1. Odyssey Epic Literary Terms
English I Pre-AP

2. EPICS: Long narrative poems that tell of the adventures of heroes who embody the values of their civilization.

3. Epic Conventions
Setting is vast in scope, including much of the physical world and, at times, the land of the dead.
Odysseus’ travels take him throughout the Mediterranean World.

4. Epic Conventions
Main character is a physically impressive hero of national or historical importance.
Odysseus fought for ten years in the Trojan War and devised the idea of the Trojan horse.

5. Epic Conventions There is evidence of supernatural forces at work.
In the Odyssey, our hero encounters gods, goddesses, sorceresses, monsters, giants, and the list goes on.

6. Epic Conventions
Epics will be rooted in a specific culture and society.
The Odyssey, for example, is heavily rooted in Greek society and culture.

7. Epic Heroes (Another Convention of the Epic)
EPIC HEROES embody the important morals, values, and virtues of the society of which they are a product.
See your “Epic Hero” Chart for the traits of an epic hero.

8. EPIC SIMILE: a long, elaborate simile that goes on for a number of lines; often compares heroic or epic events to understandable and everyday things
Ex. She brushed [the arrow] away from his skin as lightly as when a mother / Brushes a fly away from her child who is lying in sweet sleep.

9. EPITHET: the repetition of the same phrase over and over in a story to describe a character or object; the phrase stresses a particular quality of what is being described
ex. Odysseus is frequently referred to as “the man of twists and turns.”

10. NARRATIVE DRIFT: an interruption in the narration to elaborate on what aspect of what is being talked about
ex. If Homer mentions a gift of wine, he will digress and describe both the history of the gift and the history of the giver.