric themes within the historical and cultural landscape of the late 20th century Caribbean. By reading these works comparatively, students will explore how epic poetry both preserves and reshapes cultural values across millennia, and how the genre continues to evolve as writers revisit its forms and themes to address new historical realities.