The Epic Hero

Epic poem is a narrative poem that contains details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Since epic poem relates in an elevated style, it often exaggerates the quality of heroes. The most famous example would be the ancient Greece epic, Iliad, written by Homer. It is oldest extant work of literature in the ancient Greek language, as the first work of European literature. It talks about great courage and intelligence of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae. He is a successful warrior who eventually led the victor of Greece. There is another epic poem which is made in ancient Mesopotamia-Epic of Gilgamesh. He is a king who has become frustrated by his rule, and decided to battle the frightening monster in the forest. He then slew the monster and became a famous hero in his kingdom. Compares with "Beowulf" and "Casey at the Bat", they are similar since Beowulf is praising the bravery and honor of the hero, and use elegant language in order to look important. On the other hand, mighty Casey seems to be mocked and scoffed as a successful batter. Though it's only a minute and unimportant baseball game, audience seems to anticipate a good score and Casey's significant bat wielding. Though people are disappointed, the readers did enjoy the mocking.