The Enduring Influence of Epic Poetry: Restoration & 18th Century
The Epic Tradition in Restoration and 18th-Century Literature
The aim of this essay is to identify and relate the epic elements found in 18th-century literary production and the Restoration. In this period, the literary ideal was an elegant simplicity to express a new, more moderate, clear, and regular form of weight and attitude, as well as the concept of “decorum.” This way of understanding literature is closely related to classical art, where order and clear and established organisation prevailed. Thus, classical figures such as Ovid, Horace, and Virgil were once again present in literature, as were classical genres such as tragedy, comedy, pastoral, satire, ode, and, finally, epic.
Thus, the epic was once again to some extent reflected in a number of works by different authors. However, the use of epic was different, as it had a different tone from the traditional epic. A clear example of this is Alexander Pope, who in his works, one of the main ones being The Rape of the Lock, employs epic elements. However, he pursues a demystifying strategy in which he takes the themes and tone of the epic and uses them in a satirical tone. Thus, this process is known as mock epic strategy. For instance, the character of “The Baron,” instead of being a hero, is an anti-hero, so he is not someone to be admired as it used to be the case in traditional epic poetry. On the other hand, the creatures that appear in the poem are diminutive and not powerful, unlike in classical mythology, which is endowed with divine and powerful characters.
However, these are not the only epic elements observed in this poem. First, in Canto I, lines 1-12, the speaker begins the poem with an invocation to the gods and muses: “Muse!” (3, C.I. p 2515). This was very common in the classical world, since the Greeks considered poets to be divinely inspired beings. These divinities were the muses, and they gave them the gift of singing the deeds of heroes. This is also seen in the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid.
Related to this, the poem also bears similarities to great epic works such as the Iliad. For instance, in Canto III, it is possible to observe the way Pope creates scenes that evoke the Iliad, thus relating the battles that appear in the Iliad to the Ombre card game played by Belinda and the Baron. Thus, lines 37-45 present the king’s cards as if they were the commanders of armies such as the Greeks and Trojans “[…] Four Knaves in garbs succinct […] combat on the velvet plain” (41-45, p. 2522). Additionally, lines 46-64 recount the exploits of the ace of spades and the two of spades (“Spadillio” and “Manillio”) as if they were Hector and Achilles “Let Spades be trumps!” (p. 2522).
On the other hand, John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1667-1674) can also be observed as traits of the epic tradition. This work was published at the same time as the Great Fire of London and the Plague. Milton produced the poem even though he had a lot to digest (defeat of the Republic, beginning of the Restoration, Great fire and its consequences…). He wanted to write the greatest English poem and turned it into an epic. Moreover, it sought to “Latinise” English. Thus, he got his inspiration from other classical poets: the ancients Homer and Virgil and the Medieval and Renaissance poets Dante, Tasso, Ariosto, and Spencer.
With regard to the content of the work, from line 1 to line 26 of book 1, Milton introduces the theme (the disobedience and sin of Adam and Eve) and invokes his muse “[…]Sing Heav´nly Muse[…]” (line 6), identified as the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, line 19 shows him praising his muse to fill his mind with divine knowledge so that he can share his knowledge with his readers “Instruct me, for thou know’st; thou from the first”. Related to this, in line 23 it can be seen how he urges his muse (the Holy Spirit) to guide him along the way without error or disrespect “Illumine, what is low rise and support”. Thus, it can be said that Milton attempts in some ways to resemble the procedure carried out by the classics with regard to the epic, with examples such as this use of the invocation of the muse, which is typical of them.
Finally, Henry Fielding’s adaptation of epic themes into his work is remarkable. In Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews (1742) we can observe new themes and concepts that make it a highly experimental novel. First, Fielding describes his novel as a comic epic poem in prose. Normally, in a heroic poem, a number of almost fixed elements stand out:
- A hero
- A great deed
- A journey to the underworld
- Wars
- Seriousness
- A moral lesson
In a comic epic, however, we can find an ordinary hero, a journey from one place to another, mock wars, humour, and a lofty moral. Thus, in Henry Fielding we see another kind of adaptation of the epic that can also be seen in Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote (1605).
In conclusion, the influence of the epic tradition on literature has been vital to its development. Proof of this is the large number of centuries in which these characteristics continue to be applied. Moreover, the presence of epic elements in the artistic production of the aforementioned authors demonstrates how the themes and characteristics dealt with in the classical world continue to be present with the passage of time, as well as leaving their mark on the cultural and artistic aspect.