Epic poetry

       Epic poetry is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation.

 

Primary Epic

The primary epic comes from an oral literary tradition as a possible accumulation of lays or episodes. They are shaped by a literary artist from historical and legendary materials which had developed in the oral traditions of his nation during a period of expansion and warfare. These epics were composed without the aid of writing, sung or chanted to a musical accompaniment. Thus the composition of the oral epics is looser because it was composed for recitation. They are also more episodic in structure — the episodes can be detached from the whole and may be enjoyed as separate poems or stories.

Secondary Epic

Secondary epics are also called literary epics and were composed by sophisticated craftsmen in a deliberate imitation of the traditional form. Their efforts is attempt to use again in new circumstances what has already been a complete and satisfactory form of literature. The literary epics are composed more for readers in their structure and language. The concern is with the perfection of the word; sentences are carefully fashioned; words and phrases are more carefully chosen. There is less use of formulaic repetition.

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Words from  The Great Gatsby

a.  parcel : divide into parts

   snobbish : behaving in a way that shows you think you are better than other people

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Vocabulary

a.  ad-  go forward

    advantage

    advance

 

b. vulnerable ⇔ invulnerable

c. chant : to ​repeat or ​sing a word or phrase ​continuously

    enchant : to ​attract or ​please someone very much

d.  outrageous : ​very shocking or unreasonable

          rage       :    n.  a very strong feeling of anger   

                        v.  to shout angrily at someone   

e.  initial : happening at the beginning of a process, or when you first see or hear about something

    initiate : to make something start

f. xerox : a copy of a written document or image that is made with a Xerox machine 

* The first "x" pronounces  /z/.    

* /z/ in "anxiety";  /ks/ in box

Xerox Corporation is a U.S. based global corporation that sells business services and document technology products to businesses and governments of all sizes.

▲ Carbon copy 

        A carbon copy is the under-copy of a document created when carbon paper is placed between the original and the under-copy during the production of a document. With the advent of email, the abbreviation cc or bcc (blind carbon copy) has also come to refer to simultaneously sending copies of an electronic message to secondary recipients.

g.  -vok-  to call

   evoke

   provoke

h. com- with, together

   combat

   compose

i. pyre : a high pile of wood for burning a dead body in a funeral ceremony

  Pyrex : a type of strong glass used for making bowls and dishes that do not break in a hot                   oven

      Pyrex (trademarked as PYREX) is a brand introduced by Corning Incorporated in 1915 for a line of clear, low-thermal-expansion borosilicate glass used for laboratory glassware and kitchenware. Corning no longer manufactures or markets Pyrex-branded borosilicate glass kitchenware and bakeware in the US, but Pyrex borosilicate products are still manufactured under license by various companies.

j.  armour
k.   shield
l.  helmet