Mock epic

 

Mock-epic

Epic is the greatest and sublime form of poetry. It is a long poem divided into several books, celebrating the life, heroic deeds and achievements of a national hero whether historical or legendary. In contrast with an epic, a mock epic is a long, heroi-comical poem that merely imitates features of the classical epic. The poet often takes an elevated style of language, but incongruously applies that language to mundane or ridiculous objects and situations. The mock epic focuses frequently on the exploits of an antihero whose activities illustrate the stupidity of the class or re group he represents. Various other attributes common to the classical epic, such as the invocation to the muse or the intervention of the gods, or the long characters, appear in the mock epic as well, only to be spoofed. For instance, Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the lock gives in catalogs of hyperbolic language a lengthy account of how a 17th century lord e a lady's hair in order to steal a lock of it as a keepsake, leading to all sorts of social backlash when the woman is unhappy with her new hairdo Lord Byron's "Don Juan gives a lengthy list of the sexual conquests and catastrophes associated with a precocious young lord, Don Juan. Both are fine examples of the mock epic.