Sunday, May 19, 2024 : TES > Documents > Epic > Conventions

The Epic

Conventions

There are also some commonly adopted conventions in the structure and in the choice of episodes of the epic narrative; prominent among them are these elements:

The narrator begins by stating his argument, or theme, invokes a muse or guiding spirit to inspire him in his great undertaking, then address to the muse the epic question, the answer to which inaugurates the narrative proper (cf. Paradise Lost, I.1-49).

The narrative starts in medias res, i.e., “in the midst of things,” at a critical point in the action. Paradise Lost opens with the fallen angels in hell gathering their forces and planning their revenge. Not until Books V-VII does the angel Raphael relate to Adam the events in heaven which led to his situation.; while in Books XI-XII, after the fall, Michael foretells to Adam future events up until Christ’s second coming. Thus Milton’s epic, although its action focuses on the temptation and the fall of man, encompasses all time from the creation to the end of the world.

There are catalogs of some of the principle characters, introduced in formal detail, as in Milton’s description of the procession of fallen angels in Book I of Paradise Lost. These characters are often given set speeches which reveal their diverse temperaments; an example is the debate in Pandemonium, Book II.