National Epics

National Epics [with accents]

The Project Gutenberg EBook of National Epics, by Kate Milner Rabb
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Title: National Epics
Author: Kate Milner Rabb
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NATIONAL EPICS
BY
KATE MILNER RABB
1896

TO MY MOTHER.

PREFACE.
This volume is intended for an introduction to the study of the epics.
While the simplicity and directness of the epic style seem to make such
a book unnecessary, the fact that to many persons of literary tastes
some of these great poems are inaccessible, and that to many more the
pleasure of exploring for themselves "the realms of gold" is rendered
impossible by the cares of business, has seemed sufficient excuse for its
being. Though the beauty of the original is of necessity lost in a
condensation of this kind, an endeavor has been made to preserve the
characteristic epithets, and to retain what Mr. Arnold called "the simple
truth about the matter of the poem." It is believed that the sketch
prefacing each story, giving briefly the length, versification, and history
of the poem, will have its value to those readers who have not access to
the epics, and that the selections following the story, each recounting a
complete incident, will give a better idea of the epic than could be
formed from passages scattered through the text.
The epic originated among tribes of barbarians, who deified departed
heroes and recited legends in praise of their deeds. As the hymn
developed, the chorus and strophe were dropped, and the narrative only
was preserved. The word "epic" was used simply to distinguish the
narrative poem, which was recited, from the lyric, which was sung, and

from the dramatic, which was acted.
As the nation passed from childhood to youth, the legends of the hero
that each wandering minstrel had changed to suit his fancy, were
collected and fused into one by some great poet, who by his power of
unification made this written epic his own.
This is the origin of the Hindu epics, the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey," the
"Kalevala," the "Shah-Nameh," "Beowulf," the "Nibelungen Lied," the
"Cid," and the "Song of Roland."
The conditions for the production of the primitive epic exist but once in
a nation's growth. Its later epics must be written on subjects of national
importance, chosen by the poet, who arranges and embellishes his
material according to the rules of the primitive epic. To this class
belong the "Aeneid," the "Jerusalem Delivered," and the "Lusiad."
Dante's poem is broader, for it is the epic of mediaeval Christianity.
Milton likewise sought "higher argument" than
"Wars, hitherto the only argument Heroic deemed,"
and crystallized the religious beliefs of his time in "Paradise Lost."
The characteristics both of the primitive and the modern epic are their
uniform metre, simplicity of construction, concentration of action into a
short time, and the use of episode and dialogue. The main difference
lies in the impersonality of the primitive epic, whose author has so
skillfully hidden himself behind his work that, as some one has said of
Homer, "his heroes are immortal, but his own existence is doubtful."
Although the historical events chronicled in the epics have in every
case been so distorted by the fancy of the poets that they cannot be
accepted as history, the epics are storehouses of information concerning
ancient manners and customs, religious beliefs, forms of government,
treatment of women, and habits of feeling.
Constructed upon the noblest principles of art, and pervaded by the
eternal calm of the immortals, these poems have an especial value to us,
who have scarcely yet realized that poetry is an art, and are feverish
from the unrest of our time. If by the