epic poem
Let an agent explain the epic poem and its features and traditions worldwide with attribution, identify major epics with sources, describe oral and written epic composition, and support reading and study.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What an epic poem is.
Features
Features.
Features
Features.
- What features define the epic poem, such as scope, heroic subject, invocation, formulaic style and metre? definition
- Which entry fits a specific epic? action
Traditions
Traditions worldwide.
Traditions
Traditions.
- What epic traditions exist across cultures, including oral epics such as the Mvet and Alyptyg Nimag and Japanese monogatari, described in their own terms? provenance
- Which tradition is meant? boundary
Read Reading and study.
Read
Reading an epic.
Read
Reading.
- How can this epic be read, and which translations and editions are recommended by scholars? action
- Which entry fits a specific translation? action
Analyse
Analysis.
Analyse
Analysis.
- How can structure, themes and style of an epic be analysed? action
- Which entry fits literary analysis? action
Composition Oral and written composition.
Oral
Oral epic.
Oral
Oral.
- How are oral epics composed and performed, and what did Parry and Lord establish about formulaic composition? provenance
- Which entry fits oral tradition? action
Written
Written epic.
Written
Written.
- How did literary epics such as those of Virgil, Dante and Milton adapt the form? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Learn Culture and teaching.
Culture
Epic and identity.
Culture
Culture.
- How do epics shape cultural memory and identity, and what debates surround their political use, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Teach
Teaching.
Teach
Teaching.
- How can epic poetry be taught with attention to global traditions? action
- Which misconceptions arise? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
- Other names and narrower kinds
- Mvet, Alyptyg Nimag, monogatari, giko monogatari, ōchō monogatari, kaidan, uta monogatari, rekishi monogatari, digressive poem, Indian epic poetry, yukar, Theseis
What it is Filled
A long narrative poem recounting the deeds of heroes, gods or a people, often in elevated style and traditional metre, including ancient epics such as the Iliad, Odyssey, Mahabharata and Gilgamesh, medieval epics, oral epics of Africa such as the Mvet, and Turkic and Mongolic epics such as the Altai Alyptyg Nimag; epics transmit cultural memory and values and are studied in literature, folklore and oral tradition research.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain the epic poem and its features and traditions worldwide with attribution, identify major epics with sources, describe oral and written epic composition, and support reading and study.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Length and scope
- Heroic subject
- Formulaic style
- Cultural memory
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Reproduce copyrighted translations beyond short quotation.
- Treat the European canon as the measure of all epics.
- Use epics to support nationalist claims against other peoples.
- Misattribute authorship or dates of oral epics.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing new translations as authoritative.
May
- Explain epic poems, their traditions and themes with sources.
- Quote short passages with attribution and translation credits.
Moral aspects Filled
- Epics are central to cultural identity for many peoples.
- Nationalist uses of epics have fuelled conflict.
Who is affected
- Communities holding the epics
- Translators
- Readers
Owners Filled
Steward
The public: works held in common; translators hold rights in translations.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1097273 - registry parent class
- Q19310814 - registry parent class
- Q474090 - registry parent class
related
- narrative poetry - category
- epic literature - category
- verse - the medium of epic
- hero - epic protagonists
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.epic-poem
- Wikidata: Q37484 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37484)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Long narrative poem of heroic deeds
- Elevated style, traditional metre
- A ballad is short; a novel is prose; a saga is prose narrative
- Not physical; long poems in manuscripts, books or performance.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain features and traditions
- identify major epics
- describe composition
- support study
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Eurocentric canon
- Nationalist appropriation of epics
- Confusing epic with other long forms
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Scholarly editions and translations
- Intangible heritage recognition of oral epics
- No regulation
Context of use required Filled
- Long narrative poems of heroic deeds.
- ancient Near Eastern and Greek epics
- Indian and Persian epics
- medieval European epics
- oral epics of Africa, Central Asia and elsewhere
- Japanese monogatari as long narrative forms
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q37484: epic poem - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Epic poetry - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each major epic be a separate entry?
- How should editions be linked?
- How should oral tradition archives be linked?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q37484/spec.json