epic literature

Epic literature encompasses long narrative works, typically in verse, that recount heroic deeds and events of great significance to a culture or nation.

The earliest epics—Homer's *Iliad* and *Odyssey*, the *Epic of Gilgamesh*, the *Mahabharata*—were oral traditions later written down.

Epic literature features elevated style, vast scope, and protagonists whose fates intertwine with their people's destiny: Milton's Paradise Lost stands among the great works of epic literature.