Epic Oral Poetry--The Making of Iliads and Odysseys and More

[maikeru]

I thought I'd start a thread on one of my interests: epic oral poetry. This is a genre of "literature" which has produced some of the greatest and most celebrated works of humankind such as the Iliad, Odyssey, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Epic of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland). A broad definition might be that oral epic poetry is narrative story poetry based on mythology, religion, or historical individuals. But let's go a little deeper than that.

 

Here are links to epic and oral poetry in general:

 

Epic poetry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oral poetry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

According to The Singer of Tales by Albert Bates Lord, epic oral poetry is distinguished by a few key but important characteristics: it is orally composed and performed (it isn't a story written ahead of time then recited or sung), composition and performance happen at the same time (while it is being sung or spoken)--they are the same facet of the same process, and the storyteller uses "formulas" (like the famous Homeric epithets, e.g., "fleet-footed Achilles") and "themes" (plot ideas such as banquets, weddings, wars, duels, etc.) to create the plot lines of the epics. Most oral epic poetry is sung with some type of simple musical accompaniment, but it can just be recited or sung alone. Oral epic poetry is also transmitted and taught orally, from teacher to student, from father to son, mother to daughter, or performer to interested listener. Formulas, the repeated, poetic epithets and phrases, also create the basis of the epic poetry, because they create "form" for new descriptions and have in-built meter or rhyme in them. Themes provide the "skeleton" for incidents and events, and also help to shape the stories.

 

Links to the lives and work of Albert Bates Lord and Milman Perry:

Albert Lord - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Milman Parry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

There are also oral tales which don't fit the Lord/Perry definition from The Singer of Tales, such as Irish tales of Cuchulainn and the Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari), which is one of the most famous stories in Japan. These were memorized and sung narrative, with some poetry. Oral epic poetry was often sung at communal gatherings, sometimes festivals and sometimes informal small gatherings at homes or cafes. "Singers" could be professionals or amateur storytellers. Tales of wandering minstrels and bards in medieval Europe are well-known, and they contributed greatly to European literature by creating and reworking many Arthurian tales and creating new ones such as the Song of Roland. Scandinavia and Germany should not be forgotten either, for they produced some of the greatest tales, such as Beowulf and the Eddas, which in turn inspired writers like Tolkien to create the The Lord of the Rings or Wagner's Ring Cycle.

 

Songs themselves could be very short, maybe a few hundred lines such as some of the Slavic epic poetry that Lord and Perry encountered, or very long as the Epic of King Gesar which is believed to be around a million verses and 20 million words long ( Epic of King Gesar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ), which is truly incredible (now, whether a person would ever live long enough to hear it in its entirety is another matter! ).

 

I remember when I was younger and in high school and we had to read things like Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf that they were very different from other literature. They were generally considered boring or hard or ancient and irrelevant. How little did I know then! I labored over them, learned to appreciate them, and forgot them. I didn't think much of epic poetry until I started to broaden my readings in literature and mythology and discovered the inspirations for Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (which I enjoyed a lot as a teenager then), that I really appreciated what oral epic poetry has contributed to world literature, culture, and religion.

 

I hope that this brief introduction to epic poetry might inspire some discussion of people's favorite works, their relevance in the world today, and first-hand experience from people who still live in parts of the world where the oral tradition is alive and well (such as India, Africa, or some parts of Asia). Unfortunately in Europe and America, epic oral poetry is mostly a thing of the past.