Question: What is an epic simile?
Introduction
The word epic is derived from the Latin word Epicus and the Greek word epikos. An epic is a long narrative poem with a heroic deed. And the simile is a direct comparison between two different things. But the newly formed word Epic simile stands for an open comparison between two dissimilar objects of which one is fairly elaborated.
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The reason for calling this term Epic simile
It is called epic simile because the epic poets introduced the tradition of this kind of simile. For example, Hector has been compared to a boar and a lion.
“He was like a wild boar or a lion when he returns this way and among the hounds and huntsmen to defy them”
In this simile, the qualities of a boar and a lion are elaborated to suggest Hector’s strength and bravery.
There are some features of an epic simile as mentioned below:
- It is elaborated in considerable detail. It is complete in itself.
- It is mainly drawn from nature and the primary qualities of the physical nature are suggested by it. In some exceptional cases, however, history or mythology is used for its source.
- It is functional and integrated with the narrative.
- It is mainly used in epics.
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Conclusion
it is said that Epic simile is a great art of an epic that introduced the readers to the grand and traditional epic. Milton (1608-1674)’s “Paradise Lost” and Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene” are the example of an epic simile.
